Badlands
 

I took this shot last summer on a roadtrip. It was taken in Badlands National Park in South Dakota.

This is also a test run of using the new tags and of taking Creativity in a new direction.

Please offer any critiques of the photo. Remember, make it constructive.

http://www.kwpearce.com/hotlinking/Badlands.jpg

It's an impressive view but the colors looked a little overcooked on both of my monitors.

South Dakota? Holy shit does that ever look like the badlands in Alberta! Makes me want to go for a drive. I am sorry but I have nothing to critique on that (or critic! haha). It just reminds me of too many good times. The layers of sediment definitely give it a strange appearance though, but thats just nature

It's a great photo. I think Manic_Skafe may be right about the colors. Also, I may be crazy, but it looks to be tilted about 1 degree clockwise. The layers of sediment look ever so slightly slanted to me. But then again, I could have crooked eyes.

no, uber, i saw the tilt immediately.
it seems a little more pronounced in the rear geological formation so i attributed it to nature.
i like the colors, but they do look a little modified to me.
i love the composition, though.

Thanks for the input so far. One of my biggest challenges comes from trying to find a balance between the right amount of vibrancy and overdoing it. Hearing your views helps me realize I've got to reel it in a bit.

As far as it being tilted? Yeah, I think my equilibrium is off because if I uploaded all of my raw files, about 90% of them are askew. I wish Canon would put grids in their viewfinder.

Personally, I love the vibrancy of the terrain, but the faded greys and blacks in the background are dull by comparison to the contrast and saturation seen in the foreground.

My suggestion is to use photo editing to cut out the background and liven up its coloration before sticking it back on.

Here's an example, but you would want to spend more time on it than I did.

http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/4599/badlandsns8.jpg

Agree on the colors.

However, I really like how it appears so textured, as if I were to run my hand across it, it would be bumpy and wavy to the touch.

I use the autoFocus points as virtual lines. (As in lining up the second from the left and second from the right auto focus points with something in the image.)

Alternatively Katz Eye Optics has replacement screens and will do the swap out for you. You get the manual focus center, and can choose the line options that you want the screen to have, and they also put the auto focus locations on the new screen. I haven't done this yet, but it is on my wish list.

I like the strata - both in the rocks and the lighting. Maybe try photo shop the darker to the front and the brighter to the back. Would lead the eye in better.

I think the photo is great. I like the way the contrasts in colour vibrancy make your eyes dart around the image. I also find the striped effect that seems to cover the photo very distracting, in a good way. It's a static image but those stripes make it look like there's a dynamic to it!

I find exaggerated color manipulation done on a monitor that is not calibrated to be tacky. In a situation like this, proper exposure in the first place is key despite the fact that it is possible to manipulate a digital photo. (Just because you *can* doesn't mean you *should*.)

Three ways could have provided shadow details without compromising saturation:
A) Polarizer filter, ND grad filter, and/or UV/Haze filter
B) HDR
C) Photograph with film
Film still surpasses a single digital frame in terms of range of lumens captured. HDR *can* surpass film; however, no printer currently can output a range that is comparable to that of a photograph. The extra dynamic range that is gained in the multiple exposures is lost again when you print or view on the monitor. i.e. film is still the champ.