Rock formation by the roadside, Utah
The formations of rock, weathered by the wind and rain, and the mountains to either side of the road were particularly beautiful in Utah south of Salt Lake City. We didn't have a lot of time to stop and take pictures, but this vista was too beautiful to pass without at least a try. The rock itself reminded me of the Sphinx, or a cobra peeking over the rock at the van. After I looked at it a while, it began to look like Jabba the Hut! But it was as striking a formation as I had ever seen. I was to see many more before the day was over.
I took the photo with my trusty Konica Minolta Dimage D5, set on auto. I am learning about manual settings now, but I could have used that knowledge then. The sun was so very bright it washed out the sky and clouds, which presented a dilemma for me when I tried to "clean it up" with Photoshop. Just working with the levels, brightness/contrast was not good. To get the rock formation light enough to see the wind sculptures, the sky was white, masking the wispy clouds. And to get the clouds and sky to show up, the rocks were black.
I tried to dodge and burn the scene, but the results were very artificial looking. So I had to learn the intricacies of the magnetic lasso, mask each section of the shot, and lighten the rocks, darken the sky separately. I don't think it looks bad for my first try.
Let me know what you think. Leave a comment, if you'd like.
Mike
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