Alstrom Gold (+)

Gallery: LandscapePosted August 26, 2014349 views16 comments

A few days ago I made my first visit to Alstrom Point overlooking Lake Powell. I was up there for sunset the evening before this image was made, and based on conditions was anticipating an epic sunset, only to have a cloud bank cover the sun and extinguish the light where I had planned to shoot. I slept up there in my truck hoping for a nice sunrise, but cloud cover again muted the light show. Somewhat disappointed, I was driving back from the far point overlooking Padre Bay when the clouds started to break and these light rays started peeking through. I sprinted for the edge of the mesa and was able to capture this view with a few bracketed exposures. I hope this image does justice to the amazing scene that morning.

I blended two exposures for the sky with a third for the terrain. Base image was 24mm, f/13, 1/20 sec, ISO 100. C&C particularly appreciated on the processing. Thanks, friends.

Comments

16 comments

Comment posted by scott lanz on August 26, 2014 at 7:06 AM

Beautiful, Jared. Love the light, including the rays. The beautiful scene was well captured and processed

Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments

Comment posted by Ronald Murphy on August 26, 2014 at 8:23 AM

A grand view and well-done with the dynamic range processing. Still some blown highlights (on my monitor), but that may be as it should be.

Registered on March 13, 2012, 279 Posts, 975 Comments

Comment posted by Ed Lowe on August 26, 2014 at 8:58 AM

Fantastic light and comp, Jared. I love the rays and the drama in the sky along with textures and details in the landscape. Beautifully done!

Ed

Registered on February 7, 2004, 414 Posts, 7115 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on August 26, 2014 at 9:31 AM

What a beautiful scene this is, Jared! I really enjoyed looking at the large version. Nice work on the processing too. It feels like what I would expect to see had I been standing there beside you. Natural and wonderful! Really like the light here. Cheers.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

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

Comment posted by Richard Teller on August 26, 2014 at 9:33 AM

I really like this image. The sky is dramatic, the muted colors in the rocks are very nice, and I really like the depth in the image.

Registered on August 23, 2010, 1162 Posts, 6692 Comments

Comment posted by gary phillips on August 26, 2014 at 2:28 PM

The large view is amazing, Jared. The detail in the foreground mesa really makes the shot for me. The crepuscular rays are always a winner. I might vote for a shade more light overall, but only a slight adjustment. Very nice work.

Registered on October 24, 2013, 185 Posts, 4136 Comments

Comment posted by Jared Warren on August 26, 2014 at 6:18 PM

Thanks for the comments so far. Perhaps this version is an improvement, perhaps not. It felt a little warm to me so I dropped the white balance slightly, but then added a (hopefully) subtle Orton effect with slightly increased saturation. Do you have a preference between the two?

Registered on May 11, 2012, 84 Posts, 931 Comments

Comment posted by Kathy Barnhart on August 26, 2014 at 7:21 PM

Nice job on both of these photos. I prefer the second one, even though it looks more surreal and I usually prefer realistic. Go figure. In any case, very nice job on the processing.

Registered on November 11, 2011, 404 Posts, 1639 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Reid on August 27, 2014 at 12:18 PM

Beautiful image Jared. Wonderful detail and colors in the fore ground and great light rays in the backround. The repost looks great to me, but both are nice. Great job working with what you got. Super image.

Registered on January 27, 2013, 65 Posts, 2460 Comments

Comment posted by Wesley Picotte on August 27, 2014 at 1:10 PM

Beautiful. I vote for v1 as a more natural representation of the scene.

Agree with Gary's comment about lighting, but feel it could go in both directions -- lighter over all, OR selective dodging to guide the eye. One thing I noticed is that despite the strong patterns / lines in the lower right hand of the image, the large negative space on the left pulled my eye into that area. Dodging it down might help (but since no-one else has mentioned it, perhaps it's a non-issue).

All in all, a really fantastic image of a very beautiful spot.

Registered on December 10, 2013, 4 Posts, 40 Comments

Comment posted by Preston Birdwell on August 27, 2014 at 3:39 PM

Lovely light, and a nice composition, Jared. There is a lot to look at, here. I prefer the original image. It is more open and gives the impression of light. Nicely done!

--P

Registered on November 1, 2003, 471 Posts, 5188 Comments

Comment posted by John Williams on August 27, 2014 at 9:09 PM

Spectacular scene Jared. I love the lines leading into the image.

Registered on September 6, 2007, 221 Posts, 5985 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on August 27, 2014 at 11:21 PM

You got some great conditions here, but the striped, multicolored rocks steal the show, IMO.

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

Comment posted by Kory Lidstrom on August 27, 2014 at 11:43 PM

Processing/contrast seem a tad off, but the comp, layers and light are spectacular. Nice work.

Registered on November 19, 2008, 49 Posts, 1035 Comments

Comment posted by Pat Sampson on August 28, 2014 at 11:23 AM

Jared,

This is so good. I like the light but agree with Tony that it's the striped rocks that make this so impressive. I like the repost but also tend to use the Orton technique frequently.

pat

Registered on May 19, 2007, 953 Posts, 15989 Comments

Comment posted by Doug Koepsel on August 29, 2014 at 12:42 AM

Jared, I like the second version as the editing additions enhance the glow much more nicely on the striped cliff base. I am a little unsure about the cyan in the right cliff face though.

Registered on April 1, 2010, 196 Posts, 1592 Comments