Hisatsinom

'Hisatsinom' is the Hopi word for 'Ancient Ones'.
These Hopi clan symbol petroglyphs located in NE Arizona are estimated to be about 400 years old.
Located on the top of a rectangular boulder about 3 ft. wide with a 6 ft. dropoff on all sides, there would be no evening star photography from this perch last night!!

Any advice would be appreciated!


Canon 5DII w/ 17-40 lens @ 17mm
1/15 sec. @ f16 ISO 100

Very nice! Those petroglyphs look well preserved!

John, I really like how you presented this. I don't think there would be any better way of presenting this to display the images and size to tell the story. Beatiful work as usual.

Freakin' amazing - both the petroglyphs and the image. I see no way this could be improved upon, John. Really fantastic image.

I agree with Bret. The rock with the petroglyphs carries you right through the image. Nice work John.

I really like the direct approach to tricky geometry of the petroglyphs (i.e. end on). I understand the reason for keeping the rising line of the rocks to the top right, but wonder if cropping 3/4" off the top might not keep the viewer's focus even more on the petroglyphs?

(Also like the Bisti egg-style rock in the mid-ground, just to the right...)

John, I'll agree with those who say the image is excellent, "as-is." I would not crop anything off the top; as soon as your eye sees those petroglyphs, everything else in the image becomes secondary. The color and the mood are outstanding.

This is wonderful, John. I love the way you've composed this. I can't believe your 17-40 holds up this well at 17mm. Mine turns to mush.

These are amazing petroglyphs John, and you have photographed and presented them remarkably. The comp., DOF, and colours all come together to make a great image!.

John, wonderful composition of a precious gift left for us by those gone before. Thanks for sharing your enormous talent.

Really nice John! I like the perspective you took this from, works well with the lineal petroglyphs, and that you included some of the surrounding area to give them context.

Very cool! I like the way you use it to lead you into the image. Great idea! You have some very dark areas right where the land meets the sky and these draw my eyes away from the main subject. Fix this and you'll have another winner.

Awesome panel! I think I'd prefer it cropped from the top to just above the clouds. As it is, I feel like the lead in sends my eye right up through the clouds and I get stuck in the empty sky. With a crop, I think my eye would be more inclined to pause at the clouds and then roam back down through the boulders to the panel.

Sharp from front to end. Well done.

Thanks for all the kind words and great advice...I really appreciate it!!

First thing I noticed was the GREAT composition. Well done. Dynamic presentation of the subject matter. Second thing I noticed, the harsh dark areas at the blend transition - which Erik noted. Easy fix, I think. FWIW, I find color range selections to be a fairly easy way to work with those types of tricky edges.

That slab is like a big diving board into the wide open sky. It's a nice secondary effect of the image. The dynamic composition of the lower half prevents the sky from dominating the photo - in my opinion. No doubt your eye gets pulled up there easily ... but the effect really enhances the image.

You could also try some midtone dodging around the top of the slab, to provide more separation between foreground/background - but that's a very subjective thought.

Another winner, John!
Joe Rogers

Great shot! The composition is the real winner in this photo.

That is just a great shot! It has it all. Comp, light, mood, mystery, and the glyph is amazing.

Awesome image John! A little more clouds would be nice, but of course you'd have to talk to Stan about that. I have no processing advice to offer since your skills far outweigh mine. Yet again another great location that you know of.

yeah--like i have luck with clouds!
Looks great, John--terrific angle and great clarity! wouldnt change a thing.

Very neat image!! I may lighten the prominent petroglyph rock ever so slightly to draw more attention to it and give it some separation...Cool,,,,, Joe.

Awesome shot John!! It's very nicely done in all aspects.