Capital Reef

[Wheeler McDougal Jr.]

I took this image several years ago when visiting southwestern Utah. The day we visited Capital Reef National Monument was all wrong for photography. We got there on a cloudless day at about 11:00am and the sun was increadably bright. But I did whatever I could to get as decent exposure as possible and added the clouds in the post processing of the image. Hope you like it, but if you don't I would certainly like to hear why not. Shooting data follows:
Nikon D2X
2005:09:29 12:53:39
24-120mm @ 40mm
60mm (in 35mm film)
1/80 sec, f/8
Mode: Manual
Metering: Multi-segment
Exp comp: +2/3
ISO: 100
White balance: Auto
Flash: Off
File size: 333MB
Image size: 4131 x 2826
Color space: AdobeRGB
Saturation: Normal
Sharpness: Normal
Contrast: Normal
Color profile: Adobe RGB (1998)

[Don Railton]

Hello Wheeler

Well I like it...mostly. Nice colours in the rock and the cloud you have added compliments the image nicely and it all still looks 'natural' to me. The bit I don't like so much is the tree in the foreground on the RHS that is cut off. So I would have taken one step to the right to include all of that tree and remove the little bit of scrub popping into frame on the LHS, ie crop to the last 'e' in Wheeler. I would hope that in doing this the road was not obscured by the tree just right of center... It looks to be a very hot location....!

Thanks for showing
DON

[Wheeler McDougal Jr.]

Don,
Thanks for your thoughts. I agee with you, especially about the tree on the LHS. Do you think it would improve the image if I cropped it out? Thanks again.
Mac

[Don Railton]

Hi Mac

Its the RH tree I dislike the most. I would look at cropping this out and then either leave or cloning out the LH bush with the red gravel... Unfortunately I am not in a position at the moment to try any of this on your image.

DON

[Wheeler McDougal Jr.]

Hi Don,
Here is a repost with the crop that you suggested. I didn't crop the tree out because I would have lost the big butte on the far right, so I took just the tree out, which I might say wasn't very easy as I could not remenber what was behind it. So I used my imagination. By the way to answer your guestion about it being hot there it, really was, but it isn't always hot as it has a fairly cold winter as it is about 8,500 feet in altitude. Thanks again for your thoughts.
Mac

[Don Railton]

I think that is much better Mac although there are still artefacts at the tree site. Guess you know that... With the tree gone the distraction is removed and there is a better balance I feel. The road, while not to the edge still leads you into the image..

Don..

[Jerry van Dijk]

Hi Wheeler, good points about the composition already made by Don. Repost works ok, but I would have liked some of that empty FG to create an extra layer in your image. The tree half you had to clone out looks like it would have made a nice FG compositional element.

[Morkel Erasmus]

Your second crop is more appealing, Wheeler...but overall I just feel the light was against you here. It does look like a nice scene and a good place for a loooong drive :t3.