Moonset at VOF

Gallery: LandscapePosted November 27, 2012109 views7 comments

Valley of Fire State Park in southern Nevada. Everyone on this site knows that time of day and light make all the difference, and here's an example. This image was taken an hour and twenty minutes prior to the one in my last post. This is undiffused late afternoon light, the other was quite awhile after sunset. This is the color and light common to this location. Was visiting family in Springdale, UT for Thanksgiving and was able to sneak in a quick side trip during one of the airport shuttles. I like the lines in the LL corner and contrast between the plants, rock and sky. This place is aptly named.

Nikon D600, 24-70 f2.8 Nikkor at 44mm, 1/50 at f16, ISO 200. Some relatively simple Lightroom processing of a 14 bit RAW file.

Check out the larger version for detail.

Comments

7 comments

Comment posted by John&Patty Benway on November 27, 2012 at 5:05 PM

Russell, pretty scene, really like the light and color, along with the composition. Very nice indeed.
John

Registered on May 12, 2006, 626 Posts, 8700 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on November 27, 2012 at 5:28 PM

Russell,

Light can be very harsh in this part of the world, but I think you've handled it beautifully! It's not direct mid day light and so the lower angle really allowed the color to be retained. I think the sky and rock color and saturation is perfect. The addition of the moon, while not all that important, is still a positive element. The bush and cacti in the foreground make for a good anchor. This very well seen and photographed.

Minor suggestion. I might be inclined to slightly burn down the lower half maybe a 1/3, no more than 1/2 stops worth, just to even out the luminosity a bit; mostly the bush and the LLC rock. But a minor suggestion and not an issue really.

Lon

Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments

Comment posted by Rudy Ruberti on November 27, 2012 at 6:29 PM

The late afternoon light really brings out the color in the rock, which works nicely against the strong blue sky. The moon adds some more interest to the scene as well. Nicely done.

Registered on October 28, 2008, 179 Posts, 1875 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on November 27, 2012 at 9:17 PM

Russell, I think this is really nice. I like the red rock against the dark blue sky. The foreground plant and then the moon both add a nice element to this scene. Your larger version does have excellent detail too!!

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

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

Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on November 27, 2012 at 10:27 PM

Wonderful color. The cacti is perfectly placed and I really like the erosional features in the ss.

Registered on January 24, 2011, 576 Posts, 6942 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on November 27, 2012 at 11:43 PM

Yeah, I like this one. The color combination, the clarity, and the moon as an added element. All work very well together. The comp is just as good as the other elements, too.

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

Comment posted by Stan Rose on November 28, 2012 at 12:31 AM

I have a slightly different take on the moon here--IMHO, it is a distraction. You end up trying to pick out details and end up missing the rest of the comp, which is really nice, i love the cactus and great glowing rocks here! So, my attention is divided, and it shouldn't be. If i crop out the whole bottom, cactus and all, then the moon becomes interesting--but then of course you lose the nice cactus! A nice shot overall, i just don't feel it meshes the way the other commentators suggest.

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments