Wotan's Throne +REPOST

Gallery: LandscapePosted July 5, 2011497 views21 comments

A couple of days over the Fourth of July weekendwere spent at Cape Royal and Point Imperial on the north rim of the Grand Canyon. Saturday was the first day of "monsoon" moisture in northern arizona. A break under the clouds to the west allowed for the illuminated rain to give a nice cast to Wotan's Throne.

Image seems a little soft, which may be due to the high winds buffeting the tripod and camera.

Nikon D90, Tokina 12-24 @ 12mm, f/8, 1/5 sec, ISO 200
Blend of 2 images for sky and land. Larger image provided.

Comments

21 comments

Comment posted by Pedro Bento on July 5, 2011 at 8:00 PM

Insane view with glorious light.
Just recover a little information on the shadows.

PB

Registered on September 2, 2007, 45 Posts, 761 Comments

Comment posted by John Mumaw on July 5, 2011 at 8:31 PM

This is a superb Grand Canyon scene, Doug...congratulations!

Great work on the blend, as well.
My only bit of advice would be to back off the saturation in the cliff face and perhaps squeeze just a bit more detail from the near black trees in the lower left.

Registered on September 9, 2005, 62 Posts, 2289 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Teller on July 5, 2011 at 8:57 PM

Sweet light. Great comp and a fine image.

Registered on August 23, 2010, 1162 Posts, 6692 Comments

Comment posted by Koveh Tavakkol on July 5, 2011 at 9:52 PM

Very nice shot Doug. I also think the blend looks really clean here, but I would agree with John about the LLC trees being a bit too dark for the rest of the image. Fix that and you have yourself a great image!

Registered on September 1, 2009, 41 Posts, 608 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on July 5, 2011 at 9:54 PM

Wow, perfect skies and light and time of year for this, Doug. I like it all!

Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments

Comment posted by Scott Smorra on July 5, 2011 at 9:56 PM

I really like this one Doug. Your composition is very nice and I like all of the lines on both sides of the canyon which help lead the eye into the scene. The glowing cliff face may be a touch oversaturated, but it doesn't really bother me much.

Registered on November 2, 2009, 161 Posts, 2143 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Metternich on July 5, 2011 at 10:32 PM

Fab light!

Nice GC shot.

I'm ok w saturation here, but I too would be inclined to pull a bit more detail out of the bottom left...

Registered on June 19, 2009, 276 Posts, 6240 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on July 5, 2011 at 10:52 PM

Wow! This is just beautiful Doug. That light and color is wonderful. What a view!!

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

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

Comment posted by Jack Brauer on July 5, 2011 at 11:11 PM

I enjoyed your shots posted on the RMNP forum, but this one is definitely the winner! Great vista, great light, great atmosphere...

Registered on September 12, 2005, 40 Posts, 627 Comments

Comment posted by John Williams on July 5, 2011 at 11:57 PM

Superb! I love the lines curving to point to the brighter sky in the back right. I love the light on that butte too. In fact, instead of opening the lower left I might selectively darken the butte on the right to make that beautiful light stand out even more.

Registered on September 6, 2007, 221 Posts, 5985 Comments

Comment posted by dean hebert on July 6, 2011 at 12:06 AM

I love the light on the hillside! The bright spot of the clouds seems a bit close to the top and draws my eyes away from the intense scene below. I wonder if a crop to more of a pano format would keep my attention in the frame? Certainly not a deal breaker, I do like it as presented.

Registered on August 4, 2010, 70 Posts, 1132 Comments

Comment posted by Mat Malone on July 6, 2011 at 12:07 AM

I'm planning a trip to the North Rim later this year and you just solidified Wotan's Throne on my itinerary

I really like this. But I would agree with the other comments about the reds and the LLC.

Registered on December 15, 2008, 91 Posts, 882 Comments

Comment posted by Doug Koepsel on July 6, 2011 at 12:09 AM

Thank you for the feedback. Here is a repost. I tried to bring out some detail in the trees in LLC and not increase saturation of the rock, added some contrast to the sky, and then reblended the sky and canyon. It looks more natural to me now.

Registered on April 1, 2010, 196 Posts, 1592 Comments

Comment posted by Scott Smorra on July 6, 2011 at 12:11 AM

Looks MUCH better to me Doug. Great job using the feedback provided here to improve your image.

Registered on November 2, 2009, 161 Posts, 2143 Comments

Comment posted by Michael J Greene, on July 6, 2011 at 1:07 AM

Hi Doug,

I wouldn't reduce the saturation in the sky. However, I like the reduced look on the rocks.

Michael

Registered on June 18, 2009, 86 Posts, 2317 Comments

Comment posted by Tom Haxby on July 6, 2011 at 8:01 AM

This is fantastic. Personally, the saturation is not over the top. Agree with the others on the details in the LLC.

Registered on July 6, 2006, 126 Posts, 647 Comments

Comment posted by scott lanz on July 6, 2011 at 8:21 AM

Gorgeous. Repost looks very good, though I liked the colors in the original. Beautiful G.C. image.

Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments

Comment posted by John Mumaw on July 6, 2011 at 10:11 AM

That repost is just about perfect, Doug. I especially like what you did with the sky! Much more dramatic without seeming 'pushed'.
You eked out the right amount of detail in the trees, too. John has a good point about selectively darkening the butte on the right to act as a natural vignette of sorts. You got a real winner here, Doug. 'Arizona Highways' material if I've ever seen it!

Registered on September 9, 2005, 62 Posts, 2289 Comments

Comment posted by Phil Pogledich on July 6, 2011 at 4:09 PM

I like the sky in the original and the shadow recovery in the repost, and perhaps wouldn't mind if a bit of the canyon color of the original also found its way into the reposted version. None of that is really a criticism of this very fine shot . . . just my observations about the best parts of each version. Killer shot!

Registered on August 24, 2009, 123 Posts, 3099 Comments

Comment posted by Chris Moore on July 6, 2011 at 4:26 PM

Awesome light here, repost looks great!

Registered on January 12, 2010, 84 Posts, 388 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on July 7, 2011 at 6:07 PM

The repost is better with perfect color and detail in the shadows. I agree with Jack B. that this is the cream of all your posts on RMNP and there wasn't a bad one over there. Great image, Doug!

Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments