Dodge and Burn Resurrection Canyon

Dodge and Burn Resurrection Canyon

Camera Settings

24mm

ISO 800

F/11

Shutter Speed 1/1600

Camera Gear

Canon RP

Crappy Manfrotto Tripod

24mm - 105mm f/4 RP

Iphone as digital remote

Shooting and Editing Goal

Highlight water streaks in Wahweap Layer

Image Stack

Dodge and Burn

My goal for this photograph was to highlight the cracks in the soft white Wahweap Sandstone Layer in Resurrection Canyon. The Canyon is located off The Smokey Mountain Road in the Glen Canyon National Recreation area. The route finding is a little tricky but a GPS map can be found on All Trails. I figured my subject would be a tower down there because they are very doctor seuss looking but I wasn’t set on it. I knew I was going to focus stack the image because I wanted the cracks to be clear and bleed into my subject. I tried to utilize the in camera focus stacking option; it selects 3 - 7 images depending on what it thinks. I decided that it looks better if I choose my focus and stack my images in post, it was a nice effort by the camera but it could use some tweaks. I think it is important to be flexible when shooting because going in with one plan may not turn the results you are looking for, and changing your tactic could create results you never thought of.

This is my in camera shot next to my post Photoshop edit. You can see the bottom of the image is blurry and the camera did not select the right focus points, something I now can not fix. I ultimately had to crop this part of the image out and settle on a smaller frame. This will allow me to plan better next time and manually shoot for stacking. 

To highlight the sandstone features in post I refreshed my knowledge of dodging and burning and while using this process I was inspired by some modern pieces. With this process I decided to highlight the colors along with the shadows and highlights traditionally used in the dodging and burning process. 

I like the way this image turned out but I believe what I learned from this should help me plan my shoots differently in the future. When time allows and a tripod is had I look forward to taking the time to utilize manual processes for shooting and layer masks to highlight specific elements. I think that traditional dodging and burning is a subtle way to draw the eye, but I think modern imagery is moving towards utilizing over saturation and more color as a theme. 

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/utah/resurrection-canyon--2