Blended Balance

This is a slot-canyon-inspired image. In the slots there is this naturally occurring white balance dissonance that is generally liked. Antelope Canyon, for instance, is carved from reddish brown sandstone, but images from there can contain blue hues from the open sky as well as glowing oranges from reflected light . . . all in one frame. Neither the blue nor the orange is the "natural" white balance for the rock. It's the various and contrasting light of different temperature illuminating the scene that creates this color disparity. But it does work. I think the mixed and unnatural white balance is one of the reasons slot canyon images are so appealing.

The slots are a pretty special lighting situation for sure, but ACR and PS provide a lot of latitude to subjectively set white balance. So what about blending some different white balance settings in one frame to create a slot-canyon-like color mix? In essence, making the warm colors warmer and the cool colors cooler. That's what I'm trying to achieve in this image. There were some naturally warm and cool colors in this scene, but in the shade under a cloudless sky it had a strong blue/cyan tint. I tried to accentuate the blue hues in the cool-colored areas and remove the blue in what would, under different circumstances (like reflected light), be much warmer.

This sort of seems to work, at least for an abstract composition like this. It's not a slot canyon, but the exaggerated warm and cool tones seem reasonable and maybe even natural given what we've come to expect in slot canyons. Would be interested to hear other opinions. I have a few more images on which I'm thinking of trying this approach.

5D2, Tamron 28-300@200mm, f/16, 1/6 sec, ISO 100, focus-blended.