False Kiva

[Don Lacy]

So one of my goals when heading to Moab was to find and photograph False Kiva in Canyonlands. For those of you who have never heard of False Kiva it is a class II archeology site located off trail and up the side of a canyon wall and while there is no official trail if you ask at the ranger station they will give you vague directions on how to get there. Me and my friends had no trouble finding the trail and for the first mile it was difficult but not to strenuous it's the last half mile where the trial basically turns into a 500 foot drop at a 90 degree angle on the side of the canyon were one slip and you are falling for a long time It was difficult but we finally made it to the site around two hours before sunset. Now here we are in this beautiful site with clouds building and all the makings of a great sunset but the question is do we want to hike out of here in the dark and to compound the situation one of the photographers I was with was an older gentleman who we were not sure could climb back out. So with discretion being the better part of valor after spending a hour and a half at the site I had to leave to help my friends while the sky lit up with reflected light bouncing off the clouds and canyon walls. I know I made the right decision to leave when I did not only for my own safety but also for the safety of my companions since it took twice as long to hike out as it did to hike in but I still see in my minds eye the images I could have made. Later in the trip I did not make the right choice and put myself in a very dangerous spot but thats a story for another image.

This is a two image blend using luminosity mask not sure about the sky around the sun burst I think its to bright and lacks detail I might have to redo it depending on the feed back,images were made with my Canon 6D, 16-40 f/4 lens, Manual Mode, iso 200 and shot at f/22 to create the sun burst, I think this image ended up with 8 different layers with mask.

[dankearl]

Killer image , Don and great story.
The sun looks fine to me, I can never get these right....
The Kiva, and the BG look terrific.

[Don Railton]

Wow Don... WOW....! What a great spot, great composition, great view.... would have loved to tag along... Can you stay the night there..? is that allowed so you can walk out in the daylight??

I were to experiment I might look at adding a little more contrast to the sky and making the blues a bit darker. Not saying this will improve but its where I would play. I also think the starburst could be reduced a little without loosing the impact and maybe improve the balance a touch, for me anyway.. I also see a few dust bunnies, the most obvious is in the sky above the ridge left side of the opening... Thanks for showing..!!!

DON

[Don Lacy]

Can you stay the night there..? is that allowed so you can walk out in the daylight??
Not sure if its allowed but I have seen night images from there and have heard of photographers sleeping there. A little more history on this place it was first photograph by Tom Hill a very talented photographer from Moab who first saw it from a helicopter and spent months hiking the area before he found a route to it. It's called false Kiva because it's really not a Kiva and there is a lot doubt about the stone circle being built by the Pueblo Indians. Behind the circle and along the wall there are the remains of two ancient structures more in line with what one would find in a ancient granary and where the stones to build the circle probably came from. What I find amazing is how anyone found this place to begin with it is hidden from view from the ground and like I said very difficult to get to.

[Don Railton]

Thanks for the additional info Don. Hope you feel rewarded for the work you put into get there. I know I would, it's a great image. Kiva is Indian for dwelling? I guess mr Google will tell me....


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Barry Ekstrand]

Don,

Wow. Really great shot, one to be proud of, and I really appreciate the background story. Congrats on a wonderful image!

Barry

[Diane Miller]

Stunning image well worth the effort and that's an awesome starburst! I think I'd experiment with some darkening of the sky.

I wonder if the very warm tone in the FG could be just a bit cooler or less monochromatic? It appears a lot of it is in the shade, and the sun is still fairly high for such a warm color, even with "canyon light" reflecting off the underside of the arch.

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi Don, you knocked my socks off with this one...beautifully done and the starburst takes it over the top!!! Beautiful work!

[Morkel Erasmus]

Composition and general blending here are fabulous, Don. I think the area around the sun is too "muddied grey" without detail, so I would rather opt to leave it a bit hotter (it's the sun after all, it's oh so bright).

I do notice a luminous halo around the rock edge in the middle and what looks like a sharpening halo further along the right bend of rocks.

[vishaljadhav]

VEry nicely done, i love the composition of this one a lot