Had it to myself for a brief moment last October. Drove like a maniac from Vegas for just three hours of shooting, had to get back that night. Well worth the trip. Truly amazing place, like Heaven on Earth.
Is the dominating feature catching the last rays of light “The Great White Throne” ?
The amount of dynamic range present here is staggering. It took six images to fully and smoothly encompass the full luminosity range. Hopefully I have tamed it to a point where all appears natural and unprocessed to your eye.
Your title is no exaggeration! I think I have to vote for the color version. The light is just too beautiful on the water. The image does have outstanding DR, yet it doesn't look HDRish. It is very natural. Great shot!
What a sweet shot! I can only imagine the range of light in this. It looks great to me, both versions are sweet. The B&W might be the most appropriate since it's the great WHITE throne... But wow the color reflection is so cool too...
Matt,
This is a masterful blending of 6 images. I too prefer the color one.
No one else mentioned the blurred foreground, that is for me right "in your face."
If it was me I would have focused closer and still the far point would still be sharp, specially when it was shot at f 16. Just my 2c and taste.
bob
the black and white version grabs my attention a bit more than the color. The rich contrast is quite nice.
It should be mentioned that the rock formation in the background isn't the one known as the great white throne though. That's further down stream, within the valley itself.
Very nice work Matt - both for the blend as well as the comp itself. I do like how the BW works here but there are some nuances and details in this scene that the color version teases out just a little better for my tastes. Esp. the trees along the river banks here.
By a wide margin I prefer the color version. The color contrasts and reflections are just too good. Comparatively, the conversion is just, well, shades of gray.
Wonderful image.
