*Not Horseshoe Bend*

About a year and a half ago I had the great privilege of doing a three week SW shoot all around AZ and Utah. I especially wanted to explore some very remote sections of various bends on the Grand Canyon and Glen Canyon. The solitude in the desert was utterly euphoric. Going to places rarely tread was a blast too. Here is one of those locations. To get the perspective I rock climbed down about 500 feet, spent the night (in the "crack") and got this shot that evening.

If you want to see a short 2 1/2 minute video clip of the moment (including the shot at the end) for fun I posted one on my website under the TV/Video section. I did take one person (with good rock climbing skills) from FM here on a different trip. He was very amazed as I am sure he might tell you.

Canon 5D Mark2
Canon 14mm L2
f/5.6
one shot
1 second

This will be interesting.

I'm looking forward to the feedback on this one Mark.

Personally I think its hideous and nowhere near your normal high quality.

But thats just my opinion.

Nigel Turner wrote:
Personally I think its hideous





Hideous? Wow, thats some constructive feedback there, way to go.

Thats fine. I like it. I agree that it may not be up there with my best work, but it was worth posting to me nonetheless.

Beautiful! Gives me ideas on trekking around.

You have a nice website also. I was just poking around.



(I reserve the right to change my comment to hideous!)

Even though I prefer your other "not horseshoe bend" shot, I still think this is fantastic. I bit purple crazy in the sky, but that could be my super saturated monitor throwing things off.

I hope I can create some "hideous" work in the future :P haha

Great shot and I love the colors.

Trent

hid·e·ous  
adj.
Repulsive, especially to the sight; revoltingly ugly.

tact·less
adj.
Lacking or exhibiting a lack of tact; bluntly inconsiderate or indiscreet.

Overall, I think there is too much of a magenta cast in the image. I also think the composition is somewhat lacking with the small ledge at the bottom of the image being a distraction to me. I'd like to have seen more of this ledge, but I know it might have been very tight.

Makes me feel very unbalanced......foreground edge is so small and gives a feeling of falling over the edge......not a comfortable image to me. It feels very crowded......not close to your usual quality.....sorry just MHO. If you could back off and open up on it I think it would feel much better......maybe....

Technically I think its a very fine shot. But if it looks like Horseshoe Bend and nobody knows the difference it kinda just makes it a good Horseshoe Bend shot and I have seen a ton of those. I realize its not Horseshoe bend, but it doesn't look all that different to me. I love seeing places I that haven't been shot millions of time, but when a place looks pretty much the same the "specialness" of the unknown place is lost a little.
Paul

Hey Mark,

I like the composition. Being down into the shoe gives it a different feel. Myself, I do think there is too much Magenta cast to the rocks. I can see the sky being nearly the color you have it here, but I do think I would pull back on the color of the rocks.

Jim

I love it.

Hideous?!! Sounds like some of the rhetoric coming out of North Korea!

I like the image. At first sight I had a feeling like that in a dream when I see something or someone familiar but they look different. Time to start google earth!

-Steve

Definitely has remoteness written all over it. I think Jim hit on the one issue that seems a little out of balance to my eyes - the magenta cast in the rocks. Otherwise a beautiful pic! Dave

Wow. Hideous. Ok.

Well I really like it Mark. The colors are a bit different, but I love things that are different.

Photographs don't have to be bland reenactments of reality; it is art. People either like it or not. Thanks for being on the edge; where all artists should be.

Now if I only had a Blend If tutorial I could be posting images like these.

Mark,

My taste would like to see the image with just a little less magenta and a little brighter...seems a bit too dark. It is definitely not hideous.

Charles

Mark, I really like the shot. As some have noted, dial the red channel/saturation back a pinch and I think you're good to go. Thanks for sharing.

I love the framing and the shot. I do not love the color cast.

Nigel Turner wrote:
This will be interesting.

I'm looking forward to the feedback on this one Mark.

Personally I think its hideous and nowhere near your normal high quality.

But thats just my opinion.



Niguel, we encourage constructive feedback but your tone is not welcome and won't be tolerated. This is not what our board is all about.
Comments like this break the friendly atmosphere we created here.
Photographers shouldn't be pressured to only share their absolute best work.
Fred

I love this image. It seems to have a better composition than is possible at Horseshoe. It has very dramatic color but I am not really good at color cast so I defer to others. I would love for this to be mine.