Arches and Canyonlands

dlplumer

I took a few days off to head up to Moab. I'm still processing lots of pics, but here are a few.

Island In The Sky



Window



Turret Arch Through The North Window



Double Arch Starburst



Balanced Rock

Eia

Wow - very intense photos! Hmm... don't know which is my favorite. The 2nd called 'windows' reminds me of an eye!

choudhrysaab

Amazing shots - love the second last picture

karlabbott

This is a beautiful set of photos, but I just can't stop looking at that first one! Absolutely beautiful shot!

dlscott56

dlplumer wrote:

Island In The Sky

WOW!!!! I love this one. Great job on all of them Dan

Brody

I've been rolling up and down your photos for the last few minutes trying to pick a favorite... it's a waste of time - They're all good. Maybe the 'Window' a slight favorite... or maybe 'Starburst'...

A great series of shots.

Griffin

Wow.

I'm humbled. I just spent several days up there myself and didn't get the same shot of Mesa Arch --- what a difference the right light will make. Next time, sunrise at Mesa will be on my list. Of course, I had lots of things on my list that I didn't get to this trip.

Great Work!

ront

I really like them all Dan, but that first one is extraordinary!! I could easily see that one on my wall!!

Ron

wfeller

Great shots!

-

torags

Wow. They're all good but #1 with the under arch lit... hmm... Fantastic



Very nice work. Looking forward to some more

dlplumer

Eia wrote:

Wow - very intense photos! Hmm... don't know which is my favorite. The 2nd called 'windows' reminds me of an eye!

Thanks Eia. The second and third windows are the same; just different sides. The first one was easy. The second one required every ounce of courage I could muster. It was quite a climb for this old body.

dlplumer

choudhrysaab wrote:

Amazing shots - love the second last picture

Thanks saab.

dlplumer

karlabbott wrote:

This is a beautiful set of photos, but I just can't stop looking at that first one! Absolutely beautiful shot!

I shot that same arch at 3 different times (mid-day, sunset, and finally sunrise). I got there at least 90 minutes before sunrise, and all the best spots were already taken. By the time I left, just after sunrise, there were 19 photographers there.

Thanks for commenting Karl:D

Cuong

I like your Island in the Sky, but it's a bit light. Same thing with #3. Other than that, they're all beautiful.

Cuong

IRUKANJI

Great stuff Dan! Serious question here though. In the first shot, if you had a plethora of different camears, Would you still get the same shot/effect or some semblance of it? Probably a dumb question but I ask because I love to shoot but don't have the funds for the big guns. Was the setting that good that even a $400 camera would stun or is did the equipment (and obviously your talent) play a bigger roll?

dlplumer

dlscott56 wrote:

WOW!!!! I love this one. Great job on all of them Dan

Hey, thanks for commenting Dave.

kdog

Great stuff, Dan! I like the double-arch starburst the best.

Great park, isn't it?

Cheers,
-joel

Oobers

Great series and my favourite is #1, it is an absolutely stunning photograph and reminds me of a sci-fi scene or old Yes album cover. Great depth and composition. The only thing I would do is darken the foreground rock that is slightly right of centre. Well done.
Oobers

dlplumer

Brody wrote:

I've been rolling up and down your photos for the last few minutes trying to pick a favorite... it's a waste of time - They're all good. Maybe the 'Window' a slight favorite... or maybe 'Starburst'...

A great series of shots.

Thanks you so much Brody (my new grandson's name ).

hawkeye978

Great set, Dan. I particularly like the lighting and composition in #1 and #4.

dlplumer

Griffin wrote:

Wow.

I'm humbled. I just spent several days up there myself and didn't get the same shot of Mesa Arch --- what a difference the right light will make. Next time, sunrise at Mesa will be on my list. Of course, I had lots of things on my list that I didn't get to this trip.

Great Work!

Thanks Grif. I went there 3 times to get this shot, and I still didn't get the best place to shoot from.

Awais Yaqub

Wonderful series !

dlplumer

Cuong wrote:

I like your Island in the Sky, but it's a bit light. Same thing with #3. Other than that, they're all beautiful.

Cuong

Thanks Cuong. I fixed #3

dseidman

I had been reading your FB updates on your trip and have been waiting patiently to see the results. I'm very impressed!
It's too hard for me to pick a favorite from this series so I'll just say that they're all good.

One thing that I think is worth mentioning is a problem that I'm seeing with the first one. The La Sal mountain range on the distant horizon is far too dark and hard-edged to be natural. How was the shot blended? Did you do it manually or is this the result of an automated HDR program? In any case, I'd bring the brightness of the mountains way down, maybe even to the point where they blend into the background (if that's the only way to keep them natural looking).

dlplumer

dseidman wrote:

I had been reading your FB updates on your trip and have been waiting patiently to see the results. I'm very impressed!
It's too hard for me to pick a favorite from this series so I'll just say that they're all good.

One thing that I think is worth mentioning is a problem that I'm seeing with the first one. The La Sal mountain range on the distant horizon is far too dark and hard-edged to be natural. How was the shot blended? Did you do it manually or is this the result of an automated HDR program? In any case, I'd bring the brightness of the mountains way down, maybe even to the point where they blend into the background (if that's the only way to keep them natural looking).

Thanks Danny. I blended the sky and mountains with the rest of the image using PS. What you see is the actual unedited Lasal mountains and sky. I am just learning how to blend, so I am sure I could have done a better job with this. I will play with it some more to see how I can make it look "more natural". Any suggestions you might have are welcome.

Danny

dseidman

dlplumer wrote:

Thanks Danny. I blended the sky and mountains with the rest of the image using PS. What you see is the actual unedited Lasal mountains and sky. I am just learning how to blend, so I am sure I could have done a better job with this. I will play with it some more to see how I can make it look "more natural". Any suggestions you might have are welcome.

Danny

I think I see what you did. The La Sals must have been part of the sky exposure and you did a hard blend along the horizon, just at the base of the mountains. I'd suggest doing more of a gradient here so that the foreground exposure is more gradually mixed with the sky. That should result in the mountains not sticking out quite as much.

I remember my shot from here was a huge pain to blend (it was probably the hardest I've ever done). There is so much dynamic range and you have to be careful to make sure all the different elements are properly exposed. It just takes some time and practice. Have fun!

dlplumer

IRUKANJI wrote:

Great stuff Dan! Serious question here though. In the first shot, if you had a plethora of different camears, Would you still get the same shot/effect or some semblance of it? Probably a dumb question but I ask because I love to shoot but don't have the funds for the big guns. Was the setting that good that even a $400 camera would stun or is did the equipment (and obviously your talent) play a bigger roll?

You could certainly get this shot, if you knew how, with any dslr and a tripod. Two exposures blended in PS.:D

Doug Solis

Wow, fantastic series! I especially love the first one and the sunburst. I love your perspectives, they are very creative and unusual. we have all seen these photos many times before so the challenge is to bring something new and or different. You hit the mark on both counts. Congrats.

bryanj87

These are fantastic. I always enjoy your photos, these especially.

coscorrosa

Looks like you had a fun and productive trip! My favorite is that Mesa Arch shot, the light on the arch and rocks is fantastic.

dlplumer

hawkeye978 wrote:

Great set, Dan. I particularly like the lighting and composition in #1 and #4.

Thanks Tom. Appreciate you checking in