Shoshone Monolith

Gallery: LandscapePosted October 17, 2011115 views5 comments

Processing this image to meet my ultimate vision has haunted me for over a year, but I think I have finally succeeded!

The capture itself was taken at Grand Canyon's Shoshone Point, an uncrowded but still very accessible gem of a spot on the south rim. I was here mid-afternoon, a time when the light is making its way toward the "prime" of the golden hour. As such, the colors in the RAW are not very spectacular, but the angle of the light, the dust in the canyon and overall atmosphere had the makings for a great black and white photo. Over the last year I've tried to process the image a couple of times, each time getting the midground right where I wanted it, the foreground reasonable, but struggling to bring the sky together as dramatic as I wanted without it looking fake and messy. This time I double-processed the raw file in Lightroom, once for the earth, and once for the sky, doing the black and white conversions with the RAW conversions. In CS5 I used Tony's luminosity masks to process the "earth file" and then blended it with the "sky file", the hard part being the horizon on the left side of the photo. This area of the photo, and how it relates to the rest of the photo is what I had most struggled with previously, and hopefully this time around I nailed it. After the blend, I did no other CS5 adjustments (including the sky), but did tweak the entire image a little back in Lightroom (mainly boosting contrast, clarity) and then added the toning using Color Efex Pro. It has a subtle cool to warm gradient that I think adds a unique touch.

As I said early, processing this image has haunted me for a long time. I would love to hear some opinions on how well this image works for everyone. If it does, great, if it doesn't, then back to the drawing board!

Canon T1i @ 23mm
ISO100
f/9
1/80 sec

Comments

5 comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on October 17, 2011 at 11:29 PM

I've been here but don't remember this rock. The way you composed it works well. This looks pretty natural to me, though I could maybe see adding a bit of "haze" to the foreground buttes/mesas down in the canyon to lend a greater sense of distance between the rock and canyon.

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

Comment posted by Kent Mearig on October 18, 2011 at 12:54 AM

I'll try to give my honest feedback without being insensitive. You mentioned your struggle with processing, and I can begin by saying that the monochrome presentation, the range in tones, and the portrayal of light are all sensational. Looking at distinct aspect of the image, I see extreme beauty everywhere. I'm hung up at the composition/perspective though. With a formation like this, there isn't a whole lot the photographer can do, but nothing is helping to make the rock fit into the rest of the landscape. It stands out against the sky and the canyon. It practically stands out against the rest of the foreground.

Anyway, your treatment of the light in the canyon and sky really make me want to see more of it. I think you've done a great job achieving your vision. It's only that my vision would have been different, which I guess goes without saying.

Registered on September 4, 2006, 237 Posts, 4748 Comments

Comment posted by Michael J Greene, on October 18, 2011 at 2:36 AM

Hi Jake,

I like the composition and processing. You might consider burning down the foreground - the brightness there is eye catching.

Michael

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

Comment posted by Holger Streu on October 18, 2011 at 2:36 PM

B&W Landscape has always been my favorite. The contrast of the
Sky, rock and canyon is very pleasant. I agree with the foreground being
too bright. Otherwise an excellent photo.

Registered on September 19, 2011, 50 Posts, 113 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on October 18, 2011 at 5:05 PM

A striking image. The conversion is done very well to exploit the texture and light.

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