Death Valley - Cloudy Evening

[TJ Avery]

Taken about a mile or so northwest of the Harmony Borax Works. February 2008.

The afternoon had been very cloudy with light rain. Shortly before sunset, some light and color showed up looking north and transformed a nearly monochromatic scene into this:

 

[Nathaniel Alpert]

TJ,

I am surprised that no one has commented on this compelling photograph. And I haven't seen your work before, please post more.

I keep coming back to ithis one and thinking about how it might be rendered in a more dramatic way. Not flambouyant but with more detail and contrast in the foreground. I don't know what the raw image looked like, but I would be thinking about opening the shadowed areas, particularly on the left, a doing a bit of dodging on the near foreground, with a little midtone contrast bump.

Best,

-Nat

 

[TJ Avery]

Hi Nat, thanks for your comments. This image is a composite of two different exposures. If I recall correctly, a lot of the left foreground comes from the darker exposure. I was attempting to place emphasis on the pool of water and the color reflected there. But I see your point and will have to give it a try. Thanks!