REPOST! Larger size. Sunrise at Horseshoe Bend

Much, much better. I love it!

Ken Cravillion wrote:Much, much better. I love it!

Me too, lots more detail. Makes me miss the LHS even more ....

Phillip,

This is even better at the larger size.

You didn't have to create a new post to update this. Just upload the new image, then hit edit in the original post and paste over the old image link with the new link.

Bob

Now I can see it and I really like what I see. The pastels in the sky are just wonderful.

I gotta say that I would have found this absolutely spectacular if EJ hadn't posted his shot from this spot a while back... (Which is still the single nicest landscape shot of any subject which I have ever seen.) Your competition is hard to beat. I guess that's one problem with shots of iconic locations--they're harder to judge on their own merits, instead of comparing to others.

I wonder if some photoshopping to bring out some more detail in the dark areas of the river might make this even nicer than it is.

-Paul

Perfect. Love the colors and the wide angle effect.

Thanks Paul!

I did a search to try to find EJ's photo but couldn't find it. However, If you are referring to this photo:

http://www.ejphoto.com/images_AZ/AZ_HorseshoeBend02.jpg

I admit it is a stunner! (if not, then I am really embarrased! )

However, I'm assuming you know that it is a composite. The sky came from this photo:

http://www.ejphoto.com/images_AZ/AZ_SunsetPoint01.jpg

My photograph is a single frame.

I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with composites as long as it is disclosed as such. I think EJ did a remarkable job combining the two images.

I guess my question is, is it fair to compare a composite image to a single frame photo?

My shot is two horizontals taken together and then put together - similar to the panorama technique but done verticaly rather than horizontally. The shot couldn't be taken in one shot because I didn't have a wide enough lens to do a single vertical and because there was just too much contrast. The second shot is an image I took a moment later with a longer lens of the same sky.

E.J.,

I'm having difficulty believing your explanation for several reasons:

1) You have the Horseshoe Bend photo (http://www.ejphoto.com/images_AZ/AZ_HorseshoeBend02.jpg) in the "Glen Canyon" folder of your website and the Sunset photo (http://www.ejphoto.com/images_AZ/AZ_SunsetPoint01.jpg) in the "Valley of the Sun" folder on your website; yet both photos have the EXACT SAME cloud formations at the same scale. Now how do you get the EXACT SAME cloud formations in two different photos at two different locations that are over 200 miles apart? This implies to me that one of the photos is a composite.

2) The mountains in the Sunset photo from the "Valley of the Sun" folder do not match the cliffs west of Horseshoe Bend. Not even close. The cliffs west of Horseshoe Bend are the edge of a flat mesa--not a mountain range with 20-30 degree angles. And the two photos could not have been taken facing different directions or the cloud formations would not be exactly the same (and they are).

3) Your Horseshoe Bend photo has a very peculiar reflection in the Colorado river. Looks to me like a portion of the Sunset photo (including the mountains!) was manipulated (reversed?) to simulate a reflection in the river. However, the bottom central portion of the river is dark when there should be cloud reflections there. I do not believe that there is anything at Horseshoe Bend that would cause that kind of a reflection in the river.

4.) To me the Sunset photo appears more "real" than the Horseshoe Bend photo. It appears to me that the colors of the clouds and sky from the Sunset photo have been manipulated in an effort to match the foreground of Horseshoe Bend more closely. What is even more odd is that the clouds in both photos are at exactly the same scale! Now this is impossible if you used a longer lens for one of the photos as you suggest.

E.J., I really want to believe you! But I have studied these two photos (albiet low res jpgs) quite a bit and I still think the Horseshoe Bend photo is a composite with the sky taken from the Sunset photo which apparently was shot near Phoenix.

I have no problem with being incorrect (and I hope I am) so please prove me wrong!

Looking forward to your reply!

Phillip Noll

The photo in the Valley of the Sun page should not be there, it is an error on my part - I accidentally posted the wrong shot there. The sky in the composite was taken at a different focal length - telephoto - I can't remember for sure but I think its around 200mm while the canyon itself was taken with a very wide angle lens. I explained all of this originally a year ago.