We are leaving from Sioux Falls (SD) and will spend most of the day in Tracy, Minnesota. Late tonight we plan to land in Allison, Iowa and spend some of Sunday with the Curriers, which I met online and have yet to meet in person. It's been crazy the last several days trying to plan my trip so that I can stop and see as many friends as possible while I'm out in this part of the country.
This shot is from Zion Canyon (In Zion National Park) not too far from Bryce Canyon. We stopped there earlier in the day so the shadows are harsher, but I tried to use that to my advantage (bringing deffinition out of the rocks), and also I made good use of the polerizer. The rock formations in the first part of the canyon were mostly like this: red and very strange. This type of rock made up entire hillsides, and it was fun to hike on. Quite different than anything I had seen before. Both Zion and Bryce canyons are very beautiful places.
categories: desert landscape nature
July 23rd, 2005 at 6:21 AM
Very good shot for the hard lighting. Not as good as your other stuff, but a LOT better than what I've been taking recently.
July 23rd, 2005 at 12:29 PM
Great lines. Love how all the shadows seem to "lead" somewhere off to the upper right.
I don't like how the bush is cut off though. I mean, the trunk part is nice, but it's smack dab in the middle of the frame, and therefore, it's your subject. At least make it whole ;-)
July 23rd, 2005 at 3:37 PM
Triassic Park! I love the red colour of this sandstone and how the fine laminations are picked out. Nice composition too; the bush doesn't bother me that much.
July 23rd, 2005 at 4:34 PM
Softness in the detail could be improved with some moderate sharpening in photoshop. Great composition, colors, and the sky is wonderful - nice gradient! Great sense of depth. Good shot, Ryan.
July 24th, 2005 at 7:43 AM
nice perspective and well named. You seem to be visiting some awsome countryside.
July 24th, 2005 at 10:49 AM
Love the angle, it shows the height very well.
July 24th, 2005 at 10:33 PM
Love the detail.. how much fun would it be to climb the red staircase? VERY FUN!
July 24th, 2005 at 11:17 PM
Tristan - Good thought. I have another shot of the bush, but it's really more of the bush and not the rocks. :(
Abe - I generally try to adjust the sharpening in the RAW conversion. This shot might benefit from a very small amount of sharpening, but the problem is oversharpening. Undersharpening is less of a consequence than oversharpening, which can happen a lot faster than you might think. ;) Thanks for your suggestion though. I'll give it a try.
You guys are definitely right about the bush though...the should would have been better had it not been there. Thanks for all the positive feedback!