Sunrise on the Watchman, Zion National Park

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PDE

Hi Stephen,  We were at Zion about three weeks earlier than this image is dated and there were not any leaves on the trees.  Nice sky here.  I wonder if you want to open the shadows up a bit more on the Watchman.  Nice composition.  It looks as if this were taken about an hour before it got dark.  This is a nice time of day.  I was pretty disappointed that there wasn't any dramatic sunset for us.  Nice image.  Best to you.  Larry

Hi Stephen, I haven't been to Zion for three years but can't wait to go there next week. I like the sky, but somehow the colors of the rest of the image don't do it for me. Can't put my finger on it though. I probably would have kept more of the trees, but who knows what's lurking there at the bottom of the frame.

Stephen, I have not been there - but it looks beautiful. It looks like the sun is coming up from behind and to the left of the peak. If that is the case I would guess the left side of the peak would be brighter red and the base a bit darker. So that is what my eye was expecting. I think the trees are needed for foreground but would include more of them. Hope this made since. Have fun!

I actually like it, a lot.  I really dislike the painterly monicker but this reminds me very much of something Bierstadt might have created if he had an HD4 instead of a box full of brushes.  The horizontal erosion lines and vertical spires appear to mimic hashed brush strokes. I think your exposure was perfect for this scene, I don't see any clipped shadows or blown highlights, just a beautiful, muted pallet.

A prime lens lacks one dimension of compositional flexibility (unless you're willing to walk) but I might have tried tilting up a bit or shooting from a higher vantage point to exclude the trees, they don't spoil the scene but they appear overly saturated (naturally) compared to the balance of the scene and draw my attention to a sort of incompleteness.  I still think it's a stunning shot.

Thanks for the comments -- they really get me to thinking about my own photo.  I probably did open up the shadows a bit, but I didn't want to exaggerate that which my eyes did not see.  Regarding the trees, I think they look clipped and incomplete -- I don't think I composed this very well.  If I could do it over, I'd probably do a 2-photo vertical stitch; or, I might just crop the trees as Jeff suggested.  A disadvantage of a prime telephoto is that it's hard to zoom with the feet enough to make a significant difference.