Red Rock Canyon

Im going to be adding stuff, bit by bit since im only using a laptop. i need to get me a desktop so things will be a lot faster. but C & C would be much appreciated!

please let me know what else i can do to make things better.

used CP filter but no GND/ND filter.

this is a beautiful image thank you for sharing.

Great shot.

If you get lightroom it is an easy fix to apply a filter for the sky

i question exactly what it is i am supposed to be seeing. if this is the red rock canyon just west of las vegas, this image does not capture the essence of that place at all. the color looks to be really off - if you were trying to create this effect in post processing, i would question why? - it doesn't help separate elements in the image. rather, most of the elements blend together. if this is basically your image straight out of camera, then i would recommend learning how to set your WB.

compositionally, this image does not convey much to the viewer. perhaps had you pulled back some either physically, or in your lens. find something specifically in the scene of interest to you & find a way to compose the shot to draw the viewer's eyes to it. in this scene, i just have no idea what that point would be.

hope this is th elevel of c&c you were wanting

jp

spartacusii wrote in post #9099138
i question exactly what it is i am supposed to be seeing. if this is the red rock canyon just west of las vegas, this image does not capture the essence of that place at all. the color looks to be really off - if you were trying to create this effect in post processing, i would question why? - it doesn't help separate elements in the image. rather, most of the elements blend together. if this is basically your image straight out of camera, then i would recommend learning how to set your WB.

compositionally, this image does not convey much to the viewer. perhaps had you pulled back some either physically, or in your lens. find something specifically in the scene of interest to you & find a way to compose the shot to draw the viewer's eyes to it. in this scene, i just have no idea what that point would be.

hope this is th elevel of c&c you were wanting

jp

YES! thats exactly the C&C that i was looking for.

im gonna upload some more as soon as i convert it to png, since i only shoot raw. the reason i posted this one is because i thought the colors just pop out. and i think i used the 50mm 1.8 on this one rather than the 18-55mm i cant remember thats why the view is a little obstructed. that and im inside red rock canyon instead of one of the trails.

i have more but im gonna convert it first then post it. its gonna take a lil bit though since, like i said earlier, im only using a laptop. its fast but processing images can take a toll on the laptop...

as for the white balance?? is it off? coz, seriously, this is how red rock canyon looks like...

edit: i used, the 18-55mm. im gonna post some pics later when i used the 50mm 1.8

Chris wrote in post #9098950
If you get lightroom it is an easy fix to apply a filter for the sky

how do you do that?? i got lightroom 2 and i learn as i go. some tips, please?

the only PP that the picture got was saturation and exposure. other than that, nothing since like i said, im still learning. i only do my photography hobby on my weekends, which is a shame. i want to do it all the time so i can learn more and get better at it.

my bro lookng through the scope

Panda_stunter wrote in post #9099572
YES! thats exactly the C&C that i was looking for.

im gonna upload some more as soon as i convert it to png, since i only shoot raw. the reason i posted this one is because i thought the colors just pop out. and i think i used the 50mm 1.8 on this one rather than the 18-55mm i cant remember thats why the view is a little obstructed. that and im inside red rock canyon instead of one of the trails.

i have more but im gonna convert it first then post it. its gonna take a lil bit though since, like i said earlier, im only using a laptop. its fast but processing images can take a toll on the laptop...

as for the white balance?? is it off? coz, seriously, this is how red rock canyon looks like...

edit: i used, the 18-55mm. im gonna post some pics later when i used the 50mm 1.8


how do you do that?? i got lightroom 2 and i learn as i go. some tips, please?

the only PP that the picture got was saturation and exposure. other than that, nothing since like i said, im still learning. i only do my photography hobby on my weekends, which is a shame. i want to do it all the time so i can learn more and get better at it.

i have looked at your new post with pics added - i can assure you that the colors are off - waaaay too warm. it is robbing the images of their true potential. i was there in march of this year, & have some shots myself. it looks like you are there very early in the AM or fairly late in the afternoon/evening - but even so, the images should not be this warm. let me dig up a couple to post here so you can see a comparison.

jp

ok - i went back & dug out a pano i created of the same basic scene you shared in your 2nd set of pics. i didn't remember until i re-visited my own shots that you obviously had to be shooting early morning. my shot was made while making the drive to hike up icebox canyon. it looks to me like we basically might have been pretty close to the same sun angle in terms of how high it was, not the compass direction. i was shooting back in march, & i'm assuming yours is fairly recent, so there would be a bit more southerly angle for the sun for you. but all in all, not that much different, really. given it was basically similar in height in the sky, our light should be fairly close.

i do have to point out that this is in the desert, & you are shooting after the hot dry summer, & i was shooting right on the heels of the 'spring' season - so clearly foliage in my shot is going to be markedly greener than in yours. BUT, the rocks don't change color like the plants, so we can focus our attention on them.

i clearly have some warmth in the image due to the early AM sunlight, but i'm sure you can see the difference between our shots. i typically set a custom WB prior to shooting, then i also check it in pp.

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im gonna post one that is straight out the camera...

unfortunately im gonna do that tomorrow since i need to get some sleep. i work in the AM.

and yeah, i do get what youre saying, it is warm. the new 3 images, i did an "auto white balance" thru LR2 and thats what it gave me.

the unedited one should be closer to what you have. i also set my own custom white balance that closely resembles yours. but when i saw it on LR2, it was too cool so i went and set it to "auto" and it looked 'better' to me so i left it on auto

raw shot with my own custom balance straight from cam. CR2 (raw) converted to PNG file. shot at about 9 am using the 18-55mm IS.

if im not mistaken, we were on the same place which is high point lookout.

the foliage are almost the same coz like i said, i do my own custom white balance.

what do you use to set your custom WB? & what is your procedure for setting it? ( i don't mean camera steps. obviously those will be the same. just walk me thru your approach & your thinking process)

reason i ask is cuz, if you look at your sky, it has a distinct purple hue to it. which, of course, should be more blue.

it's funny - for the life of me i just don't have any recollection of seeing that scope when i was there. & i don't have any shots with it in view. i think i was a bit more to your left tho, so that could explain some of it, i suppose.

jp

In LR you can use graduaded filter to do sky.
http://www.dolcepics.c​om …ated-filter-lightroom-20/

I noticed that the shadow of the bush just slightly to the right of center is pointed straight at your camera. I also read in your original post you used a CP. A polarizer will have virtually zero polarizing effect under that condition, i.e. no perceptible darkening of the sky will occur, if that's what you were after, other than some increase in saturation of color depending on atmospheric conditions. Perhaps it's that increase in saturation which some may perceive as too warm an overall tone. I don't see your shot as too warm, since the area is mostly yellow sandstone, and the sky color seems to be fairly spot-on shooting into the sun.

For the maximum polarizer effect you need to be at or very close to right angles to the rays of the sun, otherwise you are just loosing approx. 2 stops of light with no real advantage.

JZG

John Z. Goriup wrote in post #9113118
I noticed that the shadow of the bush just slightly to the right of center is pointed straight at your camera. I also read in your original post you used a CP. A polarizer will have virtually zero polarizing effect under that condition, i.e. no perceptible darkening of the sky will occur, if that's what you were after, other than some increase in saturation of color depending on atmospheric conditions. Perhaps it's that increase in saturation which some may perceive as too warm an overall tone. I don't see your shot as too warm, since the area is mostly yellow sandstone, and the sky color seems to be fairly spot-on shooting into the sun.

For the maximum polarizer effect you need to be at or very close to right angles to the rays of the sun, otherwise you are just loosing approx. 2 stops of light with no real advantage.

JZG

thanks jzg!