twists

[Christoph C. Feldhaim]

I took the freedom for an edit.
Hope you like it.

0. Set to 16 bit mode
1. Duplicate layer
    Gaussian blur new layer (don't remember the radius, but it was quite big)
2. Put new layer in a group, set the group to multiply mode (not pass through)
3. added levels to the group above the layer and tweaked it a bit.
4. added a final curve on top of all.
5. Merged and exported as 8 bit jpg

This method generally helps a lot if you have little global contrast but high local contrasts to get the balance between local and global contrasts back.

Time needed: 2-4 minutes

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

Chris,

Your version goes in the direction I was asking for, but I think it carries it a little too far for my taste. I think you can soften the contrast some and still retain the sense of drama, while retaining detail in the shadows.

I wish I'd heard of Goosenecks State Park before my one trip to Utah a couple of years ago. I think I like the scene better than Horshoe Bend.

Eric

[Christoph C. Feldhaim]

Chris,

Your version goes in the direction I was asking for, but I think it carries it a little too far for my taste. I think you can soften the contrast some and still retain the sense of drama, while retaining detail in the shadows.

I wish I'd heard of Goosenecks State Park before my one trip to Utah a couple of years ago. I think I like the scene better than Horshoe Bend.

Eric

Yes, I agree. It was just a quick and dirty proof of concept, definitely not a final edit.

[Jeremy Roussak]

Well, I must say I love the Peter Eastway's shot but of course it is a matter of taste. The third photo Jeremy posted is exactly the type of photo I get all the time. I am at this gorgeous location, the lighting is ok but not great, the trip has been wonderful but when I open the photo in Photoshop it looks...average. One time a photographer told me, that post production is half the fun. I agree that you should get the best possible shot in the camera but sometimes I feel post editing is somehow a dirty word in the minds of some shooters. I kind of like the first photo in color though.
I guess I like the Eastway's photo because of the WOW factor, I have posted similar photos to Jeremy's in other forums and have gotten 1/4 of the comments his original photo got.

Andres, that was my point, really. My wife and I had just over a week in Arizona / Utah. I'd been there before; she hadn't. We had decent weather at Grand Canyon and lots of sun in Page. When we reached Monument Valley, though, it was heavily overcast and raining. We went out to Goosenecks because I wanted to show her the place and since I probably won't return for years, I took some photographs. I knew as I took them that to produce anything worth paper and ink I'd need a lot of post-processing. I knew also that even with a fair bit of work, I might well end up with nothing.

Christoph, I like the idea of what you've done to the photo but like Eric, I think it's overdone. I appreciate it was more a proof of concept, though, and I'll see what similar effect I can manage. Thanks for the method tip, which I'm sure will have application elsewhere as well.

Eric, having now been to Horseshoe Bend, I too think I prefer Goosenecks, at least for black and white. The colours are more interesting at Horseshoe, which no doubt helps to explain its popularity.

Jeremy

[Dave (Isle of Skye)]

Would have been interesting to know what she was screaming; let me go, damn you?

You can't leave us dangling on the edge of our seats, Phot!

;-)

Rob C

My wife is very scared of heights and I am totally not, so whenever we hunt down a good landscape location and find something with a sheer drop (found some really good ones in Yosemite Valley last year), I find I have to go right up to the edge and dance about a bit like an idiot, or better still pretend I have stumbled, which makes her scream like a banshee - ah, what we do for love...?

Photobloke

[francois]

My wife is very scared of heights and I am totally not, so whenever we hunt down a good landscape location and find something with a sheer drop (found some really good ones in Yosemite Valley last year), I find I have to go right up to the edge and dance about a bit like an idiot, or better still pretend I have stumbled, which makes her scream like a banshee - ah, what we do for love...?

Photobloke

I guess that your wife would love Goosenecks. It's not too steep, at least compared the the vertical walls of Horseshoe Bend and you could dance all day long without risking too much!
 

[Rob C]

My wife is very scared of heights and I am totally not, so whenever we hunt down a good landscape location and find something with a sheer drop (found some really good ones in Yosemite Valley last year), I find I have to go right up to the edge and dance about a bit like an idiot, or better still pretend I have stumbled, which makes her scream like a banshee - ah, what we do for love...?

Photobloke

That's love? That's terrorism!

Rob C

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

... I do like the Eastway photo. Nobody could confuse it with reality! Sadly, I'd left the furnace I usually use for melting gold back at the hotel...

Hehe... nice one Jeremy!

Btw, this is my homage to Peter Eastway:


Egg Rock Lighthouse by Slobodan Blagojevic, on Flickr

P.S. For those new to Flickr, once you are there, click again on the picture to see it larger and on a plain, black background

[Jeremy Roussak]

Nice light, Slobodan.

Jeremy

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

Right, Jeremy. There is only so much one can do in post-processing if the light was not good to start with. This was shot from a speeding catamaran (used for whale watching), at full speed, returning to the harbor at the end of the day. Hand-held, Canon 70-200/4 with a 1.4x converter. It was the strong, golden (though not this golden ) sidelight that caught my attention.

[RSL]

Very nice, Slobodan. Great light on the hand of man always triumphs. Bravo!