January 2012 -- Bryce Canyon Trail

How I did it -- During my October 2011 trip to Zion and Bryce Canyon with my online
photography community www.Nikonains.org on the Annual Photographic Adventure Trip (our 11th such trip), I learned a lot about HDR as a solution for scenes with a lot of contrast.

This image was cropped to give clarity to subject and re-titled from the original image which I share with you wherein the lovely scene needed some subject focus improvement. That image was the result of three exposures made with one stop under and over the normal image scene by the camera processed with Photomatix Pro.

When I submitted the original as a print to a local camera club, I felt it didn't do as well as it could. Thus, I resubmitted it in a cropped version, gave it a new title, and added a little more "pop" using Lighroom 3 and attempted to focus on what I thought was the real asset of the image (the
trail). I think this gives better results and demonstrates the many possibilities that exist with an image. It also demonstrates how much the title of an image means in relating the artist's intent to the viewer.

COMMENTS:
 

Neal R Thompson MD	Very nice. The dusting of snow adds a lot and the colors are right on. I might even crop it a little more and add a little more green color to the evergreens which would give some added prominence to the trail.
Dennis Hirning, EPSA	This is a case where cropping the image does draw the view's eye to just the necessary elements of your subject. To me the background in the original has enough interest so it draws the viewer's eye away from your main subject.
Martha Mitchem	We have been there when it snowed during the night. I like what you have and am very glad you cropped to emphasize the beautiful pinnacles.
Sol Blechman	The closer cropping is very effective in bringing the viewer into the frame. A much stronger impact was created.
Shahron Williams von Rooij	The cropped version does draw the viewer's eye to the trail more than the original version. Nevertheless, the rock formations and textures still dominate the image, conveying the dizzying depths of the canyon.
Mohamed Terzaki	The original photo has great potential. One can create at least 4 successful photos out of it. Your HDR processing did indeed balance the colors and exposure.

Member Bio

I live in the Midwest with my wife Joann who is a senior manager with General Electric. I retired last year from hospital administration and have never looked back. I am focused on my journey through retirement and my passion for photography. I have a photography website and travel/retirement blog where I share my experiences, travels, and vision of the world. These new experiences come on the tail end of education in business and engineering, a US Navy career, followed by many years in construction & facility management both in real estate and healthcare. I am the member of two local camera clubs, the Photographic Society of America, Nikonians.org, and a local writers group. I use a Nikon D7000 or D90 primarily. I have learned many things about this great art and craft through those memberships. My interests include landscape, seascape, architecture, floral, macro, and wildlife images. My blog includes information about the challenges of retirement, my travels, or even a short story enhanced with images related to my experiences of "painting with light.”