Couple Pics from a trip through Sedona & Valley of the Gods, UT

[Tekhed]

Stopped through a few places on my way to visit family in Colorado (from AZ) this past July. Thought I'd share a bit of the experience.

Thanks for looking,
Jon


Cathedral Rock - Sedona, AZ by JKL, on Flickr
Nikon D800e, Nikkor 14-24mm. This shot was taken just before the sun was extinguished. Because I live so far away from Sedona, and I was on my way back home (and tired), this shot was a special capture for me. I recently had ankle surgery, so I was still limping pretty badly...but I wanted this shot so here it is.



Last Light - Valley of the Gods, UT by JKL, on Flickr
Nikon D800e, Nikkor 14-24mm. Sunset. I had to scramble to get this because I didn't arrive until about an hour before sunset. This was a last minute capture.



Renewal - Valley of the Gods, UT by JKL, on Flickr
Nikon D800e, Nikkor 14-24mm. Taken at sunrise. What a lovely location. I was one of 3 campers in the area. Very peaceful and would not hesitate to explore here again.


Going Nowhere - Valley of the Gods, UT by JKL, on Flickr
Nikon D800e, Nikkor 14-24mm. Also taken at sunrise...Valley of the Gods as well. Can't say enough about this place.

 

[32vsnake]

Amazing photos

 

[Tekhed]

Amazing photos

Amazing locations! Right on, thank you!

 

[roverrocks]

Great photos Tekhed. Thanks for posting them.

 

[Tekhed]

Great photos Tekhed. Thanks for posting them.

Very cool. Thank you.

 

[4xdog]

Nice images. Thx for showing 'em.

Could you describe what you did in post? (I try to avoid digital darkroom work where I can, and love to get the image using camera-alone settings. My old color slide film days, I guess..)

 

[Tekhed]

Nice images. Thx for showing 'em.
Could you describe what you did in post? (I try to avoid digital darkroom work where I can, and love to get the image using camera-alone settings. My old color slide film days, I guess..)

Sure enough, thanks for chiming in. Just for the record, I really enjoy very clean and artistically exposed captures. Sinue Xavier has examples of some work I enjoy. If you wanted to post some of yours here or post a link I'd really like to see your shots.

I'll try to remember the steps.

The first image was an exposure blend (by hand - 3 exposures) I've tried all the software out there with unrealistic success. Believe it or not, the second image was a single shot.

- used Adobe Light Room to get initial color and depth (shadows, highlights, typical). Everything done in ProPhoto RGB (using an NEC calibrated monitor with just beyond AdobeRGB). I do not mess with sharpening or contrast at this stage, except under "details" I'll use 50 on the sharpening, but not under the Basic tab.

- Photo Shop: ProPhoto RGB here as well. Honestly this part is a blur, but basically I use a series of luminosity masks to isolate shadows and lights (and every variation in between) to enhance contrast...darks darker, lights lighter. Probably before I do anything, I color correct using levels.

- After color correction and getting rid of dust spots I'll begin the dodge/burn process. The whole time I do this I'm using layers, and I'm dodging/burning while using a Wacom tablet to control the degree of effect.

- Once I get through about 80% of this I'll export my image to a new file and run a LAB color adjustment (really nice adjustment here).

- After the LAB adjustment, import the image back to the original image file as a separate layer.

- More luminosity mask adjustments for toning and added contrast.

- HSL sharpening

- Very light Orton effect…maybe added for certain bright areas to create more atmosphere

- Overall matte effect to really matte the entire photo down

- Final sharpening and resizing for jpg output in any desired size

This is a very very basic overview. The first image was redone about 30 times because I was still learning new techniques. Some images respond to certain steps while others completely reject those measures. These images are the culmination of about 13 months of photography and post processing study I've been doing on the side when I've had time.

The style I've been striving for is more of a painterly/artistic, although I also don't mind sticking to a journalistic approach when the moment calls for it.

Hope this was somewhat interesting.

 

[nwoods]

Terrific photos!

 

[Tekhed]

Terrific photos!

Very kind of you, cheers.