Silver Grotto w/2nd repost

OK, I said I'd post this "soon" back in um, June. Ahem. This was from my Grand Canyon river trip in May. I was on dinner duty that night, so just had time to scoot up to the Grotto & get a few pics before scurrying down to dinner duty. Luckily, somebody had left a dead tree to climb up the 1st very slick pour-off, but I still had to lieback up the 2nd (wet) pour-off to get to this pool. Our trip leader had broken his ankle descending from here on a previous trip, so, having ankles that turn on a dime, I was nervous about that possibility. Fortunately, I survived with all limbs & gear intact.

I really like your comp here Monica. The diagonal lead-ins top right and bottom left work very well. The two round rocks mimic the curves in the walls too. To me the whole scene seems a bit over exposed and washed out losing detail in the bright areas. I think using some highlight recovery and saturation would most likely get you closer to the ideal. I'd say it was certainly worth the effort.

I love all the side canyon hikes available on GC river trips. This is one canyon that I've not had a chance to explore.

With my monitor calibration I don't see the bright areas as over exposed. However, I would probably apply a slight gradient to darken the left side and bottom to keep attention on the center.

I find the bright orange debris in the water is a significant distraction. I think desaturating the debris should be enough, if you don't want to clone it out.

Sweet shot. Makes me want to get back on the river.

I agree with Bill about darkening the lower left, but I'd do it with a polygonal lasso so that the rocks stay unchanged.

Thanks, guys. Here's sketch as I won't be back home w/my big monitor for several more days

That's exactly what I had in mind. Looks great on my monitor.

I'm really liking the second version...nice capture!

Hi Monika, I much prefer the second version. Not only does the exposure seem spot on in #2, but I really like the added sharpening. There's alot more interesting detail in the reflection. As for comp, I would probably crop about a half inch off the bottom. Just my preference.

I like the exposure, debris removal, and sharpening in the second, though I prefer the saturation in the first. Still quality image, but you don't need me to tell you that.

The removal of the bright reflection in the second is good. My tastes would average the saturation of the two images and darkness of the upper back area. Kane's suggestion of a bottom crop seems good. Looks like you caught a nice photogenic side canyon

The 2nd post is definitely the better of the two, I'm glad you were able to get in there. Excellent shot of one of my favorite side hikes. I just got back from there on Nov 15 but we didn't stop at Shinumo Wash this time due to time constraints and the air temperatures wouldn't make wet hikes a pleasant time even though we were in drysuits.

Here's the next iteration. I'd forgotten how much fun this is!
Don: I would have been envious of your spending a month on the Grand except for the mention of drysuits .... you guys are seriously burly