Raymond Tice
April 2026 - Toadstool Hoodoo
About the Image(s)
This is an image taken on a photo trip to Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah in 2022. This photo of a hoodoo in an area called Toadstool Hoodoos near the town of Kanab was taken with my Nikon D850 camera, iso 80, 28mm, f/16, 1/30 sec exposure on a tripod. Post-processing was in LR classic - a crop, used masks for sky and not sky with presence and tone sliders to reduce the bright area on the hoodoo, adjust the sky, and then used NIK Silver Efex to turn it into a B&W image.
8 comments posted
Raymond - You and I have traversed much of the same ground - I've stayed in Kanab several times on the way to the Grand Canyon when I lived in Vail. This is a very strong subject of a compelling formation that I have never visited but will now.
The hoodoo has a very powerful presence, and the surrounding landscape provides great context. Where it falls a bit short is in its tonal hierarchy and light. The formation doesn't stand out quite as strongly as it could. Similarly, the sky is a bit too dark and competes with the subject rather than supporting it.
The foreground helps but it feels more incidental than intentional and doesn't strongly guide the viewer into the scene. Nonetheless, it's a well-captured landscape, but it leans more toward recording a scene than interpreting it artistically. In my VF I did some light and contrast control and cropped to make the toadstool the clear hero of the image
Posted: 04/01/2026 19:36:27
The hoodoo has a very powerful presence, and the surrounding landscape provides great context. Where it falls a bit short is in its tonal hierarchy and light. The formation doesn't stand out quite as strongly as it could. Similarly, the sky is a bit too dark and competes with the subject rather than supporting it.
The foreground helps but it feels more incidental than intentional and doesn't strongly guide the viewer into the scene. Nonetheless, it's a well-captured landscape, but it leans more toward recording a scene than interpreting it artistically. In my VF I did some light and contrast control and cropped to make the toadstool the clear hero of the image
Posted: 04/01/2026 19:36:27
Thanks Butch, I always appreciate your thoughtful comments and will of course take them into consideration when work on this image again. Ray Posted: 04/08/2026 00:16:24
Congratulations on a superb image Ray. Your capture, processing and presentation are all first rate. The B&W with its tonal range doesn't detract from what I imagine the colour scene would look like. While I acknowledge Butch's comments and alternate crop, I don't mind your original version as you have presented it. The more rocks shown in the bottom right corner, balances with the hoodoo (never heard a rock formation called that before) and those clouds on the right add another element to the scene. Posted: 04/06/2026 09:05:57
Ian, thanks for your comments - it helps me think about this image taking into account Butch's comments as well. By the way, a hoodoo is a tall, thin spire of rock (although some are short and stout), often called a tent rock, fairy chimney, or earth pyramid, formed by erosion in arid environments. They consist of soft sedimentary rock capped by a harder, erosion-resistant stone. They are common in certain area in the western part of the US with the most numerous being in Bryce Canyon Natl Park. Posted: 04/08/2026 00:23:57
Beautiful image of the Hoodo. I've seen them in Bryce, when I did a trip to Utah and Monument Valley a while back. I happen to love the red rocks of that area and find them so much fun to photograph. Unfortunately, I'm not well versed in BNW...so I'll comment on the content mostly.
I love your leading lines into the image and the multiple levels that lead you into the whole image. I love the texture that BNW gives to this image and would be interested in your thought process as to why you felt you wanted to switch it to monochrome. Not because I don't like it, but because I would love to know decision points, you certainly felt comfortable with the switch...and the value of the image is unmistakable. Posted: 04/15/2026 18:43:18
I love your leading lines into the image and the multiple levels that lead you into the whole image. I love the texture that BNW gives to this image and would be interested in your thought process as to why you felt you wanted to switch it to monochrome. Not because I don't like it, but because I would love to know decision points, you certainly felt comfortable with the switch...and the value of the image is unmistakable. Posted: 04/15/2026 18:43:18
Sherry - I think its because I have been doing a little IR photography - just started - and have been interested in working in momochrome to see what I can get and for this image, I liked the various textures and was interested in receiving comments from the group. I did not think of including the original at the time but here it is - not quite as red as those in Bryce - and the ones in New Mexico were slightly yellowish at best so it all depends on what the soft ground under the hard capstones is composed of. Thanks, Ray Posted: 04/18/2026 19:15:51
Another wow! The contrast and choice for b/w is perfect. The stratification of the rocks, the stratification of the clouds, and the juxtaposition of the round balancing rock are great.
I absolutely love the tonal range. Posted: 04/17/2026 14:48:55
I absolutely love the tonal range. Posted: 04/17/2026 14:48:55
Thanks Larry I appreciate your comments. Ray Posted: 04/18/2026 19:16:22