Coyote Gulch

The way the background cradles the tree is superb
The water flow an additional element that sets this photograph a keeper

Beautiful lighting here and great comp. The "black hole" on the left is a tad distracting, but otherwise a great capture.

Love those Ektar colours!

You certainly made that one shot count. Stunning image, like the autumn leave colors of the rocks.

Fantastic contrast in colours, I also find the black space on the mid left distracting. Great shot. A reminder of a sour trip...and a good one at that.

Love the warm tones in this one. Great colors contrast and the comp works well for me. I agree on the black hole on the left, but this is not a big deal deal for me.

Ben: Perhaps this image wasn't worth all the trouble but it ought to soften some of the pain. Beautiful scene and a full spectrum of colors superbly rendered. >=))>

I like the yellow tree against the red rock and the silky water.

This looks superb Ben , love it.

Gary.

Masterful image, Ben, and your story was equally exciting. Some things you just have to try once.....

Classic image from this location, Ben.

This is beautiful Ben! I think it was worth all your effort! I also enjoyed the video very much, and it sounds like this may be the only 8 x 10 image you will ever make here.. Really nice work!

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Great image. I could see this big and hanging in a gallery someplace. Fine work.

Well, I know you are very careful with the amount of images you take, but just one shot isn't a lot even for you. This is an impressive shot though and together with all the experience you made on this trip it makes it all worthwhile.

Ben,

Wonderful image from the canyonlands; terrific combination of water, sandstone and the ever present cottonwood. Glad you were able to capture this.

Maybe it's just me since no one else seems to mention it, but at least for me, there's a localized yellow/red color cast centered around that cottonwood that seems off to me. Yes, yes, I realize the cottonwood is yellow AND the cliffs are red, but it just seems to me the interior around the trunk area seems overly red/yellow. Or am I just being too picky? ;-) The water/sandstone and lower half of the image looks great to me. Anyway, I just thought I would toss that out there.

Lon

Ben, beautiful image and I enjoyed the video.

Lon,

I just rechecked the scan, and the darker red/yellow on either side of the trees is the result of a bush growing at the base of the tree. It does look a bit strange when viewed at the small web size though, and I see exactly what you're referring to. Here's a closer view of that area: http://benhorne.com/photos/closeup.jpg

I also battled a blue cast in the water. Ektar does better with controlling the blue cast than velvia, but work still needs to be done to keep it in check.

Ben,

Thanks for the response and the detailed closeup - that explains quite a bit. Beyond that, I think it's fair to say that we all have our own tendencies and sensitivities to one color, or many, and there are no right or wrong colors. And certainly in the case of your image, all is well within that scope. Whites are another tough one - as you mentioned with Velvia - add to that, I'm not sure that pure white is going to exist anyway given the variation in reflected and absorbed light. Anyway, all is good under the hood. ;-)

Lon

If you could only get one you sure did get a nice one! I love the contrast between the reds in the rock and the yellow in the trees. I also like the silky water.

Well the one you stopped for was worth the effort. Interesting comp, great ss, and excellent colors. Well done.

Fantastic image Ben. Wonderful comp especially but I am also enjoying the warm colors. I do enjoy your videos to on your photo adventures.

Love it, Ben. One I've wanted to capture for years. I feel your pain. (mostly back pain from lugging an 8x10). :)

Rich warm colors and beautifully rendered water. this is a wonderful image

The colors are terrific. Enjoyed the video.

Very nice Ben. Worth the pain.

Perhaps that black hole is a bit of a reminder of the difficulties of the trip... Other than that minor problem, which could be eliminated by cropping, this is one fantastic image for color and comp.

Ben, well worth the effort. I've read the other comments and I've got to say the black hole on the left kind of adds to the composition. Without it(I mock cropped on my computer) my eye is out of the photo pretty quickly. As is, the travels over to the left(sure a little cascade would have been perfect, but it's nature) then goes up the frame to the flowers and varnished wall. Basically holds the interest much better with the composition you choose.

The black hole on the left side was definitely a concern when setting up the composition. I tried to minimize it by showing only part of it, but the imagination of the viewer will definitely fill in the gaps. Just out of the picture in the upper left corner is the sky, and I wanted to center the trees in the background against the desert varnish. I used rear movements to enlarge the background and minimize the foreground to squish everything into the composition. I considered a tighter crop by getting rid of some of the left, but I decided to go with this because I liked how you can see the water cascade to the pool below on the left.

As much as I thought the trip was a mistake when I was there, I now want to return and spend some more time there. It's funny how that works.

Lovely scene. If I went on a trip and took one photo, I hope it would turn out this well!