The Long Trek

[FrankMi]

I haven't been able to get out shooting much but hopefully that will change in the next week or two.

This is an image I took in Canyonlands National Park back in 2007 so I thought I'd play with it a bit in Photoshop. I was hoping to give a real sense of the depth of the canyon but the image seems to be a bit flat to me.

Any processing suggestions?

[LeoLeo]

Hi Frank,

Maybe, some "color replacement" I can't remember right now ("coffee in progress"), or something like solarise...

Thanks,
Leo

[FrankMi]

Maybe, some "color replacement" I can't remember right now ("coffee in progress"), or something like solarise...

Coffee in progress??

[pnodrog]

Not sure that the skyline is helping the photograph. Obviously harsh lighting but you may have been to successful in lifting the shadow detail resulting in the image lacking a little in contrast.

I would need a few refreshments at the top if I walked up from the bottom.

[Mike Buckley]

I love hiking Canyonlands and this trail looks really terrific!

I think there are two issues that could have helped the image, one of which you weren't in control of. You weren't in control of the light, but the area to the right of the large shadow is lit flatly. I hope you weren't hiking alone due to safety factors, so you could have placed a hiking companion on the right side of the image or in the lower left side to help provide scale.

Having said all that, maybe my treatment improves it a little, though not a lot. I applied an S-curve to everything except the large shadow. I then selected clay in all brightly lit areas and desaturated it, which had the effect of desaturating the red channel in that area. The histogram indicated that that channel was blown as did another capability of the software that I use.

EDIT: I also got the idea of cropping it, which I like because it seems to emphasize the near and distant parts of the trail.

EDIT #2: Notice the intense blue-green at the top of the trees in the top left corner and to a lesser degree across the entire top. Is that chromatic aberration? I didn't attend to it but I think it deserves your attention.

Treated without the crop



With the crop

[pnodrog]

Hi Frank I have cropped even more than Mike to almost square. The green fringe along the edge of the sky is a bit of a distraction but I think removing the sky completely forces the viewer to concentrate on looking down. The levels have been adjusted and shifted the tones a bit. I have unfortunately never been there so I have no idea of the real colours. I have decreased the brightness of the shadow to try and introduce a bit more of the contrast that I think would have been there.

Just looking at the scene makes me thirsty.

[pnodrog]

Gone to far with the crop and the highlights may need lifting back up a bit but I do prefer it without the sky.

[Mike Buckley]

I like Paul's crop better than mine, especially the part of it that attends to the right side.

I also prefer omitting the sky. I didn't do that in my revisions because Frank explicitly asked for ideas about how to increase the sense of depth in the canyon. For me, omitting or including the sky doesn't address that issue.

[Steve S]

How about something like this frank.........................




Did a basic edit, fixing levels and bumping the contrast. Sharpened, a little noise reduction ,adjusted the red color cast, darkened the road just a wee bit, added a blur and then applied a gradient mask, 5/4 crop.

Not perfect , but helps with the depth a little.

On a side note, am i the only one that sees the shadow at top left , that looks like a face?

[jeeperman]

I like your crop on this one Steve, and no you are not the only one but had you not said anything you may have been. lol I do think it might need just a bit of contrast now though, after removing so much of the red it seems to have flattened a little.

[Steve S]

I like your crop on this one Steve, and no you are not the only one but had you not said anything you may have been. lol I do think it might need just a bit of contrast now though, after removing so much of the red it seems to have flattened a little.

I think the blur i added knocked it back . Not used to doing this type of edit. A fun exercise though.

[pnodrog]

I think the shadow is from a hot air balloon in the shape of Beethoven's bust like those on the top of most pianos.

I like the crop Steve did.

[FrankMi]

Not sure that the skyline is helping the photograph. Obviously harsh lighting but you may have been to successful in lifting the shadow detail resulting in the image lacking a little in contrast.

I would need a few refreshments at the top if I walked up from the bottom.

Thanks for viewing and commenting Paul. I was reluctant to cut out what little sky was there but in retrospect, no skyline might be better.

You can't see how much further it is to the first plateau on this trail and perhaps several miles to get all the way down to the river, a REALLY long trek!

[FrankMi]

I love hiking Canyonlands and this trail looks really terrific!

I think there are two issues that could have helped the image, one of which you weren't in control of. You weren't in control of the light, but the area to the right of the large shadow is lit flatly. I hope you weren't hiking alone due to safety factors, so you could have placed a hiking companion on the right side of the image or in the lower left side to help provide scale.

Having said all that, maybe my treatment improves it a little, though not a lot. I applied an S-curve to everything except the large shadow. I then selected clay in all brightly lit areas and desaturated it, which had the effect of desaturating the red channel in that area. The histogram indicated that that channel was blown as did another capability of the software that I use.

EDIT: I also got the idea of cropping it, which I like because it seems to emphasize the near and distant parts of the trail.

EDIT #2: Notice the intense blue-green at the top of the trees in the top left corner and to a lesser degree across the entire top. Is that chromatic aberration? I didn't attend to it but I think it deserves your attention.

Hi Mike! I would have needed a younger man's clothing to take on this trail to the river and back! I like the approach you are taking and really need to start learning how to work with channels when I do my post processing.

The treatment in the edit looks much better and not anywhere near as flat. Definitely the direction the image needs to go. I’ll need to see how much of your technique I can learn and apply.

Edit #2 works better owing to the direction the trail exits the frame. I would have preferred a wider aspect ratio but to be effective, the trail would have had to meander off to the left. From the vantage point I had, there weren’t many shooting options and I didn’t want to leave the wife waiting for me in the car for too long.

When I get a chance I’ll check the original image for CA and see if I can correct that.

Thanks for the pointers and sample edits Mike!

[FrankMi]

Gone to far with the crop and the highlights may need lifting back up a bit but I do prefer it without the sky.

Hi Paul, I think the crop without the sky has forced the eye to start at the bush on the left and then realize that the trail in the foreground is part of a much longer and deeper meander down the side of the cliff face. Unlike a typical landscape crop, which tends to have the viewer looking horizontally, I feel the square crop forces me to look down and helps created the sense of depth I was looking for.

[FrankMi]

How about something like this frank.........................




Did a basic edit, fixing levels and bumping the contrast. Sharpened, a little noise reduction ,adjusted the red color cast, darkened the road just a wee bit, added a blur and then applied a gradient mask, 5/4 crop.

Not perfect , but helps with the depth a little.

On a side note, am i the only one that sees the shadow at top left , that looks like a face?

Hi Steve! You, and the others, have shown me that there are more things to be considered in this image than I originally thought! I need to go back and play with the original some more. I like your idea of emphasizing the trail to make it stand out just a bit. Now that I think about it, the trail, in many respects is a strong contender for the subject of the image!

Thanks to everyone that took the time to view, comment, and visually present their ideas in edits!

As soon as I can get a chance to rework the original I'll post it here.

[Bobobird]

Thanks Frank. This has been a great learning experience. Thanks everyone else too.

[FrankMi]

I've had a chance to try to incorporate the suggestions offered for this image and here is the result of my effort:



For the hikers in the group that are looking to get a cool drink of water from the river, here is a quick panorama that will give you an idea of how soon your thirst will be quenched. You can see the trail on the right of the panorama where the original image leaves off. Just jaunt on down to the edge of the plateau where, after another drop, similar to this one, will get you eventually down to the river's edge. I'll meet you back here tomorrow afternoon-ish!

[ggt]

Frank, did you trek to the bottom to get a shot from that angle? I think they are all lovely.

I'm mostly struck by the reality of the past. That people managed to travel this far into the continent without planes, trains and automobiles. And that, today, one still must use one's own hooves to get thru the Canyon. Haven't been there since I was in Elementary school. I do remember it being awe inspiring. Like your photos.