Arches National Park

What a dramatic shot with beautiful light. It must have raised your heartrate some to see this? I think the hdr came out pretty good. maybe some supplimantal contrast adjustments here and there might make it even better. The tops of the mountains seem a little flat.

Chris

Beautiful scene, Michael, the La Sals and arches is always a killer combo and you really got good conditions/light here. Opinion will vary, but IMHO you would be better off with one properly exposed shot here, even if the shadows get a bit cut off. I think if you exposed for the highlites here, a digital grad (or physical gND) would have done the trick quite well. As Chris mentions, a quick fix here would be to reintroduce some of the bg contrast.

I have tried to shoot this scene a few times myself, it sure is beautiful! It looks like you got some really nice light and storm clouds - amazing conditions! I might suggest two things: first would be the main pillar in the fg is a bit too centered - do you have a comp where it is off to one side? Also, not sure if this is from the processiong, but there seems to be a lack of shadow, especially in the fg, which gives this a kind of "HDR look". I think the scene and what you've captured merits a little more time on this, it really is beautiful!

Hey, I don't see any arches Michael, what gives?

Overall very well done, I've always loved the contrast of the red rocks set against the snow covered La Sals. And as Chris and Stan mentioned, adding some contrast back into the scene would improve this greatly.

amazing layers in this scene, i really like it

Hamed

I like the comp and light. It just looks a little blurry.

The small version looks a little soft but otherwise this is just glorious. Wonderful use of warm light.

Killer composition and conditions Michael. I could see working on the technical aspects of processing - mostly notably color and sharpness.

Michael

I recognize this spot! Pretty good with the HDR and I think you could tweak this a bit more