A distorted Castle Valley (+1)

I've tried correcting the distortion in this shot, but its just too much. I still like the elements in the shot and I wonder if it still works even with the distortion -- like a fisheye view. For what its worth it was taken with a Canon 24mm 2.8. Thanks!

To be honest, this one doesn't work for me. The distortion is distracting and the lighting and clouds aren't dramatic enough to make it interesting in spite of the distortion.

Thanks, Grant. I was looking for some thoughts outside my own head.

I've got to concur with Grant on this one, Paul.

Thanks Bret, I guess I will try again this year to get a decent shot of the valley.

Well, I had one other image that I worked on to try and minimize the distortion factor -- does this one work any better? Its killin me because I really like this area and I have yet to translate it into an image.

The distortion like this is easily fixed using Photoshop. I use it on occasion when I'm shooting architectural photos. Select > All, then Edit > Transform > Perspective and grab one of the upper (right or left) handles and pull outwards. See the results above. I have to agree with the others as far as the impact of the shot. Perhaps just capturing the right-hand portion would make a nice image?

Ken

Hi Paul,

Don't give up on this location - there's definitely a worthy image hiding there!

I like your alternative shot better. It might be improved by cropping out much of the "negative space" (black shadow). You're definitely zeroing in on something.

Ken

Thanks Ken. I tried that method in photoshop, but it just didn't look "right" to me. I'll play around with some crops of the 2nd image -- it isn't nearly as dark on the non-web version. I may have to make a stop there in a couple weeks to have another go at it. Thanks again-

Paul

I do like the 2nd shot a bit more.

This time of year the sun goes behind a mesa before sunset, so you don't get light on Castleton Tower at sunset. So it's generally best photographed at sunset in the summer.

Hey Paul. Large format is calling you... bwaaaahahahaha

4X5 would make quick work of this perspective problem with some front rise.

Or for about the same price, you could resolve your issue by switching to a 24TSE.

But I'd also say that the second image is more interesting because there is more texture in the shot.

The second image is very nice, Paul. Better light, less distortion and even a better composition. There are tons of great images in Castle Valley and the more you explore, the more you will find.

Thanks for the input everyone. I am starting to realize the value of having a lens that is capable of movements, and I think there may be a T/S lens of some kind in my future......

Paul, you might want to give DxO Optics Pro a test drive. It allows you to draw two vertical lines that should be parallel to each other, and it does the rest. Since I'm in the Vegas mode, here is a shot of a badly distorted Excalibur that I fixed using this software.

Your second shot is much more appealing to me.
The increased cloud cover helps the sky a lot.

What focal length did you use on #2 ?

Thanks, Chad -- I checked out DxO and it seems that only the expensive version supports the 5D and I'm not sure if I ready to blow $300 more on software. I'll keep it mind for the future, though.
Bill, the 2nd shot I took with the Tamron 28-75 @ 35mm I think. I suspect I had the camera tilted up and that may be the cause of the distortion issue.

I'm quite certain you must have had that 24mm tilted upward to get that kind of distortion.
I only have the 24mm TS-E. It does not show any noticeable distortion when kept level.