Posted by Ryan Wright on December 13, 2012 at 12:21 AM
Hey everyone,
It seems like forever since I've posted anything on here! I went to Spain for 3 weeks in November and then after Thanksgiving, I went with a friend down to Moab and Page for a week. Whew, it's good to be back in Boulder.
Before I talk about any of the photos, a fair warning; I went to all the cliche or as some say "iconic" location because I've never been before. I won't be offended If you don't want to see photos of Dead Horse Point, Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend or Mesa Arch.
That said, I had an excellent time and we even got some great light as Arches! Being in Moab was awesome, it has always been on my list but I've never been down there before. Hiked around a fair bit in Arches, and really enjoyed the park. I didn't get to see much of Canyonlands (I feel like most people could say that), but what I did see was very beautiful (and rugged).
I have a cousin who lives in Page and she's been telling me to come down there for a few years now, and now I can't wait til I go back. Yes, I shelled out $70 for the "photographers" tour of Upper Antelope. Seeing the canyon with my own eyes was a real treat though. I know photographers who despise Antelope Canyon but it was a lot of fun to shoot! We did the Horseshoe Bend at sunset (got to help out with a wedding shoot too), and took a few panos of Lake Powell the next evening at sunset.
We then headed back to Moab and shot photos of The Windows and Turret Arch at sunset, and then went back to do Double Arch at night. The next morning we went out to Mesa Arch and wrapped up our trip freezing our butts off waiting for the sun to come up. The temp. was a balmy 12F in Moab on Monday morning.
Here's some of the photos!
Posted by Ryan Wright on December 13, 2012 at 12:21 AM
#2
Posted by Ryan Wright on December 13, 2012 at 12:22 AM
#3
Posted by Ryan Wright on December 13, 2012 at 12:22 AM
#4
Posted by Ryan Wright on December 13, 2012 at 12:23 AM
#5
Posted by Ryan Wright on December 13, 2012 at 12:24 AM
#6
Posted by Ryan Wright on December 13, 2012 at 12:26 AM
I'm still working on #6, I'm reblending it to get rid of the halo-ing and "flat" look in Turret Arch. The compression made the highlights in the Antelope Canyon one appear grey for some reason.
Posted by Bob Falcone on December 13, 2012 at 12:54 AM
Iconic shots or not, they all look very nice. Sounds like you had a great trip!
Posted by Joe Rogers on December 13, 2012 at 9:48 AM
As has been said many time before. Icons are Icons for a reason. I hasnt been that long ago that I saw these areas for the first time and despite having seen many images prior I was blown away by seeing them in person...In fact, I would go back to any of them any time.
Joe Rogers
I'm also in the "Icons are icons for a reason" camp. Why would anyone limit their personal shooting just because the location is very popular? Nice collection of images here.
Posted by Karl Buiter on December 13, 2012 at 11:03 AM
I'd say you did very well with these iconic shots.
So how far out were you at Horseshoe - I am seeing lots of foreground cliff
Posted by Scott Fricke on December 13, 2012 at 11:37 AM
Great collection of images Ryan! I have to say my favorite is #6, I haven't seen many sunset images of this location. The comp is great with the sunlit rocks in the foreground and the sunstar. I agree with your assessment on reworking Turret Arch it is so much brighter than the face of North Window Arch which are both in shade and parallel with each other. Nice work all around, sounds like it was a great trip.
Posted by Bret Edge on December 13, 2012 at 5:00 PM
These are all great, Ryan. That photo of Turret Arch through North Window is one of the best and most unique I've ever seen. Not easy to come away from that location with something different but you succeeded!
Posted by Ryan Wright on December 13, 2012 at 6:03 PM
Thanks guys! Bret, it would have been nice to meet up with you but you looked pretty busy being famous. I'd love to meet up sometime. Karl, I wasn't too far out it's a 5 shot vertical pano, I would have liked to be out further but there was a woman who was being awfully impatient with me "taking" her spot.
Also thanks for not giving me grief for shooting these locations, I would have loved to explore more but time and schedules dictated otherwise. I'm excited to go back to Page and shoot Lower Antelope and Water Holes Canyons.
Posted by Joshua Hardin on December 13, 2012 at 8:13 PM
Fun trip! Great treatment on all of these "icons." However, the Double Arch startrails image really stands out to me. It's perfectly executed and processed. Not an easy thing to do at this location!
Posted by Ryan Wright on December 14, 2012 at 8:00 PM
I re-edited #6 and I'm liking this result much better. The halo-ing isn't as strong and I recovered some of the details from Turret Arch without it being too blown out. What do y'all think?
Posted by Stan Rose on December 14, 2012 at 9:46 PM
Nice collection, Ryan! My fav is definitely the repost #6--great perspective!
Posted by Kane Engelbert on December 14, 2012 at 10:21 PM
Hi Ryan, I like the glow on the foreground rocks a lot better in the first image. I think when you revealed your sun star and detail with Turret Arch in the second image you lost that special glow. To be honest, I see a little more dark halo above the Window Arch in the second image on my monitor compared to the first.
The following is pure critique Ryan. I love your passion to improve your photography and as a result your images keep getting better and better. In fact, after that lovely rushing stream image you shot from RMNP a few months ago it crossed my mind that we should get together sometime and meet at Dream Lake. So take the following with a grain of salt.
I'm not sure what blending technique you’re using whether it’s a hand blend in PS or blending software, but if I had to guess, you’re using blending software. The following is a moot point if you’re hand blending. Blending software’s work, and certainly have a place in my workflow, in fact I recently used Photomatix for a series of Zion images that turned out great. But they work better when blending multiple exposures of medium dynamic range scenes. However, most of them struggle making huge dynamic range scenes come together. Your scene is a huge dynamic range of extreme highlights vs shadows. With blending software you have a decision to make with this image and I think it shows with both images, go with the foreground glow or go with the sunstar that shows more detail on Turret Arch. With a hand blend, you get the best of both worlds. Tell tale signs of a blending software would be washed out skies; where a dark exposure (your sun star image) is blended into a properly exposed sky. Thus that brilliant blue, properly exposed sky image is forced to take on the blacks of the underexposed sky to make the transition to a smooth gradient for your eyes. In return we get washed out, almost gray skies. Gray skies are not pretty in my opinion, and make a cloudless sky even more unappealing. Never underestimate the power of a properly exposed sky. Thus, hand blends will have the advantage here; you can keep your blue sky and just blend in the highlights. Some will tell you to just add more exposures layers into the software, sure, but if it doesn’t come together with 3…maybe 4 then its not gonna work.
All in all I think the image is a work in progress, or if you like it better, then the image is complete, and that’s all that counts…You are the artist!
Posted by John Mumaw on December 14, 2012 at 11:18 PM
Kane is a hard act to follow, but follow I must.
No grief from me for capturing icons. I think you did a fine job, too. Where you took some chances (#'s 5 & 6) are my favorites. I also like the soft pastels you captured at Dead Horse Point quite a lot.
I really like the divergent star trails and the sheer number of them in #5.. Very creative capture! I think that you could slightly darken and warm up the brightest parts of the arch.
I love the composition of #6. I like what the repost fixed with the sunstar, but I prefer the brightness of the landscape (esp. the foreground rocks!) in the original.
Posted by Ryan Wright on December 15, 2012 at 3:39 AM
Thank you for commenting everyone, I truly do want to learn to become a better photographer.
Critique is a lost art. Its something our western culture doesn't like anymore because it can be taken as harsh. After all, I'm trying my best right? However, I love critique. I would rather get one thorough comment from Kane (or whomever else) that points out the shortcomings of a particular image, than get loads and loads of comments saying "beautiful photo". In my work as a graphic designer, I rarely got critiqued and therefore became stagnant. So Kane, I appreciate your honesty and your critique and I would love to meet up to shoot with you sometime.
That said, I did attempt to hand blend the exposures. I'm still very much a newbie at this practice and this is definitely not A game. I'm following a tutorial I downloaded from Chip Phillips' website about hand blending exposures and I need more practice. I do agree with your points still.
The main reason I joined NPN was exactly for this (well, actually to meet others who have a passion for outdoor and nature photography too). Flickr, 500px, Facebook, Twitter, G+ and just about every other social network is great for a pat on the back but rarely anything else. Thank you!
Posted by Doug Koepsel on December 16, 2012 at 8:40 PM
Sounds and looks like a real nice trip. I like the soft pink light at Deadhorse, and the sunstar from the window at Arches. I prefer the brighter light on the foreground rock of the original.
With the Horeshoe Bend shot, the contrail may be a candidate for riddance, and the image looks like it needs to be stretched a little horizontally. Your location with the V lends well to the canyon depth
Discussion
20 repliesIt seems like forever since I've posted anything on here! I went to Spain for 3 weeks in November and then after Thanksgiving, I went with a friend down to Moab and Page for a week. Whew, it's good to be back in Boulder.
Before I talk about any of the photos, a fair warning; I went to all the cliche or as some say "iconic" location because I've never been before. I won't be offended If you don't want to see photos of Dead Horse Point, Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend or Mesa Arch.
That said, I had an excellent time and we even got some great light as Arches! Being in Moab was awesome, it has always been on my list but I've never been down there before. Hiked around a fair bit in Arches, and really enjoyed the park. I didn't get to see much of Canyonlands (I feel like most people could say that), but what I did see was very beautiful (and rugged).
I have a cousin who lives in Page and she's been telling me to come down there for a few years now, and now I can't wait til I go back. Yes, I shelled out $70 for the "photographers" tour of Upper Antelope. Seeing the canyon with my own eyes was a real treat though. I know photographers who despise Antelope Canyon but it was a lot of fun to shoot! We did the Horseshoe Bend at sunset (got to help out with a wedding shoot too), and took a few panos of Lake Powell the next evening at sunset.
We then headed back to Moab and shot photos of The Windows and Turret Arch at sunset, and then went back to do Double Arch at night. The next morning we went out to Mesa Arch and wrapped up our trip freezing our butts off waiting for the sun to come up. The temp. was a balmy 12F in Moab on Monday morning.
Here's some of the photos!
Joe Rogers
So how far out were you at Horseshoe - I am seeing lots of foreground cliff
Also thanks for not giving me grief for shooting these locations, I would have loved to explore more but time and schedules dictated otherwise. I'm excited to go back to Page and shoot Lower Antelope and Water Holes Canyons.
The following is pure critique Ryan. I love your passion to improve your photography and as a result your images keep getting better and better. In fact, after that lovely rushing stream image you shot from RMNP a few months ago it crossed my mind that we should get together sometime and meet at Dream Lake. So take the following with a grain of salt.
I'm not sure what blending technique you’re using whether it’s a hand blend in PS or blending software, but if I had to guess, you’re using blending software. The following is a moot point if you’re hand blending. Blending software’s work, and certainly have a place in my workflow, in fact I recently used Photomatix for a series of Zion images that turned out great. But they work better when blending multiple exposures of medium dynamic range scenes. However, most of them struggle making huge dynamic range scenes come together. Your scene is a huge dynamic range of extreme highlights vs shadows. With blending software you have a decision to make with this image and I think it shows with both images, go with the foreground glow or go with the sunstar that shows more detail on Turret Arch. With a hand blend, you get the best of both worlds. Tell tale signs of a blending software would be washed out skies; where a dark exposure (your sun star image) is blended into a properly exposed sky. Thus that brilliant blue, properly exposed sky image is forced to take on the blacks of the underexposed sky to make the transition to a smooth gradient for your eyes. In return we get washed out, almost gray skies. Gray skies are not pretty in my opinion, and make a cloudless sky even more unappealing. Never underestimate the power of a properly exposed sky. Thus, hand blends will have the advantage here; you can keep your blue sky and just blend in the highlights. Some will tell you to just add more exposures layers into the software, sure, but if it doesn’t come together with 3…maybe 4 then its not gonna work.
All in all I think the image is a work in progress, or if you like it better, then the image is complete, and that’s all that counts…You are the artist!
No grief from me for capturing icons. I think you did a fine job, too. Where you took some chances (#'s 5 & 6) are my favorites. I also like the soft pastels you captured at Dead Horse Point quite a lot.
I really like the divergent star trails and the sheer number of them in #5.. Very creative capture! I think that you could slightly darken and warm up the brightest parts of the arch.
I love the composition of #6. I like what the repost fixed with the sunstar, but I prefer the brightness of the landscape (esp. the foreground rocks!) in the original.
Critique is a lost art. Its something our western culture doesn't like anymore because it can be taken as harsh. After all, I'm trying my best right? However, I love critique. I would rather get one thorough comment from Kane (or whomever else) that points out the shortcomings of a particular image, than get loads and loads of comments saying "beautiful photo". In my work as a graphic designer, I rarely got critiqued and therefore became stagnant. So Kane, I appreciate your honesty and your critique and I would love to meet up to shoot with you sometime.
That said, I did attempt to hand blend the exposures. I'm still very much a newbie at this practice and this is definitely not A game. I'm following a tutorial I downloaded from Chip Phillips' website about hand blending exposures and I need more practice. I do agree with your points still.
The main reason I joined NPN was exactly for this (well, actually to meet others who have a passion for outdoor and nature photography too). Flickr, 500px, Facebook, Twitter, G+ and just about every other social network is great for a pat on the back but rarely anything else. Thank you!
With the Horeshoe Bend shot, the contrail may be a candidate for riddance, and the image looks like it needs to be stretched a little horizontally. Your location with the V lends well to the canyon depth