POTD: Storm Over Zion #1

Storm Over Zion #1 Zion National Park, Utah 2012

The first day in Zion we were in t-shirts and shorts and fought hoards of people trying to walk the narrow trails in Zion Canyon. Yesterday we hiked off trail in slot canyons, saw no one and got hit by rain, then sleet, then snow (and my rain gear is safely stashed at home in Montana). Guess which day we liked better? (Hint: too much sun makes for a dull day.) With the moody weather, I finally got some color images that I really like–this time by channeling Albert Bierstadt and exercising some liberal artistic license with the images in Photoshop.]]>

4 thoughts on “POTD: Storm Over Zion #1”

  1. Larry this is a great image! I immediately thought of the Hudson River School of painters, of which Bierstadt was considered a member (though it wasn’t an official organization). I love the result you created & would be curious to see where the image started before you took liberties with it. Having been to Zion many times myself, I know the color of the rocks but I’m guessing that the overcast weather lent a dull gray cast to everything. Again fantastic result!

    1. Thanks Kathy. In my pictoralist photography leanings it is the Hudson River school feeling I seem most likely to drift towards, although I’d go the Edward Hopper route with some images if I could figure out a good way to get the same feeling as his paintings. While you know that there is technically no such thing as an unaltered digital photograph, below is the least altered version of that image. It is what I imported into Photoshop with only basic adjustments in Bridge. (Yes, I’m still just using Bridge and not Lightroom.)

      Storm Over Zion #1 before processing
      Storm Over Zion #1 before processing in Photoshop

  2. Thanks for sharing the “original” photo, Larry. I knew you had added and intensified the color from what an original on an overcast day would look like. The cropping and/or darkening of the bottom edge is also really effective in bringing more emphasis to that lone tree on the edge of the cliff.
    BTW, I still prefer Bridge/Camera Raw & Photoshop to LR also. I had to learn Lightroom for my teaching at Rocky Mountain School of Photography.

    1. Kathy, I’m not sure why it makes any difference, but I’m glad to see another photographer not make a whole-hearted switch to LR. I may eventually break down and buy it eventually for it’s photo management advantages I suppose, but don’t see trying to do as much processing in it vs. Bridge/Photoshop like many are doing. There just aren’t enough advantages and some disadvantages.

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