70-200 Color Question

I recently purchased the 70-200 2.8 IS for my XTi after reading all the rave reviews and seeing the spectacular pictures that have been posted from this lens. When it first arrived, I was like a kid in the candy store experimenting with the shallow DOF of 2.8. I was also relatively pleased with its performance at a recent wedding I took shots at.

Today I took it to Popago park, a slightly hilly park in Tempe Arizona about 30 minutes before sunset to take some shots. I was shooting RAW with sunny WB ISO 400-800 in Av mode. When I got the pictures back they didn't quite capture the color I thought i was taking. It seemed to my eye that the light was much more vivid both in the sunset and against the rocks.

With that said I wonder if it could be one or more of the following problems

1. You shouldn't use "sunny" WB early morning or late afternoon
2. Arizona is normally poop brown and lacking colors.
3. my 70-200 / XTi has issues (im pretty sure its shooter error :cry

Here's a couple shots, that may be able to help describe my problem.

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Most of you shots are in the shade, not the sun, so WB is an issue. Also, the sky is blown out, so dont expect any color there. Here is what I did with some quick PP. Next time put the WB to auto and dont blow out the sky; you will get much better color.

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doidinho wrote in post #4834186
Most of you shots are in the shade, not the sun, so WB is an issue. Also, the sky is blown out, so dont expect any color there. Here is what I did with some quick PP. Next time put the WB to auto and dont blow out the sky; you will get much better color.

Looks good! When you say "dont blow out the sky" i understand what you mean, but what is the best way to make sure to achieve that?

Several methods to prevent blowing the sky, polarizing filter or neutral graduated filters, or a minus setting in exposure compensation can do so but at the cost (possibly) of details in the shadowed areas.

You can use your white balance setting to get warmer colors as well, AWB maybe the easist to way to go but certainly not the best. Using the cloudy orshade setting will result in warmer richer colors even in sunlight areas. But this nothing that can't be done in post processing either. The best techniques are to use a custom WB based on a grey card setting in the light you are shooting, or to include a grey card in the shot to accurately reflect the lighting and use it in post to correctly define the colors.