San Juan Dreamin' (+ Repost)

Gallery: LandscapePosted August 8, 20173,525 views9 comments

It's never too early for fall, right? This one is from a fall color trip that I took in 2012. I met up with a couple of former NPN members, Morris McClung and Bill Pelzman at Dallas Divide for sunset and then we had a great dinner at True Grit Cafe in Ridgway.

I have really struggled with the processing on this. I have long been disappointed with how it turned out because it seemed to be a bit soft. It's probably hard to tell that at web resolution though. Some of that may be a factor of shooting this with the D700 which did not have enough resolution to resolve all of the fine detail in the scene. It may also be that the autofocus missed due to the low contrast and fairly low light in the foliage. I believe that I focused about 1/3 of the way into the scene. I definitely appreciate not only the resolution, but also the dynamic range and improved malleability of the D800E files.

Anyway, since this has been lurking on the ol' hard drive for a while and I worked it up with my improved processing skills I thought I would go ahead and share it. As always all comments and critiques are welcome.

Capture Info:
70 mm
f/16 @ 1/6 sec, ISO 200

Processing info:
TK's luminosity and saturation masks

Comments

9 comments

Comment posted by scott lanz on August 9, 2017 at 7:53 AM

Classic DD image, Bryan. Beautiful light and color. Processing looks right on to me. I would not have commented on any softness; looks fine in this web presentation. If it is soft, maybe more from the slow ss even if on a tripod (wind?) than either the focal point, fstop, or camera resolution? Just speculating. I've never been to Colorado in the fall, but it's certainly on my (very long) to do list.

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

Comment posted by Richard Teller on August 11, 2017 at 5:51 PM

I just like the feeling of this image. It makes me want to be there.

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

Comment posted by Doug Koepsel on August 12, 2017 at 11:25 AM

Brian, it is never too early to dream of fall colors, especially in Colorado. Two suggestions may be to 1) select the treed slopes and add some brightness, and 2) run the spot heal tool over the small circular bright spot near the center of the sky. I have been thinking of going to somewhere besides CO for fall colors this year, but this image has me questioning that thought. Nice colors and sky in your image.

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

Comment posted by gary phillips on August 12, 2017 at 4:23 PM

Doug pretty much nailed my thoughts on this one, Brian. Additionally, I might crop or burn the tops of the trees along the bottom of the frame that are lighter. Real minor suggestions on a wonderfully revived image.

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

Comment posted by Paul Breitkreuz on August 13, 2017 at 12:21 PM

Brian, this is a wonderful scene. I can say I've enjoyed this site only a couple times over the years and including eating at that cafe too.
I can relate to your frustration with regard to ANY aspen tree images. I get fine aspen tree images with MF & LF on film, but converting it to digital with compression issues is always tough.
With the unending heat here in So Cal I too look forward to moving on to the fall ASAP....... sad

Registered on February 25, 2006, 525 Posts, 8448 Comments

Comment posted by Anil Rao on August 14, 2017 at 2:06 AM

A very strong grand-scenic landscape photograph. I am especially enjoying the light drama in the sky. The foreground is also very lovely and provides the much needed depth to the scene.

Registered on November 15, 2003, 234 Posts, 4923 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on August 14, 2017 at 6:12 PM

What a beautiful scene this is, Brian, and you captured it in some wonderful conditions. At this size it looks pretty good here to me. I would love to go see this view someday! cool

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI.

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

Comment posted by Brian Schrayer on August 19, 2017 at 7:17 PM

Thanks for the comments everyone! I have darkened some of the lighter tones in the sky and added overall contrast to the lights. I also brightened the trees with by lightening a darks luminosity mask. I also made a bit of a color balance adjustment.

Registered on May 28, 2004, 114 Posts, 2890 Comments

Comment posted by Preston Birdwell on August 20, 2017 at 3:46 PM

The re-post is the ticket, Brian. It is much more luminous than the original. My only suggestion at this point is to clone out that lone aspen at the right edge--it grabs my eye. Other than that, I think this works nicely.
--P

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