Light & Shadow

Gallery: LandscapePosted December 18, 20163,296 views11 comments

I just returned from a trip to the Grand Canyon. In this image I was drawn to the contrasting light and shadow as well as the shape of the butte which reminded me of a bird's foot. There is a slight cyan / magenta color caste in the shadows which I remember being there in person. Thanks to comments on my previous images I tried to be more cognizant of the color balance. I also find myself thinking more intentionally about composition.

As always all comments and critiques are welcome. crying

Capture Info:
82 mm
f11 @ 1/60 sec
ISO 100

Processing Info:
TK's luminosity and saturation masks as well as his cloud sharpening action (low pass filter) to enhance the texture in the landscape. Also adjusted color balance to reduce some of the cyan / magenta color caste.

Comments

11 comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on December 18, 2016 at 10:54 PM

Brian, you've got some great light here that really shows off the shapes well. I too see the bird's foot.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Dave Dillemuth on December 19, 2016 at 11:50 AM

Nice isolation of these rugged ridgelines. The warm lighting is beautiful. This is minor but I might burn down those bright spots in the lower right.

Registered on December 10, 2015, 104 Posts, 1112 Comments

Comment posted by Kathy Barnhart on December 19, 2016 at 11:56 AM

Beautiful light and shadows, plus the textures are great! Colors are natural and gorgeous. This almost looks like an aerial photo, but is probably taken from one of the rims. I would burn down the bright spot in the lower right corner, but this is an inviting and warm look even without that.

Registered on November 11, 2011, 404 Posts, 1639 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on December 19, 2016 at 11:59 AM

Brian, Quite an impressive view! The light and shadow here makes for more of a dramatic view which I like very much. The large version really works for me.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI.

Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments

Comment posted by scott lanz on December 19, 2016 at 8:51 PM

I like the interplay of light and shadow and the bird's eye view of the GC, Brian. Excellent.

Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on December 20, 2016 at 11:42 AM

Brian,

Of Light and shadow, indeed. That pretty much sums this up - and quite well. I think you did a great job processing to handle both the shadows and highlights. Although my minor nit is the brightness of the small rock face in the lower right. Of course it's a direct hit by the sun, but I think some selective burning of that, and the ridge flowing to the edge of the frame would help a little.

The large view is excellent! And I too can see the foot of a bird.

Lon

Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments

Comment posted by Ed Lowe on December 21, 2016 at 4:00 PM

The interplay of light and shadow works beautifully in the large version as they help accentuate the shapes, textures and details in this beautiful landscape, Brian. I too see the birds foot. My only suggestion would be to tone down those couple of hot spots in the LLC. I think the slight magenta cast would probably work for this scene as well.

Ed

Registered on February 7, 2004, 414 Posts, 7115 Comments

Comment posted by Genny K. on December 22, 2016 at 12:40 AM

I like it. You found a great vantage point, and it really brings out the sharpness of the rocks. I would even like to see more of the reddish rocks at the top, but there may be other issues why that doesn't work. At any rate, this is lovely.

Registered on June 5, 2006, 132 Posts, 2001 Comments

Comment posted by Harry Lichtman on December 23, 2016 at 8:26 AM

Beautiful lighting, and shadows - might have gone a little tighter on the bottom so the canyons were not cut off, which might also fix the issue of those hot rock faces. Might create a more abstract image, so that may not have been your intent. I was out there in Nov. and found this type of image a great challenge, as it is never clear where to crop the comp. - something interesting was always left out, but you do the best you can. Nice job on this one.

Registered on September 17, 2010, 304 Posts, 3507 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Schrayer on July 30, 2017 at 6:44 PM

Registered on May 28, 2004, 114 Posts, 2890 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Schrayer on July 31, 2017 at 10:23 PM

Registered on May 28, 2004, 114 Posts, 2890 Comments