DEVIL'S TOWER, WYOMING

[gary ellwein]

The composition is not original. I saw a similar image on line before capturing this one. It did require getting down in the dirt. Devil's Tower is a most dramatic igneous rock out cropping which rises vertically nearly 900 feet from it's base. The Native Americans refer to it as the Bear's Den. I much prefer the latter name. One can easily make out the claw marks. The marble sculpture was created by Junkyu Muto, a Japanese artist. The sculpture is called the Sacred Circle of Smoke. The site is sacred to several Native American tribes. Muto has sculptures in the Vatican and Buddha Gaya, India' two other rather sacred sites. I've read he plans for a total of seven.

PP was minimal. A bit of sky was added at the top. Close inspection reveals I could have done a better job. May try again. Any suggestions on further PP, ie. textures etc.

[Cheryl Slechta]

Hi, Gary. I see the top - it looks like a vapor trail:S3: I think I would prefer it without the base of the sculpture. It would make it a little more abstract to see the mountain through the ring with no context. Just a thought.

[gary ellwein]

Cheryl, I like your suggestion of eliminating the base. The redo does not include the extended sky. I don't think it is necessary with the base removed. One's attention is now drawn to the framed tower. Thanks

[Cheryl Slechta]

I like this better, Gary:S3:

[Anita Bower]

The second version has impact, which was missing from the first. Much better. Do you use Nik filters? I took it into Nik Efex Pro > Tonal contrast and liked how it brought out details in the rock and gave the image more punch.