Been a long time since I posted anything, thats because I haven't shot anything in a while. Finally got to go out and shoot today with Peter Coskun to catch some monsoon action that was rolling into town. Was hoping for a spectacular sunset, but this is what I ended up getting. This is the three sisters formation near the Peralta trailhead in the Superstition mountains.
Canon 5D II w/ 17-40mm
f/22
1/25sec
ISO 50
All comments and critique are appreciated.
Thanks!
I like the backlit cactus front and center in the foreground, but little else appeals to me. Granted that this was a pretty difficult looking exposure, but I think you might agree.
The blown out area of the sky has improved greatly from your original version, but it's still a distraction.
Haloing along the edges of the monoliths near the center are pretty pronounced.
The b&w version magnifies all those flaws, I'm afraid.
The only reason that I'm so critical here is that you're an excellent photographer with a portfolio of images from Arizona that are second to none in my book. This image doesn't quite match the quality of that collection.
This is big improvement over the first post from John's link of the original. Since this was shot at sunset I think you could warm it up even more and pull a little more color out of certain areas. I would probably try and pull a little more detail out of the dark areas as well. Overall a complicated image and you put the elements together very well. Love the foreground cactus. The sky is gorgeous and the sunstar a great focal point. Nice shot Chikku.
Posted by Chikku Baiju on July 5, 2012 at 10:53 PM
Thank you John for you honest opinion. Appreciate it a lot. Looks like I just missed the halo parts while I was fixing the sky. Also thank you for your kind words about my work. Its just been a really long time(last year) since I did any proper shooting in the desert, so I think my "eye" just lost touch. I will be shooting more in the coming weeks and I hope to get back to by old standard
Here is a repost with the halo fixed and the sky burned down just a bit more near the blown out area. Hope this is a little better.
I agree that this is a difficult technical shot, and am impressed that you pulled it off as well as you have. I much prefer the color version, and the repost is a notable improvement. The merger of the cactus and rock formation silhouettes on the left is problematic for me. Might be easier to look past if the sunstar wasn't there pulling the eye in that direction. It looks like there's a hint of warm light on the left edge of the cactus, and if there's anyway to amplify that, I think it would provide helpful separation.
Possibly along the lines of Dean's comments, the one small dark area in the sky just above the large rock formation catches my eye. Not a deal-breaker, but I might try to dodge that a little.
Hmmm. I'm in the minority so far but I'm just not feeling the color version of this image at all. There's not enough saturation, color variation or "Arizona warmth" to hold my interest. However, I like everything about the b&w treatment of this image more than the color. The glow on the cholla seems more accentuated, I don't mind the deep shadows of the rock formations, including on the left (not much you can do about the cactus), and the highlights on the top half of the frame don't seem too blown out to me - actually I like the contrast of the clouds and sky. To me, the b&w takes better advantage of the conditions you were working with.
Discussion
6 repliesBeen a long time since I posted anything, thats because I haven't shot anything in a while. Finally got to go out and shoot today with Peter Coskun to catch some monsoon action that was rolling into town. Was hoping for a spectacular sunset, but this is what I ended up getting. This is the three sisters formation near the Peralta trailhead in the Superstition mountains.
Canon 5D II w/ 17-40mm
f/22
1/25sec
ISO 50
All comments and critique are appreciated.
Thanks!
The blown out area of the sky has improved greatly from your original version, but it's still a distraction.
Haloing along the edges of the monoliths near the center are pretty pronounced.
The b&w version magnifies all those flaws, I'm afraid.
The only reason that I'm so critical here is that you're an excellent photographer with a portfolio of images from Arizona that are second to none in my book. This image doesn't quite match the quality of that collection.
Here is a repost with the halo fixed and the sky burned down just a bit more near the blown out area. Hope this is a little better.
Possibly along the lines of Dean's comments, the one small dark area in the sky just above the large rock formation catches my eye. Not a deal-breaker, but I might try to dodge that a little.