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Wupatki

Discussion

12 replies
Posted by Doug Koepsel on May 20, 2011 at 11:42 AM
Wupatki
After the 3 days of rain, sleet and snow, I made a dawn visit this morning to Lomaki Ruin at Wupatki NM to catch the last of the clouds and new snow on the peaks. I will post two, the second being at sunrise as the peaks were being lit. Preferences? Feel free to post any suggestions and nits about either. Thanks.
Posted by Doug Koepsel on May 20, 2011 at 11:43 AM
The second, with the sunrise light.
Posted by Jackson Frishman on May 20, 2011 at 11:54 AM
I like the first one, Doug, with the pink in the sky and the better detail in those awesome clouds. And let me say, this is probably one of my favorite ruin shots I've ever seen! It can be so hard to fit a ruin into its landscape context, but you've succeeded with flying colors here.
Posted by Robert Park on May 20, 2011 at 12:06 PM
Doug,

That is a tough place to get a real meaningful shot. The Pano does it justice.
Posted by Jack Brauer on May 20, 2011 at 12:55 PM
Ditto everything Jackson said! My preference is the first one, mainly because the ruin is definitely the center of attention there (in the second shot, the alpenglowing mountains steal some of the focus of attention).
Posted by Tom Stermitz on May 20, 2011 at 2:04 PM
I like the second one because the color in the mountains balances with the color in the ruins. To emphasize this, I might take an inch of the right and a half inch off the left.
Posted by Scott Fricke on May 20, 2011 at 2:27 PM
I like the first one, mostly for the tonal values of the image. Also the sunlit mountains in the second one tend to steer your eye away from the ruin.
Posted by Bill Brennan on May 20, 2011 at 3:53 PM
Agree on #1. More contrast and focal point is clear. Wondering if a little additional post processing would help to strengthen #2.

Bill Brennan
Posted by Dave Showalter` on May 20, 2011 at 3:55 PM
Flip a coin, they're both excellent.
Posted by John Mumaw on May 20, 2011 at 4:56 PM
Tough call, but I think that Jackson nailed it with his comments, especially concerning the ruins in context with the landscape.
I really like that aspect of this image!
Also, Tom's crop idea is a good one. The tree on the right doesn't add enough to take up that much space.
Fine work here, Doug!
Posted by Doug Koepsel on May 20, 2011 at 5:05 PM
My preference is for the first, but I value your thoughts. In the second, I think the ruin and grassland may be too dark, so here is a revision of #2.

edit- just noticed this revision is from a frame between 1 and 2, with a little less sun on the peaks.
Posted by John Mumaw on May 20, 2011 at 7:50 PM
The ruin and grasslands weren't too dark at all with #2. I thought it was perfect, in fact. It was early morning, after all. This version looks quite a bit too bright, IMO.
Posted by Stan Rose on May 20, 2011 at 8:31 PM
The original #2, by a mile!! pink clouds always trump white...