Not-so-Dirty Subway

Made another trek up to the subway in West Fork of Oak Creek Sunday morning. Took some shots, and then the sun began to hit the top of the rock in the background, which reflected some redder light onto the water. With the better light, I retook the series for a focus stack of 4 images. The water kinda looks HDR-ish to me, but an individual frame shows the same effect.

That looked a little dull. Here's a little more brightness, contrast and saturation.

Repost pops a lot better. I love the colors and the shapes below the water. How far up from the trailhead is this?

Scott, this spot is about 3 1/2 miles up the trail

Great comp Doug, I really like the rock in the foreground. Probably my favorite part of the canyon here. If I were to suggest anything, it might be to darken everything but the trees and maybe punch the reds up just a bit. I would also consider cropping the top part where the trees meet the sky. Definitely a keeper in my book.

A beautiful scene you captured, Doug! The water looks fine to my eye. Did you use a polarizer?
I heartily second Peter's suggestion. Consider cropping the top down to just below the fracture in the sandstone cliff.
This way you lose the distracting skies and accentuate the curved tree bends even more. Adds a bit more mystery without the skies.

Thanks Peter and John on the crop suggestion.
No CPL as I did not want to loose the colored light reflecting off the water.

Hi Doug, I've been enjoying both you and Peters efforts in this nifty canyon. Ditto Peters comments, however darkening areas of this image equates to a personal preference/ artistic interpretation. To me, this image (after the crop) appears spot on true and very real. The mood Peters looking for potentially makes the image connect on a more personal level with most, including myself.