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Winding Along The Cottonwoods

© Marty Straub

Winding Along The Cottonwoods

Uploaded: December 16, 2010

Description

Zion National Park, UT
It's interesting to make several exposures of relatively the same scene at various times of your stay. For this one I needed to get a second exposure to blend in the sky.

f/16, 1/20, 17mm TS, ISO 100, tripod

Exif: F Number: 16, Exposure Bias Value: 0.00, ExposureTime: 1/20 seconds, Flash: did not fire, compulsory flash mode, ISO: 100, White balance: Auto white balance, FocalLength: 17.00 mm, Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Comments

Tammy M. Anderson level-deluxe December 16, 2010

Hi Marty. Beautiful location, light and composition. Just beautiful. #1336217

Monnie Ryan December 16, 2010

The end result is just gorgeous, Marty! #9109136

JO ANN CLEVELAND December 16, 2010

Wow Marty...what an awesome capture!

jo ann c. #9109180

Ron McEwan December 16, 2010

My friend you have done it again, this is one fantastic image, well done in every way. And it pulls at me to pack up and go again, Beautiful work Marty #9109271

Julianne Bradford December 16, 2010

Fabulous processing skills and terrific pov Marty! #9109338

Val Feldman level-deluxe December 16, 2010

I always love meandering stream captures and this one leads the eye to the absolute perfect spot where the two mountains on each side converge - opening up to that beautiful cloud filled sky. Superb color (love the golden cottonwoods!) and textures thruout and as always, your vantage point and comp - excellent! Another slice of Zion beauty, my friend! #9109610

Val Feldman level-deluxe December 16, 2010

I always love meandering stream captures and this one leads the eye to the absolute perfect spot where the two mountains on each side converge - opening up to that beautiful cloud filled sky. Superb color (love the golden cottonwoods!) and textures thruout and as always, your vantage point and comp - excellent! Another slice of Zion beauty, my friend! #9109612

Val Feldman level-deluxe December 16, 2010

So good, had to be said twice! :) Hope your dental appointment went well! #9109667

Carol L. Fowler December 16, 2010

Geez- I feel inadequate with only one comment, so I guess it has to be a doozy. AWESOME! SPECTACULAR! WTG! BEAUTIFUL! #9109869

Kitty R. Rodehorst-Hanna December 16, 2010

SPECTACULAR image, Marty! :-) k #9110237

Randy D. Dinkins level-classic December 17, 2010

Great composition, love the foreground and the meandering stream down the valley inbetween this beautiful landscape. Beautiful light as well, great mix for the blend to bring out the sky (-tis the reason I use HDR as much as I do on my landscapes :-). #9110574

Michelle Alton December 17, 2010

You did great with the sky! I learned a trick at a David Zeiser "Capture the Light" seminar. You can also try underexposing the scene so that the sky is properly exposed, and then over-expose the image in Camera Raw (or any editing software), and save a copy. Then layer the two images together and erase the part of the top image that is improperly exposed. Works like a charm. #9110644

frank w. degenhardt December 17, 2010

This my friend is where I get lost and my lack of knowledge really limits me. I understand about the effect that the time of day will have on the same subject and give you different looks, but things like Michelle described I would never be able to begin to know how to do.
What ever you did and how you did it, the look of that sky is so beautiful and I love how it stands out from the land. There is such a perfect color balance. The stream going though the valley, the tall rock formations, and the green of the trees and vegetation all make for a picture of a beaitiful place with such gorgeous color.
Incredible look and work my friend. #9111011

Amanda J. Tanner level-classic December 17, 2010

Beautiful work and Scene Marty! You did an excellent job! #9111751

Marty Straub December 21, 2010

Thanks so much for all of your wonderful comments. I'm with you, Randy. I started using HDR in the hopes of not having to do blending anymore, and GND filters can't always compensate for the contrast. In this shot I wanted to keep the gloomy mood and allow the first bit of blue sky from the day. Although the HDR brought out some "hidden" tones, it didn't do a good job keeping the original mood.

Thanks, Michelle. That is a great way to accomplish the blending. An underexposure I tried didn't have enough detail to "bring back" detail without all kinds of grainy artifacts from some of the dark areas. So this time it was easier blending from two seperate exposures instead of one. The procedure is very much the same.

Yes, you can, frank!

#9118500

Michelle Alton December 21, 2010

Yes, there are so many ways to compensate for weird lighting conditions. And as long as it works, it WORKS! This is such a beautiful image, Marty. And it sure beats carrying a ND filter around and slapping it in front of the lens. One runs out of hands after a while. And gear gets HEAVY!

Thanks for your wonderful note...made my Day!
--Michelle #9118533

Ellen Hodges December 21, 2010

Spectacular image, Marty!! Looks soooo beautiful!!! #9119122

Dianna Murphy January 13, 2011

lots of layers in this image Marty. Some much to look at. Love the tones and mood. That cloud tops it off perfectly. #9160640

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