After starting over again with the RAW, I fixed the color issue by simply not messing with the White Balance. ;) I cropped it down to a square'ish format, applied the local contrast boost that John had suggested and sharpened it a bit for the web.
Someone had mentioned that it looked a little tilted (CCW). I checked that as well.
I don't like what the compression seems to be doing to the tree and brighter rocks, but what can you do?
Suggestions, comments, and/or severe scrutiny ;) welcome.
This is a goregous image. I think I might personally like a little crop from the right as that seems to help draw my into the main canyon instead of wondering to the right. Its a great image as is though, love that lone tree
Man, does this pop now!
The improvements here make this a much more compelling image than your original version.
Still one of the more original shots I've seen from Bryce. Nice work, Keith!
Wow, HUGE difference! Night and freakin' day! The tree even stands out a little bit, although I don't think it means all that much to the image. This one's all about light and shadow, and now, color!
Don't worry too much about compression issues. It happens to all of us with such detail-intensive photos. It actually looks fine to me in that respect. And isn't that really what it's all about, how things look to me?
It still looks really tilted CCW to me (see preceding line), and even if it's not but just appears so due to the elements in the photo, it'd be wise to rotate it clockwise some, since perception becomes reality in such a situation. Other than that, congrats! But how do YOU think it looks now, compared to what you posted before?
Really nice improvement between posts. The tree does show up nicely. Good colors in the hoodoos.
As for the tilt, I agree with Todd and John. Given a lack of additional information people will tend to expect vertical canyon walls and a tree to grow straight-up. In the middle of the image the hoodoos are skewed to the frame's edge. Thus, the image appears rotated CCW.
Posted by Keith Johnson on April 5, 2010 at 11:30 PM
Thanks so much for all of the feedback. After looking at the same image for so long you start noticing all the flaws and everything starts to look wrong so it's very encouraging that the difference is noticeable.
As per what most have mentioned about the apparent CCW tilt, I will rotate it CW and repost to this thread to see if it looks better... so watch for it.
Todd asked what I thought about the difference now. I must say that I was surprised by the difference in products. I'm also thankful for the honest commentary and helpful suggestions here at NPN. So thanks again to everyone for your integrity!
--
Keith
Posted by Keith Johnson on April 5, 2010 at 11:46 PM
Here's a quick repost that reflects two of the suggestions that I received in this thread. I cropped in a little more from the right and I rotated the image .7 CW.
I think that perception is important and it does "look" better rotated. Think it's enough?
Posted by Todd Caudle on April 5, 2010 at 11:51 PM
Keep going. The clock looks like it's at about 11:15 right now. Midnight's not too far away.
Posted by Todd Caudle on April 6, 2010 at 12:05 AM
Check this out. The white lines are level. The yellow lines are just a duplicate of the white lines rotated CCW 6 degrees. The pale blue lines are just added so that you can see how they line up with some prominent features in the image. Look at the trees in the distance, for instance (hey, it rhymes!), for further confirmation. Technically, I think 5 or 5½ degrees of clockwise correction would do the trick.
Good visual advice.
You'll probably have to start from the original as you're gonna lose plenty with that rotation.
Looking forward to seeing a final result!
Much better. As Todd said, this is all about light and shadow. Really nice work
Posted by Keith Johnson on April 6, 2010 at 11:44 AM
Thanks again, Everyone. I'll plan on posting the final in ESS.
Posted by Jamie Botdorf on April 9, 2010 at 12:45 PM
I like this shot quite a bit. For me, though, the tree is an important part of the story. I think you can crop in closer and still keep a sense of the canyon depth, light/shadow, etc. I would crop more off the top, off the right and a little of the bottom and left so that the lone tree ends up a little more prominent (larger) and right at the top/rhs intersection of the tic-tac-toe board. In the end, though, it's more important that the image convey your vision. It's a great shot now matter how you slice it. You've reminded me how much I'd like to get back to Bryce.
Keith,
I am headed for Bryce the end of next week. Where were you taking this photograph from, and what time of the day? This is a wonderful shot!!! I plan on being in the area for a couple of days.
Jon Lesch
jonlesch@comcast.net
Discussion
19 repliesSomeone had mentioned that it looked a little tilted (CCW). I checked that as well.
I don't like what the compression seems to be doing to the tree and brighter rocks, but what can you do?
Suggestions, comments, and/or severe scrutiny ;) welcome.
--
Keith
The improvements here make this a much more compelling image than your original version.
Still one of the more original shots I've seen from Bryce. Nice work, Keith!
Don't worry too much about compression issues. It happens to all of us with such detail-intensive photos. It actually looks fine to me in that respect. And isn't that really what it's all about, how things look to me?
It still looks really tilted CCW to me (see preceding line), and even if it's not but just appears so due to the elements in the photo, it'd be wise to rotate it clockwise some, since perception becomes reality in such a situation. Other than that, congrats! But how do YOU think it looks now, compared to what you posted before?
I know it probably isn't, but I can't shake the perception that it is.
Really nice improvement between posts. The tree does show up nicely. Good colors in the hoodoos.
As for the tilt, I agree with Todd and John. Given a lack of additional information people will tend to expect vertical canyon walls and a tree to grow straight-up. In the middle of the image the hoodoos are skewed to the frame's edge. Thus, the image appears rotated CCW.
As per what most have mentioned about the apparent CCW tilt, I will rotate it CW and repost to this thread to see if it looks better... so watch for it.
Todd asked what I thought about the difference now. I must say that I was surprised by the difference in products. I'm also thankful for the honest commentary and helpful suggestions here at NPN. So thanks again to everyone for your integrity!
--
Keith
I think that perception is important and it does "look" better rotated. Think it's enough?
You'll probably have to start from the original as you're gonna lose plenty with that rotation.
Looking forward to seeing a final result!
I am headed for Bryce the end of next week. Where were you taking this photograph from, and what time of the day? This is a wonderful shot!!! I plan on being in the area for a couple of days.
Jon Lesch
jonlesch@comcast.net