About the Image(s)

This month's image is another from the Yosemite Fire Fall event in February. It is a bit more traditional shot, but one I like because the "fall" is a bit hidden round the corner, and the wind blowing the lit water away from the cliff provides a time element and helps to show what is hidden. I also like that the tree, added to provide some interest in the otherwise empty lower right, was catching some last light itself.

I've included the original, unprocessed image so you can see I did very little. I calculated the depth of field needed to get both the near cliff and tree sharp, and it pushed me all the way to f22. There was also some wind, so I had to hold a reasonably fast shutter speed to freeze the tree. All this left me at ISO 800. So I've done some LR noise reduction and then a pass with Topaz Sharpen to try to minimize the softness from diffraction. I lightened the cliff so as to provide separation with the tree. Beyond that, it is mainly playing with the contrast and color for a bit more drama and to draw attention to the lit fall.

I'm sure there are thousands of shots like this on the web. I had hundreds of photographers standing around me. So I'd mainly ask if I've made best use of the original in making the final image.

Sony a1, Sony FE 70-200 f2.8 GM II, 1.4x Teleconverter, 235mm, f22, 1/125s, ISO 800.