Rain in the Distance | C&C Encouraged

CWSkopec

Here's another from our Grand Canyon excursion. Almost the same spot as my first post, but on the second night. We didn't get much of a sunset that evening because of the storm that rolled in so this one was taken early evening and you can see the rain starting to fall off in the distance.



Probably my last from the trip for a little bit, 'cause I'm really struggling with getting my sunrise photos to look presentable but have at this one! All C&C appreciated! :thumb

LoulouPix

Great pic Chris as we get the sense of the storm coming in and a good view of the desert/canyon.
I think I would have cropped the bottom with the rocks to keep about 80% of the height (it initially displayed like this on my laptop and I was a little disappointed when I see there were rocks)

Awais Yaqub

A unique photo of popular spot !

Great job

thapamd

Another beautiful image, Chris. I really like the rain in the distance. This is somewhere I'd like to boil some water and drink hot chocolate while watching the light fade away. Fantastic!

CWSkopec

LoulouPix wrote:

Great pic Chris as we get the sense of the storm coming in and a good view of the desert/canyon.
I think I would have cropped the bottom with the rocks to keep about 80% of the height (it initially displayed like this on my laptop and I was a little disappointed when I see there were rocks)

Thank you Lou!

I have to admit that my gut reaction was "Oh no, I don't want to lose any of my rocks!!"

But playing with it a little, I did crop off some of that foreground and I think it's a stronger image. Or at least I like how the foreground rocks "frame" the canyon a bit better.

How this one?

CWSkopec

Awais Yaqub wrote:

A unique photo of popular spot !

Great job

Thank you Awais!

CWSkopec

thapamd wrote:

Another beautiful image, Chris. I really like the rain in the distance. This is somewhere I'd like to boil some water and drink hot chocolate while watching the light fade away. Fantastic!

Thank you Mahesh!

It was a bit warm for hot choclate (110+ degrees out )... maybe I can intrest you in a cold drink of your choice instead?

LoulouPix

CWSkopec wrote:

Thank you Lou!

I have to admit that my gut reaction was "Oh no, I don't want to lose any of my rocks!!"

But playing with it a little, I did crop off some of that foreground and I think it's a stronger image. Or at least I like how the foreground rocks "frame" the canyon a bit better.

How this one?

Chris,
this is the direction I would have taken but I might have been more extreme with the frame and do this:

In my opinion it highlights the landscape and remove some distraction, and I even keep a rocky frame

Hope you don't mind my butchering with Paint

CWSkopec

LoulouPix wrote:

Hope you don't mind my butchering with Paint

Not at all, thanks for showing me your vision.

I'm going to have to look it over some more and play around with it before I say "Yay or Nay" but I do like the almost "pano-ish" crop aspect. Thanks for the idea!

Doug Solis

Chris, I love this composition and I like your second crop better than the first. The foreground definitely draws the eyes and partly because they are lighter than the remainder of the scene. I really like these type of Near/Far images as they are more of a story telling photo so the foreground rocks IMO should have as much presence as you have in the 2nd crop. Wonder how this would look if they were darkened?

The only other comment I have is the storm clouds have a definite blue hue to them, maybe it is just my monitor??

Nice job.

coscorrosa

Great shot! Agree that the second of the three crops is the best. The rain in the distance really adds to the photo, and the overcast-ish light really brings out a lot of detail on the interior of the canyon.

dlplumer

Great capture Chris. Nobody else got this...well done

brvheart

Chris - outstanding!!

I do have to say that while I like the second crop, I also must be the odd ball as I love the first shot as well even with rocks it seems to give me the feeling that I am standing on a ledge taking the beauty in as if I was really there.

pathfinder

Lovely shot, Chris. I think I prefer your second crop. Nice colors as well.

I wouldn't exactly say no one else shot that frame though, Dan.....Just that Chris did it better!

CWSkopec

Doug Solis wrote:

Wonder how this would look if they were darkened?

The only other comment I have is the storm clouds have a definite blue hue to them, maybe it is just my monitor??

Thanks for your comments, Doug. I'll play around and see what happens when I darken those foreground rocks. And there is a definite blue cast to the storm clouds. It was there in the captured image and I multiplied it and boosted the saturation a bit. I like it as is, but perhaps I should tone down the multiplying/boosting a bit to get it back to being a little more natural!

brvheart wrote:

Chris - outstanding!!

I do have to say that while I like the second crop, I also must be the odd ball as I love the first shot as well even with rocks it seems to give me the feeling that I am standing on a ledge taking the beauty in as if I was really there.

Thank you!
A friend and I were looking back and forth between the two crops near the end of the work day yesterday and he was having trouble picking his favorite, so no need to feel like an oddball!

He liked the first crop because he liked seeing the rocks along the ledge, yet liked the second crop because it brought more emphasis on the canyon itself.

Ron, Dan & Jim - Thank you all for the compliments!

Jim, looks like we were standing in nearly the same spot and I imagine you were probably at it first! Sorry to play copycat!

hawkeye978

Chris,

Great shot and light. I think I also prefer crop #2. I think you need the rocks in the front to anchor the shot but #2 gives you a greater view of the canyon.

schmoo

Chris, WOW! I love the weather off in the distance and am glad you caught that.

Gotta say I agree with everyone else that your second version with the crop is perfect. I love the fg rocks but not having them in there at all doesn't create a nice frame that pushes your eye down the canyon. And having them uncropped is a little bit over-dominating.

Great job

CWSkopec

Tom & Schmoo,
thanks so much for the wonderful compliments!

And let me just thanks to everyone again, this week's been hectic and stressful, all your compliments and helpful suggestions have been a great way to get me in the right mood to enjoy the weekend!!

pathfinder

CWSkopec wrote:

Jim, looks like we were standing in nearly the same spot and I imagine you were probably at it first! Sorry to play copycat!

We were both there, and I have no idea who shot first. The scene was compelling - I like yours better, mine was created from three landscape jpgs merged vertically as a pano.

CWSkopec

pathfinder wrote:

We were both there, and I have no idea who shot first. The scene was compelling - I like yours better, mine was created from three landscape jpgs merged vertically as a pano.

I'm jealous of the res you've got in your shot and would happily hang it nice and large if it were mine!

And as an odd side note, I think I totally forgot to shot photos for a pano!
It's odd because I normally do at least a few whenever I'm out. I mean I once shot a pano of my living room just to see how it would turn out (it was an absolute stitching nightmare for CS3 and my poor old machine, by the way). And yet I either forgot all together or did such a bad job of trying it hand held that I couldn't recognize them as a pano attempt once I got home!

Oh well... looks like I'll have to return and try again!!

leaforte

Super!