Cathedral Rock

Gallery: LandscapePosted May 2, 2011619 views7 comments

Cathedral Rock is the most popular visiting site in Sedona, Arizona and a popular hiking destination. It is the most photographed scene in
Arizona and one of the most photographed scenes in the Southwest.

This photograph was taken on February 13, 2011 and is an HDR combining three images in Photomatix. The photograph was taken with a Nikon D300 and a Nikkor AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8G ED lens. 1/30s f/16.0 iso200 at 70mm.

Please view larger photo. Comments and critiques are highly welcome. Thanks.

Comments

7 comments

Comment posted by Paul Duval on May 2, 2011 at 9:20 PM

Technically great and good detail without HDR;s tendency towards garishness, However the comp is a little static and centered. It may work better as a pano, I know that the rocks are the point of interest, but you included the brush in the foreground but it's kind of cut off. So maybe a pano crop. My eye keeps wandering back to the vegetation.

Paul

Registered on June 30, 2009, 508 Posts, 1907 Comments

Comment posted by Nicolaus Wegner on May 2, 2011 at 11:59 PM

Very clean image but the photomatix edge blending is driving my eyeballs bonkers.

This looks like an awesome area btw...never made it down this far south yet....seems like a busy place. ;]

Registered on February 21, 2010, 133 Posts, 1509 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Sieren on May 3, 2011 at 1:50 AM

Nice tight view Jay. I think the edge blending isn't that noticeable here so that doesn't bother me.

I would like to see the light and shadow on the Bell to contrast each other a little more.

Registered on January 2, 2008, 360 Posts, 5321 Comments

Comment posted by Cory Freeman on May 3, 2011 at 9:33 AM

a really nice image here Jay. there seems to be a dodge/burn halo between the sky and rocks that needs to be addressed. other than than a fine image.

Registered on December 16, 2003, 107 Posts, 1341 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on May 3, 2011 at 4:17 PM

Very pretty scene Jay. This looks very nice to me, and I'm enjoying the view.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Schrayer on May 3, 2011 at 8:18 PM

Beautiful light on the formations. Your HDR blend looks pretty natural to my eye. The foreground is not as strong as the rest of the image, but might be better with leaves on the trees or possibly during the fall. Still a beautiful shot, though.

Registered on May 28, 2004, 114 Posts, 2890 Comments

Comment posted by Jay Levin on May 3, 2011 at 8:54 PM

To Paul and Brian,

Many thanks for your comment. Just so you'll know, there are a barn and a fence just below the tree in the image. One can argue, as did a photojournalist shooting next to me, that including them would give a better idea of the massive size of Cathedral Rock. I strongly felt that including these man made structures would have totally ruined the image. I think the tree just has to be there as is.

Jay Levin

Registered on April 24, 2009, 21 Posts, 184 Comments