Escalante 5 (+alt)

The grooves in the rock create a nice leading line to the cloud and the three mounds in the background.  As far as the black and white conversion, it looks good as is.  My only thought would be seeing how it looks darkening the rock to create more contrast between it and the cloud or some manipulation to bring out more detail in the rock. Overall, well seen and composed.

A nice minimalist view. I like the clouds a lot. A minor improvement for me would be a bit more contrast in the rock.

Wonderful black and white interpretation, Scott.  I like the sky and cloud but concur with others that some increase in contrast (mid-tone, maybe "clarity" a la lightroom) and some tonal separation between the foreground rocks and the mid-ground buttes would make this a real winner.

Did you use PS, LR, or a plug in?  Regardless, it looks very clean.  I like the faintest of rays extending left from the cloud.  Very cool.
ML

Scott, Excellent black and white photography. I like this comp / view a lot. That cloud looks fantastic and works beautifully in this scene. The soft rays of light are another wonderful touch. Very cool shot!
ps...let me know if you ever want to head to the U.P. I'll try and meet up with you. I know it is a long haul for you though.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

The clouds complementing the rocks make for stunning dynamics to my eye. Maybe increasing the contrast in the foreground might be an option. Your image comes close to an two dimensional abstract, what makes it especially interesting for me.

Peter

I like the texture in the clouds and I agree that maybe some dodge/burn along the foreground formations would add some extra contrast.  Sometimes you can rotate the polarizing filter to even out the dark/light area in the sky so one side will not be so much darker than the other side but this will depend on the angle of sun.  Very nice composition for a BW, way to go. 

Real sweet!  Excellent leading lines and great cloud. B&W is perfect for this, too. 

This is excellent! Really strong comp. simplified down to a few key elements. The leading lines in the sandstone make for a great foreground. If it were mine I would increase the contrast in the land and try to further accentuate the textures.

Thank you for the comments and suggestions. I thought the same thing, but when I boosted the contrast, I thought I pushed it too far, and I eased back before posting the original. I've boosted the foreground contrast again in this repost. Better?

Marylynne, this was processed via PS 5.

Nick, thank you for the invite. I don't think I can make it up there this year, but hopefully next year. I am looking forward to it.

I prefer the original post. 

I'm torn between the two. Maybe the foreground contrast went too far?  Somewhere in between the two maybe?  I am interested in what others think too.
ML

My kind of image, Scott.  Love the cloud and rays.  My preference is the original post.  I like the more subtle transitions in the sandstone.  I would, however, do some selective dodging and burning with a very low opacity brush, versus the more heavy handed contrast adjustments.  Also , if you are printing, there is a considerable amount of noise in the sky.  It doesn't detract from the image at this size, but may depending on what you are looking for. The image has a very minimalist appeal.  I like it alot.

Repost is the cake for me, Scott! Awesome work

I happen to like the repost much better as this makes the formations stand out a little more, nice job.

Scott, I'll stay with the original. I prefer the smoother less harsh feel of it.  Nick

Looks great to me! Wonderful lines and textures, and unusual clouds.
Very well-done!
Sandy

I think you have set a new comfort level accomplishment.  Very nice BW imaging, Scott.  Don't change the contrast or anything else.   Fine as is.

Striking image, perfect for B&W with that killer cloud.  I think I like the original a bit better - plenty enough texture in the rock.  

Scott, maybe an intermediate in contrast for the foreground between the first image and the revision. The cloud in the sky looks great.