Skyline, sunrise and sunset - Updated

[Ben Egbert]

Altogether we were at this place 4 times in 2 days and I think we still have better light to get in future trips. It was alsways full cloudy at the day ends. But these shots show the potential.

The first is sunrise and you can see the sun fairly high already and trying to burn through the clouds. I think the optimal time would be with lighter cloud cover and just before the sun popped over the horizon.

The second is the same general place at sunset. The foreground was starting to shade out, but the cloud cover muted the effect and made this shot possible.

 

[Jim Dockery]

These are both outstanding. I love those badlands! I think the clouds/light are great and you handled it masterfully in both. I would have shot a time-lapse with those sunset clouds. In a slide show you could do a great dissolve between just these two shots with a little auto alignment and crop to fit. I would also play with these in Silver FX if they were mine and see how they convert to B&W.

 

[AlanLichty]

Those badlands are really interesting and I'd certainly stop by often looking for good light as well. I like the colors in the soils - they have some neat contrasts.

 

[JimFox]

That is such a cool location! I am trying to come up with the right words to describe the ground layer, it looks like a chocolate/carmel swirl. I have had ice cream looking like that before in a bowl as the ice cream melts.

I think I prefer #1 over #2, as I think the chocolate swirls look a bit better in #1, though I think the lack of any rocks on the lower left corner in #1 is a plus as it allows the chocolate to flow from corner to corner.

Just must have positioned yourself slightly different between #1 and 2?

 

[JimFox]

Congrats on the Daily Featured Post Ben!

 

[Kyle Jones]

Really neat place. The ground patterns are really cool. I'll cast my vote for #1 as I think the softer light helps the ground and there is some good texture in those clouds. I might be tempted to add some dehaze to the clouds to make them look a little more dramatic.

 

[Ben Egbert]

First off, I am really honored with featured post, thanks Jim. Second, I appreciate all the comments, and Kyle, this does have some dehaze and clarity, but I could add more.

This was a brand new area for me and also a diffrent sort of subject to learn. It took us a lot of driving and back tracking to find the place the first morning. But once learned, its supper easy and only 10 minutes or so from Factory Butte.

There is another whole area that can be reached about 3 miles east of here but you have to start closer to Hanksville so we only got there for a mid morning. I will show some record shots later on in the travelog forum.

 

[Jeffrey]

Both are wonderful images, Ben. I imagine the first one in BW, too.

 

[lightsgood]

Altogether we were at this place 4 times in 2 days and I think we still have better light to get in future trips. It was alsways full cloudy at the day ends. But these shots show the potential.

The first is sunrise and you can see the sun fairly high already and trying to burn through the clouds. I think the optimal time would be with lighter cloud cover and just before the sun popped over the horizon.

View attachment 8880

The second is the same general place at sunset. The foreground was starting to shade out, but the cloud cover muted the effect and made this shot possible.

View attachment 8881

Fantastic images Ben. I would love to go there.

 

[Ben Egbert]

As requested, here is a NIK FX conversion.

 

[JimFox]

Wow Ben!

Don't tell Jeffrey that when he suggested B&W I was thinking he was a bit off his rocker... but I think Jeffrey hit on something really nice here, and your processing really brings it out. Maybe because I like chocolate so much, I do like the color a lot, but this B&W with those clouds in the sky and the swirls on the ground really created a unique image! So I stand corrected, if only in my mind...

 

[Zeph]

All are great Ben, but the colorful 2nd keep my interest longest. It has more visible detail and seems more realistic.
Congrats

 

[Jim Dockery]

Great work on the B&W too Ben. Could you send me simple directions to this location if you don't want to broadcast them on the web? 4WD required?

 

[Alisa]

Altogether we were at this place 4 times in 2 days and I think we still have better light to get in future trips. It was alsways full cloudy at the day ends. But these shots show the potential.

The first is sunrise and you can see the sun fairly high already and trying to burn through the clouds. I think the optimal time would be with lighter cloud cover and just before the sun popped over the horizon.

View attachment 8880

The second is the same general place at sunset. The foreground was starting to shade out, but the cloud cover muted the effect and made this shot possible.

View attachment 8881

I love the color in the second image very beautiful!

 

[Douglas Sherman]

Congratulations on the Daily Featured Post, Ben. I like them all.

 

[Ben Egbert]

Thanks guys, now that the cat is out of teh bag, I expect to see many images from here in the future.

 

[lionking]

Amazing captures Ben!
Congrats.

 

[JimFox]

Thanks guys, now that the cat is out of teh bag, I expect to see many images from here in the future.

I don’t really care for cats Ben, but you can count on my trying to catch this one!

 

[Ben Egbert]

I tired a trick. I liked the looks of the B&W in terms of drama, so I ran the Nik action again and changed the layer to luminosity and produced a very dramatic color version.

 

[AlanLichty]

That certainly added some drama to the skies and some interesting contrasts for the ground layers.