My Arizona Trip

[TheWengler]

Well I don't usually start threads for my pictures, but I have a decent amount this time. My girlfriend and I went to Sedona, AZ for about a week over spring break. We also took one day out to drive up to the Grand Canyon. I'll start with the shots from Red Rock Crossing. C&C are appreciated. :)

[TheWengler]

Some others from Crescent Moon Ranch.

[TheWengler]

We did a lot of day hikes on our trip and saw a lot of red rock.

[TheWengler]

Here are a few from our day trip to the Grand Canyon.

[TheWengler]

More red rock...

[TheWengler]

Finally, a few cactus shots.

[AdamW]

Man, Lukas, that's some great stuff! Your compositions are really good.

Now I want to go to Sedona....

[toriaj]

Awesome as usual, Lukas :)
My favorites are #s 1 and 3. I love the way you used the shutter speed in the first one. But the third one, the way it is just glassy and reflects the sunset, that's just magic! And I agree with Adam, your compositions are amazing. I'm not in love with any of the B&Ws, I'd rather see them in color, with the notable exception of the layers on layers of the Grand Canyon. I really think that works in B&W, it reminds me of the old classic "masters" of photography :)

I love the colors in #5, excellent processing to bring all that out. The trees in #6 look a little overexposed to me. #19, instant classic. I just wish the tree was more to the left of the frame -- but perhaps you were cropping something out on the right? Great job, Lukas. These are really beautiful.

Did you ever get your GND filter?

[TheWengler]

Adam, thank you very much. You should go. It's great if you like hiking. I'd avoid it during spring break though. ;)

Tori, thank you too. About the B&W edits, I think the Grand Canyon ones come out much better in B&W because I can be a little more generous with the contrast. As for the others, I think after editing so many pictures I just got tired of seeing so much orange and blue. :D I see what you mean in #6. I didn't notice that before when trying to get some more detail in the foreground. I'll tweak that one later. I'm not sure why I cropped #19 the way I did, but I don't think I was really cropping anything specifically out. I wish I took that one at a little wider angle so I could do a longer crop.

I did get the GND filters, but I still need lots of practice using them. I used them on #2 and like ND filters on #1 and #3.

[toriaj]

Sorry if you've already posted this somewhere, but what program do you use for PP? Do you like your GND filters? The shots look great where you used them.

[TheWengler]

Sorry if you've already posted this somewhere, but what program do you use for PP? Do you like your GND filters? The shots look great where you used them.

I'm using PSE 5. Yes, I like the filters. Like everything else, it just takes a little practice.

[T06]

lukas there are some great shots in there, don't be shy to start your own thread, you deserve one as much as us all!

[Phill D]

Wow yes Lukas that is an excellent set of shots really classy & I echo the composition comments above. Like Tori my favs are 1&3 but I also like the rock with the out of focus watchtower in the background it just has that something. We went to the GC in 2005 pretty much when I started hanging round these forums, many of my shots suffered from haze & were quite washed out though. You have definately brought back some good memories & a longing to return, it's a fantastic place.

[Benjamin2007]

Excellent series Lukas! :)
I particularly liked No's#1, 3 & 5, all for composition and colour. :D
GC pic's were also good.

cheers,

[TheWengler]

Thank you everyone for your comments. Haze is indeed a problem at the GC. luckily it was a relatively clear day. :)

[Lilchilichoco]

Lukas, BEAUTIFUL!!! Your compositions are something to aspire to. And what gorgeous colors!!!



I love #3, for the ‘glassy’ effect as Tori rightly calls it.

#4 for that desaturated look, it speaks of a faded world….

#5 just beautiful!!!

# 8, love this for the composition, I am assuming that’s your girlfriend in the background…..fantastic!! Would have worked great even with just that shape in the left, both would have a different feel though, it’s lovely anyway.

#9….the sky!!!!! What a beautiful dark sky!


I think #13 could have done with more contrast…Oh I love 14!!!! And #17 would be my favorite!! It has this sudden, halted silence about it…..love it!!


I have always admired your photos Lukas, you have a beautiful eye for composition.



Great going!!:)



Best Regards

[pas49ras]

Great job Lucas..you truly have the eye of a artist and live in and visit some of the beautiful areas of the country.

[TheWengler]

Chili, thank you for your comments. Yes, that is my girlfriend in #8. I have one of the puddles w/o her in it, but for some reason I like this one more. I'll give #13 another look. I don't have a daughter to take pictures of so I just take pictures of rocks. :p

Doug, thank you. Sedona was amazingly beautiful. Santa Cruz isn't bad either. :D How do you like the new K200D? Is it a worthy upgrade over the K100D? In an upgrade, I would like a shortcut button for ISO and WB, a back lit top display, and ISO 100. I know the K200D adds the last thing plus weather sealing, which is awesome at that price.

Tori, here (http://picasaweb.google.com/lswenger/NewPictures/photo#5186359604119534210) is #6, with the trees tweaked a little. What do you think?

[toriaj]

Lukas, did you change the one posted as well? Because the two look the same to me.

[TheWengler]

Lukas, did you change the one posted as well? Because the two look the same to me.

No, I didn't. All I did was bump the "darken highlights" slider a bit.

[pas49ras]

Doug, thank you. Sedona was amazingly beautiful. Santa Cruz isn't bad either. :D How do you like the new K200D? Is it a worthy upgrade over the K100D? In an upgrade, I would like a shortcut button for ISO and WB, a back lit top display, and ISO 100. I know the K200D adds the last thing plus weather sealing, which is awesome at that price.


Lucas..so far, the K200 seems like a nice upgrade from the K100. I haven't had a lot of chances for pictures due the late arriving spring in the Northeast but I've been impressed so far. The K200 seems to focus much faster and I like the custom image modes. I'm also looking forward to using the the Raw+JPEG option. The pictures really have much more depth and detail..I have been using the high dynamic range mode which really gives a nicely exposed picture.

[JTL]

Hey Lukas!

Some stunningly good shots! Your creativity has reached new levels...great compostion, great treatments...it all came together!

I knew you'd love it there...:)

[TheWengler]

Hey Lukas!

Some stunningly good shots! Your creativity has reached new levels...great compostion, great treatments...it all came together!

I knew you'd love it there...:)

JTL, thank you for your comments and thank you for the pre-trip help. We did love it :D.

[Esoterra]

Some really nice work here. Thanks for posting