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View Full Version : Mesa Arch at sunrise, Canyonlands NP



Ian Cassell
07-21-2012, 10:36 AM
Canon 7D
Sigma 10-20 @ 12mm
1/50 sec f/9 ISO 200

Curves in CS6


I was the first of a half-dozen or so photographers to arrive at the arch before sunrise so I had my pick of spots. This place is so heavily photographed. I took the usual image, but then hunted around to see if I could find a look something a bit out of the ordinary.

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Nick Palmieri
07-21-2012, 07:12 PM
Really cool angle. Nice job on this one!

Steve Kaluski
07-22-2012, 02:08 AM
Nature is a wonderful thing Ian and the dramatic light in this shot really evokes the sun rising in different way, very nice indeed.

Might suggest a double process for the BKG, as there is a lot of info in there to bring out, still retaining the softness and light/airy feel to it without touching anything else.

TFS
Steve

PhilCook
07-22-2012, 07:25 AM
Great image, love that glow from within the crack, quite volcanic looking...an amazing world indeed

Ian Cassell
07-22-2012, 10:51 AM
Thanks, folks. Steve, I think you're right. I'm going back in there and work on the BG a bit.

Robert Amoruso
07-22-2012, 03:02 PM
Ian,

I find the previous post's composition superior to this one - the diagonal in the rock is good and perhaps getting rid of the sky altogether would have been a good move.

Either HDR or an exposure blend was needed here as the sky hampers the image. Rocks appear soft as well. LCE a good choice here.

ISO 200 much better choice here. 7D at ISO 800 with lots of dark tones is not a good combination.

Morkel Erasmus
07-22-2012, 03:50 PM
It's all been said, Ian. Kudos for hunting for a different comp here, but the washed-out sky is robbing the image of impact. Robert's suggestions will work a treat for improving sharpness and contrast.

Roger Clark
07-23-2012, 08:59 AM
Hi Ian,

Congratulations on another different composition on a familiar subject. I agree with the other comments about the sky, This is a tough one where the foreground is in shadow and one is imaging in the sun direction in the background. An HDR is needed to get the sky from saturating. It looks like you can recover a lot of the sky with a little work.

How many other photographers were there?

Roger

Ian Cassell
07-23-2012, 11:56 AM
About a half dozen or so others, Roger. I was first so could pick my spot. I forgot my tripod in Phoenix, so it made things tougher.

Roger Clark
07-23-2012, 02:21 PM
About a half dozen or so others, Roger. I was first so could pick my spot. I forgot my tripod in Phoenix, so it made things tougher.

And where was you backup tripod?:Whoa!:

Ian Cassell
07-23-2012, 02:40 PM
LOL - I don't often use ANY tripod with my 400/5.6 and birds and I rarely do Landscape stuff, so it was easy to forget (also forgot my remote shutter release). I think I'll stick my old backup 3021 in the back of the Trailblazer and leave it there from now on so I don't run into this again.

Roman Kurywczak
07-24-2012, 01:12 PM
Hey Ian,
Glad to see you explored a different perspective of this popular spot. Some great advice above. Another benefit of longer SS's (by going to f/16 or 22 is that you can move a split ND to bring the sky into the tonal range of the FG. A second exposure would also work. Nicely done overall.