Okay my turn to ask for some advice here. I recently went to Antelope Canyon with Elia Locardi for an upcoming project. We weren't actually shooting there for the tutorial but rather were just having a fun "relaxing" excursion while in Page Arizona. Anyways, I tried to avoid the masses of photographers in our group who were shooting the cliche "phantom" dust images the tour guide helps visitors make. Out of all the images I shot, this was the one that really stood out to me and I'm thinking of printing it large for a project.
The image on the left I processed to make it look more eerie and to play with the colors a bit. The image on the right actually looks more like reality but it is the more typical colorful canyon type of photograph.
Do you guys think 1) this is even worth printing and 2) which version do you like more?
And I've added a version #3 with more color in the rocks but still the blue/dark tone.
I'll choose #2 on the right. Image #1 looks a bit like spot color to me. I do like the tanner sand at the bottom of #1. Maybe top from #2, bottom from #1 - gradient transition between the 2?
Yeah I'm definitely not trying to do a spot color effect, I'm just trying to make the orange highlight pop more and make the rocks look darker and more evil. The photo on the right almost looks fake to me because of the crazy color in those caves. Unfortunately I feel like I need to go either super colorful and saturated or very muted and ominous. Blending somewhere in the middle just looks more like a mistake and isn't very interesting.
Left one looks more evil to me.
I like left
I don't know, kinda like the blend idea still
;)
The the rocks don't look black or dark grey but you get that evil look still.
I also darkened up the bottom so the eye is less drawn to it.
Like this treatment by Michael. I think it's important to keep some warm color tones in the foreground rockwall, but the bright patch of sand looks more natural than #2. Michael darkened the base: I wonder whether an even stronger vignette - excluding the top, would look even moodier?
Yes and #2
well
i kind of prefer the #3 :-)
the orange realy pops more
It's pretty cool man, the right one looks cooler I think
#1 Looks wayyy more three-dimensional.
Love the orange tones. Have you tried putting that strong orange in a colour wheel and seeing what comes out? Whatever blueish tones it suggests get my vote for the rocks...
p.s definitely print it big!
I feel ashamed I have no idea what "putting that strong orange in a colour wheel" means. I'm guessing it means using the exact opposite color?
This video explains it really well. (Half way down the page)
http://www.davemorrowphotography.com/color-theory-photography
As a landscape photography, number 3 gives me a better sense of reality.
Well to be honest, #3 is the least like reality which is kind of the direction I'm trying to go. The rocks there really are red and purple which makes #2 the most true to reality.
#2 works the best in my opinion Patrick.
I prefer the #3, as you said, because is less like the other millions pictures of that canyon. But it depends on the purpose of the project you have in mind, to me the most realistic, from what I remember, is the #2 but just a little less saturated but it depends of the time of the day I visited it I guess.
I've been struggling with this exact same composition (since there are only a limited number of them in that canyon), from when I was there last August. I prefer #1 because there is more colour separation which adds to the depth in the scene. My original take on the subject was 50 shades of orange that kind of all blended together and didn't really provide a true representation of what that scene offered. I think punching the orange/saturation in the gap works very well, and then the muted (not quite de-saturated) earthy tones in the foreground will compliment it nicely. Lastly, the sand from #2 or #3 I feel offers the most natural option, as it doesn't need to stand out. I guess ill be going back to my image tonight and see what I can do...thanks for the inspiration Patrick!
#3 ;)
#2 all the way! While #1 looks great, the #2 would stand the test of time.