Pinaki Sarkar
February 2025 - Artist Palette , Death Valley National Park
About the Image(s)
Technical:
F18,1/40 sec, ISO 140, 200 mm., had a CPL on my lens. Processed through lightroom 6
Background:
Taken as part of our trip at Death Valley National Park.
4 comments posted
Hi Pinaki. Welcome again to the group. I look forward to lots of great images and discussion.
In your first image, you've found some of the nice color that Artist's Palette in Death Valley offers. I spent a few hours there in a DV trip a year ago, and couldn't find a composition that I liked. So great that you found one that resonated with you. It would be interesting to hear why you picked out this composition from the many that are possible there.
There is a lot of opinions out there that Artist's Palette is best at sunset after it has rained. The wet ground makes the colors stronger, and the low indirect light gives the place a soft glow. It's always hard to shoot landscapes in harsh light, so your image has that challenge going for it.
I would try to edit this to have a little more of a specific subject or focus point, and a little more drama. It is personal choice, but I don't know that the people add a lot to the image; they give it scale, but I think the shot is a little more of an abstract where that could either help or hurt. I took a cut at what I might do. I liked the middle of things as a "chalk bowl" and chose to make one "peak" a more dominant subject. Then I just largely cropped and dodged and burned to edit tonality.
These sorts of image lend themselves to many different processing directions. Hopefully others in the group will take their own cuts at how they might edit this.
Posted: 02/12/2025 15:46:14
In your first image, you've found some of the nice color that Artist's Palette in Death Valley offers. I spent a few hours there in a DV trip a year ago, and couldn't find a composition that I liked. So great that you found one that resonated with you. It would be interesting to hear why you picked out this composition from the many that are possible there.
There is a lot of opinions out there that Artist's Palette is best at sunset after it has rained. The wet ground makes the colors stronger, and the low indirect light gives the place a soft glow. It's always hard to shoot landscapes in harsh light, so your image has that challenge going for it.
I would try to edit this to have a little more of a specific subject or focus point, and a little more drama. It is personal choice, but I don't know that the people add a lot to the image; they give it scale, but I think the shot is a little more of an abstract where that could either help or hurt. I took a cut at what I might do. I liked the middle of things as a "chalk bowl" and chose to make one "peak" a more dominant subject. Then I just largely cropped and dodged and burned to edit tonality.
These sorts of image lend themselves to many different processing directions. Hopefully others in the group will take their own cuts at how they might edit this.
Posted: 02/12/2025 15:46:14
Thank you.The reason I picked: intially I was feeling lazy to walk up to the pallette itself. I put up my camera stand , a little ahead of the parking lot and I looked at the view and it struck me as to why they call this place as artist's Palette. To finish the story , I did end up walking up there as my wife decided to do the short hike. I did end up taking a lot more close up photos also. Posted: 02/13/2025 22:34:16
Hello Pinake,
Thanks for your image. I think that the advantage of the two people in the scene is that it provides a sense of scale. The challenge for me in a scene like this is to decide where to frame the image in a way that simplifies the edges of the photo. I think the bottom edge of your image is the best. The shadows give your image a good sense of depth. Posted: 02/14/2025 00:36:22
Thanks for your image. I think that the advantage of the two people in the scene is that it provides a sense of scale. The challenge for me in a scene like this is to decide where to frame the image in a way that simplifies the edges of the photo. I think the bottom edge of your image is the best. The shadows give your image a good sense of depth. Posted: 02/14/2025 00:36:22
Hi Pinaki. I assume this image was taken during afternoon when the sun was at its peak. Placing the human element in the rule of thirds makes the composition interesting. The composition would have been enhanced if the couple were in a bit elevated position. The green color on the rocks adds to the beauty of the image. A little bit under exposure would have helped. Posted: 02/14/2025 05:08:06