I’m back to the icons again. I can’t help myself. I know it’s been done but icons are icons for a reason. When you visit Arches National Park in Utah you just can’t go home without an image of balanced rock.
The first time I passed balanced rock along the scenic drive it was fairly early in the evening, around 5:30pm, so the light was still harsh. But there were a few clouds in the sky and it was a perfect opportunity to make a black and white image.
Please click the images to view larger versions.
I made this image by converting to black and white in Nik Silver Efex. I like how the control point technology in Nik allowed me to increase the details in the rocks while leaving the sky alone.
The next day I stopped at the same location after sunset when the sky started to turn cobalt blue. There was no longer any direct light on the rocks so it made a softer image overall. I really like how the red rocks contrast with the blue sky at twilight.
I made this image by combining three exposures so I could maintain detail in the rocks while getting the darker blue sky. Then I polished it off in Nik Color Efex Pro.
Beautiful work here. Can’t decide which one I like better.
Thank you very much Jon!
Nailed it Anne! I absolutely love the B&W version the clouds helped a lot, thanks for the tip about thinking monochrome in harsh light it’s something I tend to forget and then end up not shooting at all which is a shame. Nice use of HDR on the color version, that red/blue contrast is what southern Utah is all about! Loving this series!!:-)
Many thanks Howard. I know what you mean about not shooting during harsh light. Somehow we get trained (brainwashed?) not to do that, but there are lots of opportunities if you know which techniques to use or just pay more attention to the direction of the light to understand what options you might have. Thanks very much for the compliment 🙂
Icon or not, wonderful images Anne. The thing that is so amazing with balanced rock is how large it is.
Hi Len, I really need to start adding more people into the images to show scale. You are right, the thing is huge. Thanks for your comments.
Very shots, Anne, well done!
Thank you very much Fred!
Beautiful Anne. My favorite is the B&W image.
Hi Edith, I just knew you would say that 🙂 I’m still working on my black and white techniques, but the images seem to be getting better. Thanks for your comments.
What a beautiful scene, Anne. Both are nice but I like the B&W version best. Great job on these. 😉
Thank you very much for your kind comments Jimi!
Great use of black and white here. I think you nailed it.
Thank you so much Kris, I really appreciate that!