Zion National Park: Basic Edits

The rock formation in this photograph is of little interest other than it was located close to the parking lot where we stayed just outside Zion National Park.  It was right in your face each morning so it was nearly impossible not to snap a few photos.  In this post I show the original image, a color enhanced image, and a black and white rendition.

Original Photograph

Below is the original image as it came out of the camera.  I was using a Canon 5D Mark II with the following settings.  A focal length of 82mm, f/5.6, speed of 1/200s and an ISO of 100.  If there is available light, I generally make images using the aperture setting while trying to find the “sweet spot” of the lens.  That is generally from f/5.6 to f/8.0.

Color Enhanced Photograph

In this enhancement I added some subtle clouds for additional interest.  There was an object at the bottom of the photo that is in the dark portion of the original and does not show up until the shadows are lightened.  I cropped out that object.  I did a bit of contrast and detail enhancements.  Luminar AI permits one to work on large, medium, and small object.  I pushed all three detail a small amount.

Black and White Photograph

With this Black and White image I added more dramatic clouds than one sees in the color image.  I kept most of the color changes.  In general, when working on a BnW image I will first go through the color enhancements before making any more changes to the BnW photograph.

Luminar AI has several Super Contrast adjustments in the Professional section.  I pushed several of these slightly in the image.

Questions and Comments are always welcome.  I plan to pick up a few new images over the next few days so look for more interesting photographs this weekend or early next week.