Tatahatso (+Repost)

This viewpoint of an entrenched meander of the Colorado River in Marble Canyon is slowly turning into one of my favorite places to visit. It's miles away from anywhere in the stark desert of NE Arizona. Dark skies are superb and the closest people may be river rafters camping on the beaches just below. Best part is that you can drive right up to the edge!
On this particular evening, I thought that two smoky controlled fires on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon would wreck any chances of shooting a sunset, and as the sun sank below the horizon it was looking like a dud. I left my tripod up for a possible sunrise and walked back to my vehicle 10 yards away to settle in for the evening. A quick glance over my shoulder back to the canyon changed my mind in a hurry, though!
Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

The "glow" in this image is surreal. Nothing like it I have ever seen. Could be one of those "once in a lifetime" shots at that location. Be thankful for some prescribed fire control. Makes one wonder now if I should actually schedule some trips to certain locals based on fire activity.
The only suggestion I possibly could have is sent me the original RAW image

I'm speechless...good thing I'm typing. Stunning image John. This has certainly been a fall for spectacular sunsets and you've captured one of the nicest. Course, the location doesn't hurt. Thanks for sharing.

Doesn't get any better than that, John....Ive never seen anything like it.
Joe Rogers

Amazing shot John, not only the great sky, but also the detail in the canyon.

This is a beautiful image John, I have wanted to shoot here since seeing Doug's and your images from here last year I believe. That glow is really nice, and the dark reds really give this an awesome mood. What was your setup like for this image? Lens, exposure, etc...?

Thanks for the kind words. The glow in the canyon from the skies only lasted for a few minutes and I was lucky to capture it.
Peter, I used a 16-35 lens (16mm) at f16 with two exposures...one for the sky and one for the canyon itself.

Beautiful image John: The right place, the right time and the right photographer .. A perfect mix. Thanks for sharing.

I like the shot overall, but I'll be the bad guy and say that the shot feels "off" to me. I think the sky has been done a bit too dark and makes the shot look unrealistic IMO. Sorry for sounding harsh, just my 2 cents. I'd really like to see a second version with a lighter sky, the comp and conditions are there.

John, I can't imagine anything I can say or write that everyone else hasn't already posted.

I do appreciate the feedback, Joshua. I'll have a look at that later in the day. Thanks!

Boy, this certainly adds to your great collection of images from this location. You did pretty well with what was undoubtably a tough blend. To a point, I agree with Joshua on this though. I think the issue is with the landscape portion near the horizon. Its real dark on the left hand side, but pretty light on the right. If you can rework it to make it more even and overall darker as you lead to the horizon (using the gradient tool perhaps), I think the transition to the sky would be better. I hope this makes sense. Regardless, you've got a killer image here.

Thanks a lot for the feedback, Guy!

You are the master...an amazing image.

Excellent as always. Really like the cactus in the foreground. Quoting David you are a "Master" when it comes to photographing the South West. Always look forward to your post. Keep up the great work!

Woah, what an epic viewpoint! I love your centered cactus foreground too. I was going to comment about the blend as well, along the lines of Joshua and Guy. Just feels like a bit of a disconnect in the processing between the sky and the canyon. Brightening the sky would help. Awesome shot, in any case!

A ton of impact with this one, John! Wow, does it ever jump off the screen. I think you could even crop some of the sky. The canyon part is just SO STRONG! And, is there a halo on the left side above the ridge, or is it just haze from the smoke?

I think you're real close on this one, but I have to agree with Joshua W. and Guy. I believe there's lots of potential in this image. Let me know when you plan to go back to Tatahatso, I'd love to meet up!

I greatly appreciate the many suggestions I received here. That's why I post images here primarily.

The fire smoke caused the ridge on the horizon to appear lighter, but I realize that this caused a visual 'disconnect', so I went ahead and darkened them a bit. Also lightened up the black clouds some. Wish I could post a larger one now with that darker grey background. Oh, well...
Thanks again for the input, and any further suggestions are much appreciated!

Hi John, I’m late to the game with this very cool image. Overall I agree with most of the earlier constructive critique concerning the sky vs foreground blend. The repost is certainly better and basically processed as well as this low light scene can be replicated through the camera lens. That’s a very spectacular view. I’ve seen the view before and have to say I prefer a more zoomed in comp. I’m not buying the cactus; I find it and the skinny horizontal run of rock distracting from a potentially massive Vista image. A zoomed in comp concentrates on the majesty of that gnarled, carved up canyon in ridiculous light. Maybe that’s the Iconic comp I’m used to, who knows. If so, then more power to you for stepping outside the box. I think your wide version does work considering the huge sequence of leading lines to the u shaped river bend. But it’s the river bend that really gets my attention and my eye has to work a little harder to flow into the center of the image and finally spot the exciting interest.

I’m wondering if your camera was set to shoot that wide version all evening? If you’re like me, I tend to fall in love with sky fireworks and make the foreground second priority; often shooting too freaking wide…because I can, thus I end up regretting. I sense you had this wide comp in mind with your photography expertise but thought I would ask, just to ensure I’m not the only one that falls in love with a brilliant, last second evening sunset.

Last second thought, nice job controlling those sky highlights!

As always you inspire, thanks for sharing.

Kane

Also late to the commenting.

That's wonderful light on those cliffs. It must have been amazing to be there. I guess I'll be the lone dissenting voice that I prefer a darker, more ominous sky. Perhaps I'm just used to the images from days past, when we were using 3-stop neutral grads...

I think I agree with Kane that my eye is drawn to the wonderful meander in the center of the image; I might try to draw the eye in to that spot with some subtle curves and color work. I'd set up a mask in PS that's based on a circular gradient, then add a little brightness to the center and darker at the edges, bump the contrast a tiny bit in the center and back off the contrast at the edges, and add a few points of warmth in the center and a few points of blue at the edges. None very strong; probably only 2 or 3 points. Nothing that a viewer would consciously notice.

Nice shot. Worth the drive, eh?...

Kane,
I don't subscribe to the notion of including a foreground just for the sake of having one. But this place is basically a 'one trick pony' for compositions and I thought I would try something new. I do wish I had moved a bit one way or the other and captured one without the foreground now. It is a grand vista, after all.

Mark,
Thanks for the interesting suggestions! They sound good to me and I'll definitely look into them. Yeah....well worth the drive!!

I like the sinister red light. The north rim at the juntion with the plateau floor seems too light, as does the far canyon wall (center left) right above where the river curves left downstream. I like the cactus and foreground edge.

Awesome!