Mitten Sunburst

[David Kennedy]

Canon 5D & 24-70 f/2.8L lens @ 70mm
1/100 sec. @ f/22, ISO 100
Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Utah

I didn't expect the opportunity for a sunburst to be as short as it was, but I did get a few frames. This was probably be best of the sunbursts, but I'm not sure about the color of the sky...it didn't seem to "light up" quite the same way I expected, so I tinkered with the yellows and blues in LAB color. All comments are appreciated!

[Robert Amoruso]

David,

I like the composition of the mittens and the sunburst but all the black at the bottom seems too overwhelming to me as the sky's colors are so subtle.

Added: I am still contemplating the black FG.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hi David,
Love the sunburst and the color......Also like the atmospheric layering. I'm a huge fan of strong silhouettes.......so the blacks don't overwhelm me at all........but I do realize what Robert is talking about and came up with something you might want to try......since you are the pano moderator. I used my browser to "quick crop" about 1/2 of the black by scrolling down...........too much sky/unbalanced..........then took off equal amount off top........leaving only a little blue........works pretty well as a pano also!
After all that........I really like it as is!

[David Billingsley]

David,

Very nice shot. I love this place and all the old John Ford westerns filmed there. I have been there several times - just love the desert southwest period.

dave b.

[David Kennedy]

This is (kind of) cheating, but I've applied Robert and Roman's thoughts towards a differrent frame. I decided I preferred the sunburst taken one frame earlier.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hi David,
You had a little more atmoshere/tone in the blacks of the original.......and i like the larger starburst.......personal preferences

[David Kennedy]

Hi David,
You had a little more atmoshere/tone in the blacks of the original.......and i like the larger starburst.......personal preferences

Hmm...the gnomes are investigating the disappearance of atmosphere on the final version as they're in the RAW file (all of three of them). I suspect staying up (way too) late and associated decrease in eye/hand coordination might have something to do with it...but why I didn't check it again this afternoon before posting...well, that's another problem :eek:

[David Kennedy]

Let's try this again (again!) :)

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey David,
Since i know you are usually up till 1am..............you got the atmosphere in on the repost...........can I ask why you don't like the larger starburst in the original???........for what it's worth.....1 vote for original with same crop as last post.

[David Kennedy]

Roman,
Good to know. As for the starburst, I think I just like the tighter appearance. It calls slightly less attention to itself (although you could argue that the starburst is the only justification for the composition). FWIW, my dad agrees with you re: the larger one.