Painted Hills

[twood]

These photos were taken at the Painted Hills in Oregon. Painted Hills is a part of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. The hills were formed during the Oligocene epoch about 34-24 million years ago. The period began as the climate began to change. The darker bands of soil were formed during periods of warmer, wetter climate and the lighter bands during periods of cooler, drier times. The dark spots in the second photo are manganese deposits believed to be the remnants of manganese-fixing plants that grew in the soils. The third photo is of a boardwalk through one portion of the Painted Hills. The colors change throughout the day with the sunlight. All three days I visited the sky was overcast or cloudy and the distant horizon was hazy. Although I used a polarizing filter and graduated ND on the skyline I was still unable to lose the haze. Any suggestion, or thoughts would be helpful.

[rpcrowe]

Very nice imagery. I especially like #1 with the figure in the lower corner giving perspective of size. I would think about cropping out the sky if that were my image...

[TonyW]

These are quite spectacular. Not having been to Oregon, I was unaware of these hills.

My formula for reducing haze is to reduce the blue slightly and increase the contrast, in this case you would probably need to select the hazy regions first. This is my interpretation of Mike Buckley's method. He would be able to give a better description.

[Shadowman]

Nice series, you did well on reducing the haze in the second and third shot; just eliminate the sky. With the first, I think the haze adds a bit of aerial perspective; which helps add depth within the composition.

[IzzieK]

I like #1 for the added human element to it as adds spice, scale and drama to the shot. I particular like #2 shot -- that is a work of art right there before your eyes! #3 doesn't do anything much to me compare to #1 and #2...sorry...

[Kris V]

I like #1 for the added human element to it as adds spice, scale and drama to the shot. I particular like #2 shot -- that is a work of art right there before your eyes! #3 doesn't do anything much to me compare to #1 and #2...sorry...

+1

[twood]

Nice series, you did well on reducing the haze in the second and third shot; just eliminate the sky. With the first, I think the haze adds a bit of aerial perspective; which helps add depth within the composition.

Thanks for the suggestions. I made some adjustments to the color and blue in the background and cropped to remove most of the sky. I agree that some sky adds perspective. Here is my edit.

[Shadowman]

Thanks for the suggestions. I made some adjustments to the color and blue in the background and cropped to remove most of the sky. I agree that some sky adds perspective. Here is my edit.

Nice crop, does that sign refer to the hill area?