Every time I get ready to delete it (and a few more from the same location) the patterns and colors sort of suck me in and make me want to play with it.

I'm doing a mass edit of all my nature photos from 2004 on and trying to cut 170K images down to maybe 1700 "sellers."

Jim it might be kind of fun to try a little HDR on this one. I would not delete it if it was mine.

Hey Jim,

Is this Zabriskie Point?

James

Yep, sure is. Didn't know how recognizable it would be without the "point."

Jim,
I like it and I agree with Roger -- maybe a little tone-mapping would bring out the striations in the rock layers. But it's a nice image with both interesting intersecting lines and subtle color differences. Definitely a keeper.

Jim

Thanks everyone. Maybe I'll get a trial of Photomatix to play with.

I've got a learning curve ahead, but I took a crack at it with Photomatix. A little challenging with only one exposure and since this was before I started shooting raw. I ended up creating copies in LR with five different exposures.

Jim
when it comes to tone-mapping, I tend to operate under the philosophy of "if you're going to do it, be bold." Like everything else in this creative process, what you do is an expression of your own individual vision. Having said that, here are two examples of tone-mapping using the Photomatix tone-mapping plugin. The first is obviously more bold than the second but both deal with the "flatness" of the original in my view. Just some examples to feed your creativity.





Jim

Thanks Jim. I really like the first one. Did you just tone map it or did you split it up into multiple exposures and start over?

I really need to play with Photomatix some more, but I'm pretty swamped with new orders, a new website under construction, a marketing campaign and hiring a scheduler.

Not that any of those are bad, just a lot on my plate

I think I'm going to pick one day each week to just play. Try new things, get back out with the birds, etc. We'll see if I can pull it off.

I see Photomatix as useful in two ways. One for being really creative and two for working on a few indoor shots that need a little help but still need to look realistic.

Jim
no HDR on those -- just tone-mapping. I agree that it's a useful tool for squeezing more out of basically flat shots and, used judiciously, can bring some indoor images to life. But I really like the way it lets you capture the moment but still be able to enhance it the way you wished it had been.

As for playing, when I'm in puppy/watch mode, I play. Starting this weekend, I'm off to the Florida Circuit where I'm shooting some Specialties and have a bunch of advertising client dogs to get action shots of. Next week, we get 4 visitors with 7 dogs on top of those already in the house. Oh, and temps today are only in the 40s. Next week, the shows move to a site high on a hill where wind chill factor isn't just a joke . I'm going to be at those shows from 8 in the morning until after Best In Show around 5 pm. Long, cold, days. Well, at least the dogs will love it.

I'll share pics of the sunny South!

Jim