Zion & River

Thank you for your comments/ratings, Regina

Regina,

Wow....this is breathtaking. It looks like a painting. Into my favorites it goes. 7/7. Regards, Patsy

Absolutley Outstanding, congradulations on this well thoughtout shot. DanE

REally a dream scene. Awesome colors and composition. And of course incredible light!

Excellent atmosphere, well done Regina!

Preciosa Imagen!!! Excelente proceso luz y color!!! Felicidades, Regina!!!

Beautiful landscape photo, great job .

I love the composition a lot, and the overall effect that you've achieved with your post-processing. I have to tell you though, in my humble opinion, it kinda breaks down with the 'godbeams' or 'misty light' over the stream. It looks pretty contrived to my eye and has 'bleached' out the background vegetation (look at the little yellow-orange tree and beyond on the left bank). I think the image would be much stronger without that particular processing effect. Mind you, this is just my opinion; and after all, you are the artist here, and I do love looking at your work. Regina; as usual, you are incredibly inspirational. Cheers! Chris

Thank you everyone for your kind comments and ratings!

Chris, I sure wish you were at my side when I was post processing this photo...you're input would have saved me much agonizing over whether I should have included those light rays. In the end I wanted to try something different, and not go the safe route that I usually go with. I am not sure if I like it or not, but reading your comment makes me very sorry I did not save a version without the beams. Thank you so much for sharing your advice, I appreciate more than you know! Regina

First of all I am a big fan of your work and admire your artistic talents but I must agree with Chris on this one.I also appreciated seeing your original as I have always wondered just how much of the image was your artistic talent. Keep up your work as I always look forward to seeing your next post. Are you using Nik Color Efex?

I came across your work and I'm very impress with it. I like this image a lot with or without the rays I think you did a fabulous job. But now that I saw the original image I'm even more impress with your avilities.

Best regards

Alex

perfect

beatiful composition

Very nice.

Almost a painting.

Excellent work on this beautiful landscape!

Although I recognise what Chris is suggesting, looking at the overall image i have to say it's a wonderful work of art, well edited and presented. From the original photo to the final result you have done well regina. (the high key tones of the rays can be sublimed with some specific editing work if you feel it's necessary to create a greater blend)

Art, I do hope you recognize that what I said was not in contradiction of her artistic vision; but was simply an acknowledgment that for me that particular element of the processing didn't hold up with the rest of the elements in the image. I have been an admirer of Regina's artistic work from the first moment I discovered her several years ago. I have always tried to give her an honest and forthright assessment with respect to each of her visions. Cheers! Chris

You do have a talent for this. Its a great looking picture and the final touches was done very well.

I do understand your critique here Chris regarding the editing process rather than the artistic vision , I'm not suggesting you're not appreciative of regina's artistic flare i'm suggesting I see your view regarding the processed light rays (" it kinda breaks down with the 'godbeams' or 'misty light'") and that is where I am offering some humble advice to somehow 'bring back ' the image a little:)

Regina, I thought I might chime in on the thread to say it is sublime in many ways. I think Chris' and Leo's remarks are well intentioned and I perhaps agree. What I am impressed with is your desire to "push the envelope", even if it risks the criticism of your peers. In fact, with your vision, you will run into this often as you refine your approach. Meanwhile, it's good to know what's working or being accepted and what needs more time to cultivate. Now, the fact that you didn't save an earlier version without the mist/godbeams is probably your biggest mistake. That being said, you will actually benefit more from that mistake as it will require you to redo from the start. There is no better way to refine your skills than to perform them repetitiously, something akin to a piano player practicing his or her scales. It is quite evident that many viewers are liking this, so you are definitely on the right track. I regard Chris and Leo as two of the most established photographers on this platform, not just for their photography, but for their overall photographic knowledge, post processing included. Keep pumping these out, they are always a visual treat. As time goes, you will begin to silence the more critical observations. By then, you will only have to satisfy your own critical self!

Thank you all for such thoughtful comments, advice and observations. This was one of those photos that I thought I did too much to, but yet felt still wasn't 'done'. I scraped it and went on to work on another. After a week, I looked at it again, and said, "What the heck, call it finished and post it." I probably could have spent countless additional hours tweaking it, but I am glad I stopped when I did and let it go. I have yet to nail down a proper workflow in PS that makes it easier to go back to prior versions (like before the sun rays), so I need to concentrate a lot of effort in that direction. Hopefully, one day I will feel confident with my PS skills. I owe photo.net and the people that contribute a tremendous amount of gratitude for helping to keep me motivated and inspired. A heartfelt 'Thank You' to all (except the 3/3 raters :) !

Regina

Just a question, how should it be with a polarizer filter? less reflection? Anyway, great Art...Respect!!!

This picture be found from pixdaus.com:

http://www.pixdaus.com/single.php?id=209725

Thank you Jari, for letting me know that 'Poppy' (and others) have been posting my photos without permission on Pixdaus.com.

Regina

I have been to Zion park and this photo definitely does it justice. I found Zion park more spectacular than the Grande Canyon. I hope some day I can us PS as well as you. I am still a newbie when it comes to post processing but I am learning a lot looking at you serious photographers. Keep up the good work.