Monument Rocks Sunset

Great job w/ the scouting and timing. Some weird fringing going on around the arch...maybe from a blend? Really love the location. Well done

aF

Hi Wayne, I really like the light in the sky and the sunburst shining through the arch. I also like the outline of the sandstone against the sky.
As the image stands right now, the FG looks a little 'muddy.' That's what my HS art teacher might have said. At first I thought of using a gradient and my next idea was to isolate the foreground and change the contrast with a curves layer. Honestly not 100% sure if either idea would work.
Regards,
Carol

Although I am not fond of the beveled frame, which distracts me from the image a bit, I think the image and moment caught here is very nice. I too think the red fringing could be eliminated which would be the only other thing that distracts the eye here. Great light. Nice composition.

I would say "Mission Accomplished!"
The comp and expousre look perfect to me, and the colors are gorgeous. For some reason, that red glow on the rocks where the Sun is shining through looks natural to me. I know that it looks a lot like fringing to anyone looking for technical defects, but to me, it just looks like it belongs there. I don't know if fixing it would improve the image or not, but if you give it a try, it would be interesting to see what non-photogs think of the two versions compared.
LOVE that sky!

Wayne, I like the sunburst through the arch; it is a nice touch. I think I would make this even more of a pano crop, eliminating much of the foreground. I really need to get back out there myself :).

Thanks for the comments everyone.

The rimlighting inside Keyhole Arch that has been mentioned is naturally occuring because of the shape of the arch and is present in the raw file so I don't plan to remove it. But it is enlightening to me that others view it as a processing artifact, that never occurred to me. It is always interesting to see how others view one's images. Thanks again!

The glow in the sky is wonderful! I like how it fades from pink back to blue. It's well captured. You've dealt with the enormous range of tones quite well, and the photo has a very natural presentation. I do see how the others state that the red halo around the high contrast area looks like a digital artifact. At both the small size, and the larger version, it appears to have a consistent width, and high contrast boundaries often do produce digital artifacts that can be present in the original RAW files. Since it is around all the edges, it doesn't appear to be direct light striking the opening, but again --- it's hard to tell from the web sized presentation.

Love that sunstar through the Keyhole! I also like the cool pastel colors in the sky. I would be tempted to crop it more into a pano shot to focus more attention on that beautiful color in the lower sky.

Very pretty scene, Wayne. The colors are beautiful and I really enjoy the feel this has. Maybe a little off the top, but not to much. Very nice.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

I think photogs would probably be the only ones that would even think about color fringing when looking at this. It would be difficult to say for sure if it's caused by the high contrast, or just an effect from the rocks themselves, which don't seem to be very wide or thick. I've been using the CA slider correction in RAW quite a bit lately, so I'm probably seeing something that just looks like fringing. In any case, you should print it big...great shot!

You got some great light on this trip, Wayne. My only thought here might be to crop off the white in the sky and bring out the textures in the grasses like in the rocks.

Excellent composite work, it's very nice when viewed large Wayne.
That sunburst through the keyhole arch is awesome of course