As I was finishing a hike in Palo Duro Canyon State Park, I was watching the clouds form over part of the canyon walls. I was struck by the extreme contrast between the well defined canyon walls and the softness of the sky and clouds. I really like the dark area in the middle of the sky.
I finally got to a place where I could get a relatively unobstructed view of canyon wall and the sky. I tried various compositions, but then settled on what I knew had to be a panoramic-type shot. I wanted to emphasize the sky so I only included the top portion of the canyon.
Enjoy.
Camera settings: Nikon D3, 28-70mm f/2.8 at 28mm, shot at ISO 200, f/16 and 1/500th of a second.
Post Processing:
Lightroom: Set white and black points, added mid-tone contrast, clarity and vibrance.
Photoshop: Cloned some tops of trees on the canyon walls and used high pass filter method in the hard light mode to sharpen canyon walls only and then converted to black and white using nik Silver Efex Pro.
Not sure which is more interesting the canyon walls or the clouds. Either case, I like the photo. You made the right decision regarding the format.
ReplyDeleteAnne
I love the contrast here Larry. In both the clouds/canyon and the black/white.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that this is a good composition/presentation.
Great work as usual!
Brian
Overall, I like the shot. I am not sure about all the negative space in the sky. Could you tell me why you like?
ReplyDeleteAgee
Great shot. Makes me want to visit this park. Keep shots like this coming.
ReplyDeleteCharles M
Nice shot. Love the contrast between the clouds and the mountains. B&W definitely works well here!
ReplyDeleteIt may not be an Ansel Adams but it is pretty durn good. It reminds me of some of his because of the way you included a lot more sky than land. Is it still a landscape when it is more about the sky?
ReplyDeleteBill S