Does it work?

Spent a couple of hours at Arches National Park this summer while driving from Denver to Phoenix (in one day). I know this will be considered overcooked by some (maybe many). I just want to get feedback. Thanks.

Looks not overcooked on my laptop. Maybe you could zoom in and bring in some more foreground interest. A nice shot though.

Thanks. I am going to go back through pictures from that particular outing and see what I can come up with. I am really having problems grasping PP styles. I have some decent shots from Arches that I get lost trying to enhance in post. Maybe I will throw some raw images up on a thread and get some help from the folks around here.

I like it, simple and stark.

It's a very good capture.
It reminds me of some you'd see on a postcard, which I think we all agree are sometimes overcooked. If anything, I'd back off on the sky a little either in Hue (lighter blue) or Saturation (less blue/pixel).

There is what looks like a masking/matte issue all along the right hand edge of the rocks

Nice image - I like the composition.

From a processing perspective, I think the rocks could stand to be brighter and maybe a touch warmer and there are some masking issues on the right side.

Thanks for the feedback thus far. I am going to go back to the original in raw and mess with it a bit. I am basically shooting in the dark with PP so I will see what I can come up with.

I have been bothered by the line along the right side of the large rock, so now I know it is a masking issue. I have heard people use that term, but didn't exactly know what it was referring to. I am going to see what I can do with this image today and post it up later. Any suggestions on how to combat the masking issues?

I'd like to see a sky-only exposure gradient starting at the upper right corner. Having the sky a little darker on the right hand side might make it look like some weather is coming in and add a little more perspective. Have you goofed around with darkening the shadows and blacks a bit? I am also just learning about this stuff but it seems that there is usually a point on the blacks slider that makes everything suddenly pop out. It would be interesting to see what you started with. And you might want to check out the RAW Before and After thread.

cacaw- most the stuff you mentioned is over my head. I am familiar with the sliders but don't really fiddle with much because I don't know what the heck it does. I am definitely going to schedule a little time to mess around with this photo, your idea sounds interesting.

What software are you using? If you are (or have anyone in the family who is) a student, you can get Lightroom for about $90. Not that the free software isn't adequate, just that almost everyone uses it so it's easier to tell people what you are doing and get advice. (By the way, you probably aren't that far behind me.)

Did I mention that I really like your image?

I think if you had strong light from behind you yo light up the rock face it would really pop.

cacawcacaw wrote in post #13616908
What software are you using? If you are (or have anyone in the family who is) a student, you can get Lightroom for about $90. Not that the free software isn't adequate, just that almost everyone uses it so it's easier to tell people what you are doing and get advice. (By the way, you probably aren't that far behind me.)

Did I mention that I really like your image?

I have CS5, just don't know really how to use it that well. And thanks for the kind words about the photo. I have been reluctant to post anything on here for a while because there are some AMAZING photographers on this site. It is such a wealth of knowledge that I have just been reading for the past couple of months.

I didnt fix the masking line, but a few quick contrast tweaks and a levels adjustment gets this much closer to what I would have done. If you prefer I not share my edit, let me know and Ill take it down.

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I like the edit. That is a bit more over the top as far as processing goes, but it looks very nice and brings out the detail in the rock.

I do not care if you edit one of my images as that is what I was hoping for. I would just like a somewhat detailed description of what it is you did. I can appreciate looking at the edited image, I just want to know how to replicate certain looks when I see them.

Thanks in advance