Michael Weatherford  


Clouds Over Arches NP by Michael Weatherford

March 2019 - Clouds Over Arches NP

March 2019 - Michael Weatherford

Original

About the Image(s)

Narrative: I took this panoramic photo in Arches National Park, Utah on October 11, 2016 around 5:00PM. Pentax K-1; Rokinon 14mm lens; f16; 1/20; ISO200. Nancy and I were part of a Road Scholar photography group, and I was shooting one of the iconic features of the park. I turned around and was awe-struck by this dramatic cloud formation. I decided to shoot a panorama consisting of four images, each created using “pixel shift” technology. The final photo is actually a combination of 16 images “ here’s why. Pixel shifting works by combining four images of each scene, shifting the camera sensor one pixel for each image so that complete data on all adjacent pixels in the scene are recorded. The four images are combined in post processing to produce a super sharp final image. It’s hard to explain, so read about it here if you are interested: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photography/tips-and-solutions/pixel-shift-shootout-olympus-vs-pentax-vs-sony-vs-panasonic

Anyway, I merged the four pixel-shift images in Lightroom to produce the panorama. To bring out the drama of the clouds (and to indulge my fantasy of being Ansel Adams) I converted the original color image to black and white. I cropped the image about 10% and used the adjustment brush to lighten or darken as needed. Sliders were used to adjust highlights, shadows, set a very low black point, and add a lot of contrast. I also applied a pretty high degree of sharpening using sliders in the “Detail” section of Lightroom. The image was then finished off in Topaz Studio. I have included a color version of the image as the “original” Which do you like best?


This round’s discussion is now closed!
11 comments posted




 
I am impressed with the amount of work you put into creating this panorama image. Your method (and link) gives me a path to experiment. Regarding color vs. B&W, I vote "B&W." Even though B&W is a powerful format, my bias is toward color. However, in this image, the story is the layers of striated clouds, which have a stronger presence in the B&W rendering. I also agree with your cropping. Nice work!   Posted: 03/03/2019 13:35:05



Larry Treadwell   Larry Treadwell
OH MY!!!! I think old Ansel might be proud of this effort. I think you did a masterful job of putting this all together and then in post you really brought out the details. I believe that the B&W version is the best choice as it really makes the clouds stand out. There are a couple of hot spots in the clouds but they are minor and are lost when you look at the entire image so they do not matter. I think your composition is excellent as you have enough foreground with the brush to frame the image and add detail and then the rock curve wraps the image quite nicely. THe selective brush work you did works well---it nicely mimics the Zone System old Ansel created.

This one is worth hanging. As a side note, if you were to enter this in a competition I noticed that the hot spots in the clouds do not show up in the color version. Maybe you could make some adjustment in that area.

I think that this is your best image thus far----you should be quite proud of this effort.   Posted: 03/05/2019 15:23:14
Michael Weatherford   Michael Weatherford
Thanks for the kind comments. I need to be careful not to take the Ansel Adams thing too far. I can imagine someone saying to me, "I knew Ansel Adams. Ansel Adams was a friend of mine. Mike, you're no Ansel Adams." Similar to what Lloyd Bensen said to Dan Quayle regarding John Kennedy in a 1988 vice presidential debate.   Posted: 03/07/2019 12:52:41
Larry Treadwell   Larry Treadwell
I will not mention secret of your photographic skills outside of this discussion group. Ansel's relatives and friends will never know. You just keep submitting photos like this one. :-)   Posted: 03/10/2019 10:46:48



Dr Isaac Vaisman   Dr Isaac Vaisman
(Groups 4 & 15 & 58 & 59 & 72)
Michael, I took your color version image, cropped it the same as you did and using a combination of Topaz B&W Effects and Viveza 2 from the Nik collection, I was able to keep the whites hot spots to a minimum and gave a little more structure to the clouds, and did remove some of the grey scale in the ground increasing the contrast.   Posted: 03/06/2019 13:25:25
Comment Image
Michael Weatherford   Michael Weatherford
Wow! That is awesome. Thank you for sharing this. I'm going to make some adjustments to the image based on the feedback I'm receiving.   Posted: 03/07/2019 12:44:42



 
I wasn't familiar with pixel shift technology and find the idea very interesting. Looks like you used it for maximum advantage. I do like the butte on the right, except for those pesky photographers. ;-) But the story is in the clouds and you were so fortunate to be there right at that time! Great job!   Posted: 03/09/2019 21:57:18



Richard Matheny   Richard Matheny
Wow Michael what a wonderful Image. This photo would have to be a stunner in a very large image on a gallery wall. I like the color as well but you would need to clone lot those folks on the right. They do not seem to show as much in the B&W. Sounds like a lot of work but I think you have done well. There should be some way to scare off those folks on the right.   Posted: 03/10/2019 13:24:45



 
Hi Michael, amazing capture of the clouds. I am a big fan of such cloud formation. This particularly looks like ribs of a huge mammal. Thanks for sharing the details of Pixel Shift Technology. Wasn't aware of it till I read it here. I doubt if this is available in Nikon though. I liked Isaac's version also except for the over darkened clouds there (again, personal opinion purely and nothing against the editing). Choice of B&W over Color version is certainly for good. Some images are better shown dramatically in B&W than color version like these ones. Too good!   Posted: 03/11/2019 05:19:14



Larry Treadwell   Larry Treadwell
Like others here i had not heard of this technology until now, but I can't find it on Nikon.   Posted: 03/11/2019 12:23:55
Michael Weatherford   Michael Weatherford
It is featured in cameras that have in-camera shake compensation. Nikon puts it in their lenses.   Posted: 03/19/2019 21:51:48