[Mr Tonka]

We're hitting: Zion, Bryce Canyon, Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend and the South Rim.


Zion NP

[Mr Tonka]

Bryce Canyon

[Mr Tonka]

Antelope Canyon

[IRide]

^^^^^^^

Excellent!

[Mr Tonka]

Thanks. Could have spent a week in there!

[ShopVac]

Awesome pictures, beautiful colors.

[Itsed65]

Really great stuff. A lot of those would make excellent large prints.

[panicos81]

those antelope canyon shots are great. great light in there. it would be interesting to see if you go crazy on the vibrance and saturation sliders

[Mr Tonka]

Thanks! I always hope to make prints of images i've taken for home decoration. I think i have some winners with this trip.

There wasn't much light in there at all. Most of the images fall between 15 to 45 sec exposures. I was very surprised to see what colors the camera picked up compared to what my eyes saw.

The images where i've blown out a highlight or two don't look good with heightened saturation. Same for the ones with the sand floor visible But the more abstract ones don't look unbelievable even with loads of saturation. I chose to keep them in pretty much in line with the colors i saw when i used a flash light in there.

Here are some more....

[Mr Tonka]

I'm really digging these for some abstract art prints. Could have had a few more different looking images but my tripod didn't go any lower. These are all of the same section of rock from different angles.

[P1]

Impressive set of photos!

[remmib]

Originally Posted by Mr Tonka

Antelope Canyon

Those pics are just mesmerizing.

[Mr Tonka]

Thanks!

Some of the big hole in the ground.













Stars.... so many stars visible on a moonless night in the middle of boofu.

[Mr Tonka]

Speaking of stars.... who here knows how to photograph stars? Is it possible to get an image of the stars and have them look sharp?

[justanotherdude]

Very nice! Makes me want to go!

[Weebl]

https://photographylife.com/how-to-p...-the-milky-way
It depends on if you want movement or none. The latter is very hard to do. I was in the East parking lot next to the visitor center on a moonless night, I had to have my phone on to see the ground. My car was the only one there and I couldn't find it. That's dark.

I like this one the most and your "abstracts" would be next. If I ever go to Antelope, I'd be tempted to bring a towel to knock down the footprints, that's always bothered me about the canyon shots.

[Mr Tonka]

Thanks for the link.

I did a lot wrong with the stars. I basically pull off of I40 in the early evening and set up. It was about 28 degrees and i put no forethought into the image capture other than make a long exposure. That of course didn't work. I was really cold and we were in a sketchy area where either some psycho killer of pack of coyotes were going to jump out of the bushes. So i packed up and kept moving west. While driving i figured i should crank up the ISO. So i pulled off again in an open area where i could at least hear the psycho or coyotes coming for me. Still the two major mistakes were to set manual focus to infinity without checking the actual focus and being somewhere like F8 or 11. Edit: Looks like i got down to f3.2, but i was still OOF and at 3200 iso.



I think i like this ^^ one best too. I think it's going to turn into a print. Supposed to be reminiscent of sunrise over Monument valley.

Good call on the right click protect. I set it up that way, but find it annoying that the owner can't right click. Although, i don't really get protection concept though since you can still get a link to share.

[Weebl]

I don't know of a reason to be at anything smaller than wide open on astro shots. I'll always flip it into live view and magnify. Also let the camera sit for a bit to lose some of the heat, especially if using a telephoto or longer. Or just keep it in the trunk.

[panicos81]

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddes...less?CMP=fb_gu


6.5 m!!!

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by Mr Tonka

Speaking of stars.... who here knows how to photograph stars? Is it possible to get an image of the stars and have them look sharp?

Great series. The GC is hard to shoot unless there are some clouds or something to add interest, and you got that. I once lucked out and was there for a snow and it became very photogenic. Your slot-canyon shots are awesome.

For stars, use the largest aperture lens that you have at a fairly wide angle. The general rule is to keep the exposure under 25-sec. by upping ISO as needed. The ratio of the aperture to the focal length can be used with a formula for an even more precise time, but the larger the aperture relative to the focal length, the better. Still, 25-sec. usually does the trick. Try wide-open, at ISO 1600 for 25-sec. as a starting point. My biggest problem is getting focused. You can't just choose infinity. I try to find a really bright start and use Live View manual focus at 10x view. Lock the mirror up and use remote release or self-timer on a very sturdy tripod. If it's windy, you might as well come back another night, unless you can get behind a big rock to block the wind.

Dave

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by Weebl

I like this one the most and your "abstracts" would be next. If I ever go to Antelope, I'd be tempted to bring a towel to knock down the footprints, that's always bothered me about the canyon shots.

You had better plan on going in the off season like i did. Apparently during the summer when you can get pics of the light shafts, the place is packed and basically people are shoulder to shoulder in there. The Navajo take you out there in their vehicles. Each vehicle holds 8 to 10 people. He said there is typically 80 to 100 vehicles at the entrance of the slot canyon. The day we were there, there were 4 vehicles. It still would have been difficult to impossible to have enough time to sweep the sand smooth.

But i agree and think it would really add to the photo.

Originally Posted by panicos81

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddes...less?CMP=fb_gu


6.5 m!!!

That whole article encapsulates a conversation my wife and i had about the pics i took on that trip. She was saying they are some of my best work. My response was, meh.... i kind of think it's just the subject matter. Sure, some of them are exposed very well, but over all, i think it's the subject that makes them what they are. Composition is just too easy out there. You can basically point the camera any where and get nice images.

Originally Posted by dcstep

Great series. The GC is hard to shoot unless there are some clouds or something to add interest, and you got that. I once lucked out and was there for a snow and it became very photogenic. Your slot-canyon shots are awesome.

For stars, use the largest aperture lens that you have at a fairly wide angle. The general rule is to keep the exposure under 25-sec. by upping ISO as needed. The ratio of the aperture to the focal length can be used with a formula for an even more precise time, but the larger the aperture relative to the focal length, the better. Still, 25-sec. usually does the trick. Try wide-open, at ISO 1600 for 25-sec. as a starting point. My biggest problem is getting focused. You can't just choose infinity. I try to find a really bright start and use Live View manual focus at 10x view. Lock the mirror up and use remote release or self-timer on a very sturdy tripod. If it's windy, you might as well come back another night, unless you can get behind a big rock to block the wind.

Dave

Thanks Dave. I got out to the south rim trail early with little to no haze thinking the sun beaming in over my right shoulder would garner wonderful westward facing photos. But i soon learned that the distance to the other side of the canyon, coupled with light from a low light source make for no shadows and reveal little to no depth. So all the images that turned out well were actually shot while facing East. Except for the sunset image.

I'm going to practice on a moonless night here at home, but the amount of stars vissible will be pathetic. But at least i'll be ready for next time i can see the milky way without by simply looking up.