Grand Finale

Gallery: LandscapePosted January 28, 20174,196 views9 comments

The title of this image is of course a play on words (my friends will tell you that I'm the king of bad puns!), but it is also a reference to the fact that I had been striking out on sunsets all week and this was the last opportunity that I would have for a good sunset. It did not disappoint. But don't worry, I still have some more Grand Canyon photos to share. sad

The color on this evening was naturally vibrant. The light in the clouds was obviously beautiful, but it also resulted in a beautiful glow in the canyon. As I have mentioned previously I strive to capture the natural vibrance of the scene and try not to embellish the scene in processing. Of course, the camera does not capture the scene exactly as it was and my memory of the scene is not perfect. I shot this with a neutral color balance to avoid blowing out the highlights so the RAW file definitely did not represent what I saw. Of course, we all know that the RAW file is low in saturation and contrast. Of course, with all of that said, please feel free to comment if you think that I have pushed the processing too far.

As always all comments and critiques are welcome! crying

Capture Info:
24mm (cropped from full frame in post processing)
f/11 @ 2 sec
ISO 100

Processing Info:
TK's luminosity and vibrance masks, cloud sharpening low-pass filter

Comments

9 comments

Comment posted by Harley Goldman on January 28, 2017 at 9:32 AM

You got a fine sky to go with an excellent landscape. I might bump the contrast a little throughout the canyon, but otherwise, processing looks good to me.

Registered on November 19, 2003, 586 Posts, 11271 Comments

Comment posted by Doug Koepsel on January 28, 2017 at 9:49 AM

Brian, Harley said exactly what I was thinking about the very nice sky and adding some contrast in the Canyon. I might be inclined to try cooling the WB just a little in the Canyon to bring out some blues. This is a colorful evening we all hope for when at the Canyon.

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

Comment posted by Bill Fach on January 28, 2017 at 11:32 AM

Brian: Marvelous scene superbly captured. The processing works for me pretty much as is. Well done.>=))>

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1805 Posts, 26981 Comments

Comment posted by Dave Dillemuth on January 29, 2017 at 12:17 PM

Wonderful image. This is my favorite of the Grand canyon images you posted. I agree with comments on bumping up the contrast in the land a bit. I might also dodge the river a bit. In any event a terrific capture.

Registered on December 10, 2015, 104 Posts, 1112 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on January 29, 2017 at 1:40 PM

Brian,

Indeed a grand and beautiful scene of the canyon. There's a quietness to this, despite the grandness of scale.

Hard to improve upon this, although you might play around with adding a tad more contrast in the canyon? Not too much or that quietness goes away. Beautifully captured.

Lon

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

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on January 29, 2017 at 2:20 PM

Brian, This is really a beautiful scene. The conditions and light you captured here are just wonderful. I love the soft glow across the clouds and over the canyon. As Lon mentioned there is a quietness to this scene that is just wonderful. I like this a lot.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI.

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

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on January 29, 2017 at 4:28 PM

Bryan, this view must be seen large to appreciate the quality of the details in the foreground. Those details add a fine balance to this great view with lovely gentle colors in the clouds and on the far walls.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Kearl on January 29, 2017 at 5:52 PM

The colors are really nice. I am not sure about adding more contrast, I would just lighten up the bottom half of the image a bit.

Registered on September 2, 2013, 209 Posts, 1514 Comments

Comment posted by gary phillips on January 29, 2017 at 9:51 PM

Beautiful Brian. You were fortunate to get such a nice sunset and did very well with it. I think I agree with Dan, in that it's not a contrast issue for me, but a brightness issue. I know the canyon can be very dark, but bringing up the brightness in the canyon would finish this off nicely. Looks like you had a great trip.

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