horseshoe bend

Tango

well, ive been trying to come to grips with the outcome of these shots...
i love them and hate them...i love the great conditions i lucked out on getting, and i hate my photography mistakes that hinder them...
my pano & photography skills are in need of help...(someone please take me out and teach me :help )
simply these are the best i can do of a classic shot with the gear i have...
so a pano rig, w/ good tripod is on my list...i just need a money tree...haha
anyway, dont look to close for flaws, just enjoy the colors....

first time here at horseshoe bend, and i was shocked at the size....its one of those things you have to experiance in person to really take it in....
and also the hardest subject ive ever tried to capture.

sunset


sunrise


B&W

hawkeye978

They definitely both have some beautiful colors and light. In #1 I absolutely love the light on the foreground rocks. I would also love to get a little more detail in the canyon walls. I'm not sure if this would violate what you are trying for but maybe just a little selective exposure boost to bring out a little detail. This may be a silly question and probably violates a variety of conventional wisdoms, do you think a top crop would work at the horizon line? It would leave half of the great sun star but remove the white sky. This question may be as much random mutterings as worthwhile statement.

The second photo I find wonderful. Great light off the foreground canyon walls and absolutely stunning sky. I can't decide if I find the exposure on the horseshoe just right or just a tiny bit dark.

I think you may be a bit too hard on yourself.

Tango

oh i dont mean to sound down....its a kick myself kinda attiude...

i will return to these shots soon...#1, i really dont want to change much...
#2, i think i may have a solution to the problem...
this was 10 expos top and 10 bottom...if you notice the out of focus band on the very bottom then you will see that same band merged right down the middle too....so im going to try a grad tool technique to see if i can get that softness out of the center horizion left to right....

CS3 has tolerances when merging multiple shots and i went pasts them so the only merge that would work was cylindrical....everything else i tryed spit out cliffs where they should not be,,,,hahahaa

i will return with a revised try....soon i hope

squirl033

i love the color of the canyon rim in the foreground of the first one, though i'd be tempted to crop out the blown sky, as it distracts from the rest of the image. the second shot doesn't quite do it for me... the river bend is too distorted, and the colors look way overprocessed...

Tango

squirl033 wrote:

i love the color of the canyon rim in the foreground of the first one, though i'd be tempted to crop out the blown sky, as it distracts from the rest of the image. the second shot doesn't quite do it for me... the river bend is too distorted, and the colors look way overprocessed...

yes the colors need work...the sky is almost true...the rock is in need of toning down...i will address this issue too....
however....it might grow on me for this shot since everything is kinda outawack....

jeffmeyers

Aaron: what lens did you use?

CWSkopec

Aaron,
Both shots are awesome! You're being a little too humble!! I didn't even notice the out of focus area in #2 until I read your post about it... I was too trasfixed on the sky and the bend itself!!
As far as the sunset shot goes, I only have one question... how in the world do you get such magnificently huge sun stars?! I keep trying to get them myself and can't produce anything near that size! So, in other words, I hate the shot, but that's just pure jealousy talking there!!

Tango

a 24mm T/S-E tilted farther than i thought i had set....once i was done i realized how far it was set at and thought the shot would be ok....but NOT...

dlplumer

Nice shots Aaron. Did you use your new 40D?

Tango

CWSkopec wrote:

Aaron,
Both shots are awesome! You're being a little too humble!! I didn't even notice the out of focus area in #2 until I read your post about it... I was too trasfixed on the sky and the bend itself!!
As far as the sunset shot goes, I only have one question... how in the world do you get such magnificently huge sun stars?! I keep trying to get them myself and can't produce anything near that size! So, in other words, I hate the shot, but that's just pure jealousy talking there!!

its the 24mm T/S at f22.....hate the f22 but love the star...

Tango

dlplumer wrote:

Nice shots Aaron. Did you use your new 40D?

remember i have a d300 coming....this was canon 5d...
second shot turned out to be 1.5G

Tee Why

I like the second one the most, but it seems a bit muddy to me. I think a little curves and levels should make it pop.

DaddyO

Aaron, I did look past the technical issues. Like what issues.
Both are really nice pieces as seen without looking overly deep
in a first glance kind of way. To me image #2 is flat stunning.
A hit out of the ballpark. :whew As mentioned earlier by CwSkopec
I was so taken with the shot I flew right passed any problems in
the shot on critical level.

Nice work dude.

wfeller

Great work Aaron! Excellent light.