In celebration of this year's excellent monsoon season, I thought I would share a photo taken last week on my first successful shoot of the season. This storm was elusive. I left Flagstaff after work to chase it northward with the intent of landing on one of my closer go-to locations. It moved way too fast. I hoped to end up at Wupatki National Monument. Instead I ended up at Coalmine Canyon by the time I caught up to it. It also lost most of its power, so I missed out on the lightning.
I had some other locations in mind, but my Jeep was instantly thwarted by CRAZY mud. I thought I could cross the muddy section by gunning it, but it stopped me in my tracks. I got lucky and managed to back-out, park the Jeep and jog the rest of the way in mud-laden hiking shoes in time to catch this composition. The shoes are still on my patio waiting to be cleaned . . .
What a cool shot! And I know from experience that mud is nothing to fool around with, I always carry carpet strips in my jeep just in case. And I have found they also work when stuck in snow...
Lot's of suggestions, for me, I don't know, I like it just as it is lit. But this is an image I am sure that could have a lot of possibilities. And I have been in Coal Mine Canyon a few times, but I don't recall this spot, hmmm... was it shooting towards the east, towards the Hopi side? It's hard to tell how that light in this shot is being bounced around as to a direction.
This turned out fantastic. I really enjoy your composition, and the calm feeling. The way the canyon leads toward the storm is excellent, and I like the look of the soft light on the harsh environment. Very well done!
Thanks for the comments everyone. I am tinkering with the shadow detail on this, but I won't lock in any changes until I can see it printed on Fujiflex under a proper halogen. Shadows are extremely sensitive. The perfect balance between deep shadows and lack of detail comes down to a few points of levels adjustment.
As for the specific section of canyon . . . it's essentially the first part you encounter if you were to walk off the main dirt road, NE from the base of the hill near the highway. This sections has some very cool features that were new to me that night. The most notable is this are that is super deep but almost narrow enough to jump across . . . if you're nuts. It's a more intimate place where my only company was a couple of cliff-dwelling birds.
The light was diffused by a thin cloud to the west. A tiny bit of sun hit the white wall near frame center which topped off the scene nicely I thought. The shot is facing almost exactly Northeast.
