Karen Davis  

Long Way Down by Karen Davis

January 2025 - Long Way Down

About the Image(s)

Title: Long Way Down (But I could entertain other ideas.)
Location: Toroweap Overlook, Mohave County, Arizona
Camera: Canon EOS 70D
Date Taken: 10/11/2015

About Toroweap: Toroweap Overlook is a viewpoint within the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. It is located in a remote area on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, 55 miles west of the North Rim Headquarters. It is quite the journey - and you MUST have a rugged 4WD to attempt it. There were several points during the trip that we dispatched a scout to find the best way through some pretty dicey terrain. But that view! Wow - is it worth the effort!

Post Processing: This is an HDR image that I enhanced a bit in LightRoom. I masked out the sky and increased the Clarity, Texture, Vibrance, and Saturation in the foreground. I also added a slight vignette.

Thanks for your comments and suggestions.

4 comments posted

Darcy Johnson   Darcy Johnson
Hi Karen - What an adventure to capture this image! You did a good job getting the angle to capture so much of the river below. I like that you got some vegetation in the foreground and the color is well balanced, too. If it were mine, I might have cropped a bit more out of the sky. I think your title works - That's a Lot of Rock is the only title I came up with - I like yours better :)   Posted: 01/07/2025 21:41:39
Tom Brassil   Tom Brassil
Hi Karen, it definitely looks like a dramatic vista with plenty of detail featured, giving viewers no doubt as to the ruggedness of this area. The foreground elements giving a sense of scale to the image. On my screen it does looks a bit flat.

I hope you don't mind, I had a play with your image, created a freehand vignette, around the near rock faces and river to feature this area together with a slight saturation to bring out the tones of the rock more.

Of course these changes my own personal taste and giving a different feel to the image from the original which is strong enough as is as you have presented

I'm envious, would have love to visit this area   Posted: 01/11/2025 02:21:54
Comment Image
Ingrid Lockhart   Ingrid Lockhart
Hi Karen. This is an amazing scene, and a unique one. The wide angle view does a great job of conveying the immense character of the scene and the deepness of the canyon down to the river. I think that Tom's edit to bring out the texture of the rocks on the right was a positive suggestion. In the original, the interesting shadows on the left face draw the viewer's attention a bit too much, detracting from the brighter 2/3 of the scene. I agree that the grasses in the foreground add a great sense of space and make the viewer feel more present in the scene. Thanks for sharing this as I'm fairly certain that I will never be able to get to that view!   Posted: 01/15/2025 21:10:22
Gregory Waldron   Gregory Waldron
Hi Karen,
Sounds like a fun trip. I have been to the North Rim Headquarter, which I thought was a hike, so 55 miles west sound like quite an adventure. You selected a well balance composition, and I did Tom's suggested edits work well with this image. I think the blue sky as is, works well.
Best regards,
Greg   Posted: 01/20/2025 19:48:42

 

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