Latest from Upper Antelope

argyle

Canon 5D with 17-40L:

leaforte

Nice color. The layers, and color, remind me of the Catlynite (SP?) (Pipestone) I carve on many nights.

Marc Muench

Argyle,

This image needs a black. You could do this in post and it may alleviate the sun flair at the bottom

pathfinder

Reminds me a lot of this image, which has a black point, Marc

I do agree that his image will have more depth of color, contrast with a real black point.



Addendum:
I just received my 20 x 30 inch print of this image from smugmug. WOW, they did a great job of printing it.

argyle

Marc and Pathfinder:

Can you elaborate a bit on the black point? I tried to keep some shadows where just enough of the rock detail has shown through, while also keeping some of the highlights on the rock edges. Is there a way to do what you're suggesting without increasing the shadows and losing the edge highlights? Is it as simple as bringing up the blacks on the red channel, or is there more to it? Thanks.

schmoo

Argyle,

If you check out this tutorial, it explains black and white points in some detail. HTH!

argyle

schmoo wrote:

Argyle,

If you check out this tutorial, it explains black and white points in some detail. HTH!

Thanks Schmoo...that was really helpful. I played with the black and white points and it seems to have made a bit of a difference. Here's the adjusted version:

schmoo

argyle wrote:

Thanks Schmoo...that was really helpful. I played with the black and white points and it seems to have made a bit of a difference. Here's the adjusted version:

I'm glad you found it useful. I like the improved version a lot. It looks almost like the foreground rocks have been converted to b/w, which leads the eye right into the brighter, red areas.

Lets see if Marc has anything else to add.

pathfinder

I think this is better, but still quite not what I had in mind. Buit it may be exactly what you intended and desired,

Your image now has real black and white points, but it seems pretty dark to me in the lower 1/3 of the of the luminosity curve. The shadows now look black rather than deep red.

To a certain extent, it depends on how you want to depict your image. For me, Antelope is deep red, not really black in the shadows, as seen in my image. But you may see it differently, and if this image matches your perception and intent, then it is a success.

I see your second image as darker, more mysterious, more dangerous perhaps. I see your first image as slightly warmer, but with less contrast. Not better or worse, but different impressions, different depictions, different perceptions ultimately.

Ultimately, you have to be the final judge - which image of yours do you prefer?

Have you learned a new skill that you can use again, ( if you desire ) to improve other images of yours?

Marc Muench

pathfinder wrote:

Reminds me a lot of this image, which has a black point, Marc

I do agree that his image will have more depth of color, contrast with a real black point.
Addendum:
I just received my 20 x 30 inch print of this image from smugmug. WOW, they did a great job of printing it.

Jim,

Great example. I think that just darker would be great even if there is no real neutral black point.

argyle

Marc Muench wrote:

Jim,

Great example. I think that just darker would be great even if there is no real neutral black point.

Well, I played with it again. This was one of the images that I had the time to bracket, and I found one that didn't have the sun flares. In the original post to this thread, I adjusted the white balance in post. The WB in this new post was left as-shot. I did notice while in the canyon that a lot of the formations had a purplish tone to them, possibly due to the lower sun angle in late October. This is probably the image that I'll go with, as it comes closer to the actual conditions at the time. I plan on going back next spring/summer, and I'm sure that the results will be quite different. Thanks again for the finishing tips (Marc, PF, and schmoo).

pathfinder

I think this is the best yet

You may be right that the purple shade has to do with the sun's height.

Nice image!!

schmoo

The purple is a really nice contrast to the red. I like this shot best of all

Marc Muench

I agree this image is better than the first, but I still believe it needed to be darkened. For the bottom image I used the first step of quick and beautiful with no mask. These canyon shots need blacks to highlight the highlights! Great shot





canyon2a.jpg

argyle

Marc Muench wrote:

I agree this image is better than the first, but I still believe it needed to be darkened. For the bottom image I used the first step of quick and beautiful with no mask. These canyon shots need blacks to highlight the highlights! Great shot


canyon2a.jpg

Thanks Marc...it does make a noticeable difference. I'll check into the link you posted later on this evening...