One from the Moab Photography Symposium last weekend. Mill Creek canyon, just as the sun was going down behind the canyon rim. The reflected light from the opposite wall was incredible.
This is a great composition at a spot that I think most people would pass right by. I think you could make this pop with a Levels adjustment (move right slider left), an S-Curve, and maybe an Unsharp Mask set at about 10%, 50 pixels, 0 levels.
This is creative and wonderful, Dan! Really engages my senses. The folks at the Symposium would be proud of you.
Grant's advice is spot on for making this 'pop'. Excellent work!
The bottom half of this image is incredible and that's where my interest lies. In that light, I think a crop from the top at the point where the dry rocks in the upper left meet the water that's flowing horizontally, would really enhance the image. Great eye on this one, Dan.
Thanks. I worked with Grant's suggestions, edited the levels, added a little contrast with curves. Instead of using an unsharp mask I used high pass and brought the opacity down, then used a mask to reduce even further in areas. I ran into an interesting thing; I was working with virtual copies in LR, and noticed that with the WB as shot, the rock was blue, and the highlights had a blue cast. Thinking back, the rock was blue, but despite everything I tried I couldn't get rid of the blue cast in the highlights. Then it hit, one of my VCs had the highlights I wanted, the other had the blue rock. The only difference - WB.. I opened both copies in PS as layers, and used a mask to brush in the WB I wanted as appropriate. Great way to handle mixed light frames!
Oh man...what a wonderful difference your thoughtful editing made in this image!! One of the best reposts I've seen here.
This just glows now, and the rock holds even more appeal and color contrast. Way to go, Dan!
I can see cropping at least an inch from the top to the edge of the creek on the left.
This really puts the focus on the top tier of the creek where the real beauty lies, and still leaves enough rapids to be of interest without leading one's eye out of the picture.
Great editing. I agree with cropping off the top. The amount of white in the creek leads my eye out of the frame. See what you think of the image when you crop down to where the rocky surface begins on the left.
Nice to see some of your work from that afternoon. I'm not ecstatic about anything I shot that day, but was glad to meet you and Michael and the others, and get introduced to Mill Creek Canyon.
I wouldn't have recognized it on its own, but I think the second image is stronger for the removal of some of the greenish cast. It's a good catch to have seen the contrast between the cool and warm tones.
Discussion
12 repliesOne from the Moab Photography Symposium last weekend. Mill Creek canyon, just as the sun was going down behind the canyon rim. The reflected light from the opposite wall was incredible.
dan
Grant's advice is spot on for making this 'pop'. Excellent work!
This is the result.
dan
This just glows now, and the rock holds even more appeal and color contrast. Way to go, Dan!
I can see cropping at least an inch from the top to the edge of the creek on the left.
This really puts the focus on the top tier of the creek where the real beauty lies, and still leaves enough rapids to be of interest without leading one's eye out of the picture.
Nice to see some of your work from that afternoon. I'm not ecstatic about anything I shot that day, but was glad to meet you and Michael and the others, and get introduced to Mill Creek Canyon.
I wouldn't have recognized it on its own, but I think the second image is stronger for the removal of some of the greenish cast. It's a good catch to have seen the contrast between the cool and warm tones.
Best,
Mark.