Horseshoe Bend Photo

Photographer’s Note

Continuing my tour of the honeypot locations of the American Southwest, this is the classic view of Horseshoe Bend, Arizona (there are already plenty of splendid images of this location on TE so I'm not adding much in terms of originality apart from the extra-wide angle).
Of all the stunning places we saw on the trip, this was perhaps the most breathtaking. This photo is actually from my second attempt here: the first time we arrived mid afternoon and the conditions were terrible (hazy, overcast, strong wind) so I was glad to have the opportunity to stop off again on the way back from Monument Valley a few days later in better conditions. This was taken around midday when the light illuminates the whole of the inside of the canyon.

Taken using a 10.5 mm fisheye, distortion corrected and converted from NEF using Capture NX2.

I took shots with a variety of different compositions - vertical horizontal, details of bushes growing on the edge of the canyon etc. - but ultimately this is the iconic shot of Horseshoe Bend. Perched with a tripod on the edge of the canyon with a several hundred metre drop below requires considerable attention!

Thanks for looking!

From Wikipedia:
Horseshoe Bend is the name for a horseshoe-shaped meander of the Colorado River located near the town of Page, Arizona. It is located slightly downstream from the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell within Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, about four miles or 6 km south of Page. Accessible via a 3/4-mile (1.2 km) hike from U.S. Route 89, it can be viewed from the steep cliff above, forming a spectacular vista.

ManuMay, ersoyyilmaz, carper, linask, phwall, npecanhuk, Floydian, alexisborel, jorgi, calexica, hispic, sevy, Clementi, cherryripe, chpp, wishlist, dmarizz, Dyerco, SofiaVinagre, s_lush, ilvao, akm has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

ManuMay (12304) 2008-10-18 11:15

Hi John!
Let me be the first on congratulate you, I´m sure not to be the last!!!

Incredible view, incredible colours and superb sky, grea great composition and wonderful colours!!!
Direct to my favorites list!!

Thanks for sharing.
Regards.
Manuel.

brandstaetter (15034) 2008-10-18 11:16

Hi John,
wow this is flashing into my eyes.. the best horseshoe bend photo I´ve seen till now, thanks to you and your extreme wide angle lens. Perfect technical quality in every respect. Goes to my selected favorite portfolio..
Compliments, Chris

benspictures (71) 2008-10-18 11:17

Very impressive! Colors saturation are perfect, and pov very great (the best i know).

Regards

Ben

dta (7857) 2008-10-18 11:17

hello John ,
Incredible colors , incredible sharpness , incredible beauty !
Thanks for the share , and congratulations
Denis

scalerman (25803) 2008-10-18 11:21

John: tack sharp, superb color, great wide-lens image. hat's off... c

leo61 (44300) 2008-10-18 11:27

Hi John!
This is photography at it`s best.Here at TE we can see many stiched versions from this POV and you fisheye view with corrections is perfect.Colors.light.the overall sharpness....everything is perfect here and what I like most are these clouds which give the image an amazing depth.
Excellent work,Congratulation!!!!!
Regards,Leo

carper (67302) 2008-10-18 11:27

wauw John.
you made a fantastic photo of this famous point of view, marvelous composition, good contrast, what can I say more then you did do a marvelous job here, have agood weekend.
gr. jaap

quillo (7594) 2008-10-18 11:31

-

Hola john:

Este es un excelente trabajo de encuadre, luz y color, yo no tengo más que decir, tan solo disfrutar con la magnifica vista.

Un saludo.

-

grux (135) 2008-10-18 11:40

Hello John,
Thanks for sharing such a beautiful picture like this one !

Compo, colors are great...

Just a (tiny) regret, my eyes wants to have a wilder angle of view, more panoramic in order to avoid the breaks of the lines of cliffs on both sides

Regards
Jean-Yves

sergio_leitao7 (1229) 2008-10-18 12:00

Hi John
Another incredible place, i am amazed by your photos, clarity, sharpness, and composition are extremely good and this extra wide angle is fantastic. TFS

Regards
Sergio Leitao

phwall (5974) 2008-10-18 12:06

Hi John,
Brilliant shot, the wide lens sure does the job here. Wonderful colours, and that sky, wow.
Amazing capture in every respect, congratulations.
Regards
Peter

lespicaros (5518) 2008-10-18 12:17

Paysage superbe capturé avec une maitrise totale
Bravo pour cette prise
Bonne soirée John
Lespicaros

ysabaner (1067) 2008-10-18 12:17

Hello,
Wonderful composition, very interesting picture, clauds, sky and earth wonderful seems.
Well done.
Yahya

Didier38 (710) 2008-10-18 13:07

Bonjour John,

Superbes couleurs et bon cadrage.
Une belle image avec une grande profondeur de champ.
Bien vu.

Didier

Floydian (30970) 2008-10-18 13:29

Hi John,
So you finally made it to that awesome place, and lucky you even two times. For me it was a big wow feleing standing there, i think we all do once standing ont he edge.
What to say man, it's a great and stunning photo and it shows the bend in all his beauty. This can do three ways, full-frame with a wide angle, stitching or with a lens as you got. Your pp handling is wonderful and is it in my shot the boats on the river, in yours it are the clouds who steal the show here.
Great work my friend...really good from this awesome place..!!!
Regards, Henk

danyy (70659) 2008-10-18 14:42

Bonjour John,
rien à redire, la perfection totale, la photo qui coupe le souffle, l'utilisation efficace du grand angle.
Regards.
Daniel.

Morac (21943) 2008-10-18 15:12

Hello John
This landscape is extraordinary.
The sky is also extraordinary.
This photo is superb.
Congratulations
Best regards
Marc

Nelu_Goia (2868) 2008-10-18 17:39

Hi John,
What a splendid view of this amazing place!
Technically impeccable,the photo stands out among others taken in this spot.
Superb job!
Thank you,
Nelu

alexisborel (751) 2008-10-19 1:22

Hi John.
I you know i was there too and i know how it's difficult to make a picture who give the real feel and scale of this place because it's larger than our eyes can see. You did it well again with your 10mm. You were there at the better moment, when there's not shadow on borders (i was there at 8am because i had to visit Antelope at 11am), no boat on colorado and lucky you are: when it were incredible clouds like those on your picture of Monument valley (same day than this one i presume).
Excellent sharpness and color saturation, for the moment the best picture of this place i had seen, the previous was the one of Jonas Smith. I haven't publish mine for the moment and i must recognize your's is better from far.
Have a good day and see you soon, i wait for Antelope pictures if you go there.

Alexis

jorgi (3804) 2008-10-19 2:12

Hi John,

my chance not to miss this one. It just glows out from the gallery. It screams John Freeman. Another superb use of wide lens and breathtaking result. I just do not know what more to add to: simply fantastic.

Warm regards,
Jeri

mirarer (4545) 2008-10-19 12:49

Hola John,
No hay nada que pueda añadir a todo lo dicho. Es soberbia y de una calidad técnica excepcional.
Saludos,
Mirari

calexica (1243) 2008-10-19 13:20

Hey John,
I've seen many pictures of the Horseshoe Bend here on TE and yours is without a doubt one of the best!!! The contrast and colors are awesome. The POV is excellent and the sharpness couldn't be any better. I don't know what else to say ... truly magnificent composition. Congratulations!!!
Greetings,
Natasha

hispic (7399) 2008-10-19 20:12

Hi John,
Depiction of the clouds formation in vast perspective is really impressive. Very good use of the lens, it looks like having taken with a normal wide-angle despite with a fisheye. I like this shot a lot.
Have a nice day, Hisashi

sevy (14848) 2008-10-20 0:37

Hello John,

Yes, the point of view is well known and was often presented in TE, by the use of the very wide angle and nice pattern of clouds is bringing originality.
I was not a fan of the fisheye due to the too high signature of the lens, but I am changing my mind with the distortion correction you are applying with so good results here. I was not thinking it can be so successful without inducing details lost are geometric defects in the corners.
Now I will be obliged to start to think to do a travel in this part of the USA. One destination more to plan ;-)

Yves.

Clementi (47668) 2008-10-20 0:51

Ciao John,
un altra spettacolare foto hai usato il grandangolo con vera maestria l'effetto creato e' incredibile sembra di esserci dentro una foto tridimensionale con dei colori fatntastici, e che altro devo dire? la guardo con ammirazione.
Giorgio

npecanhuk (16416) 2008-10-20 2:24

Hi John!
WOW! I've already seen this place in here, but that's definitely the best one! It's just perfect! Fantastic! In my humble opinion, everything's correct, well elaborated and wonderful!
TFS - Congratulations!
Have a great week-end!
Neyvan

kyrneucciu (1344) 2008-10-20 4:25

Hi John, simply a wonderful picture, congratulations. JO

cherryripe (19475) 2008-10-20 7:58

Hi John
The light here is fabulous bringing out the rich colours and the extra-wide angle makes the shot so dynamic. So much depth too. I love the contrast between the deep emerald water and the red cliffs.
Regards
Nikki

chpp (4187) 2008-10-20 9:06

Hi
beuatiful shot, great depth, quality and colours.
The POV has a very nice effect on the river?
nice compo
TFS
C

derek3755 (2341) 2008-10-20 11:20

Hi John

Looks like midday is about the right time to photograph this place to get the bend all lit up, great that you had all those clouds too, as it certainly makes for more impact.

last time i went i visited late afternoon and there were no clouds, and i know what you mean about getting close to the edge, quite scary.

Regards
Derek

wishlist (4133) 2008-10-20 14:28

Hi John,
you know what I think about this masterpiece, right? So far this is the best picture ever seen here of this place. This is a fantastic 3D view, simply breathtaking and I really have to hold me back not to fall down from the edge..how amazing. The sky and the incredible depth created I think was just a bless to allow you in delivering such a great result. Colours, sharpness, your immense talent are just your signature on this stunning and so damn well presented work. Hat off!

Igor

rajhema (1867) 2008-10-20 14:32

very sharp picture John. and a 100mm gave a spectacular view of this landmark. I tried to take the same picture using my 18mm and couldn't focus the entire place. good one.

colorful and sharp.
TFS
Rajesh

toto (18919) 2008-10-20 22:00

Bonjours,
belle photo de ce méandre magnifique que forme cette rivière qui de cette couleur étonne encore plus que les autres que j' ai déja vue sur ce cite.
Belles couleurs, bonne netteté de l' ensemble.

Amitiés Thomas

dmarizz (2452) 2008-10-21 7:19

Ciao John,
di Horseshoe Bend ci sono milioni di foto in Internet, ma questa a mio avviso va sul podio. L'utilizzo della fish-eye corretta in postprocessing ha prodotto una nitidezza assolutamente incredibile. E quelle nuvole poi... Posto fantastico riproposto in maniera ineccepibile. Grazie, Dario.

paololg (15482) 2008-10-21 11:42

Ciao John,
questa la metto subito tra le mie preferite, perchè, oltre a mostrarci uno scenario unico, è catturata in modo stupendo. Se tu la postassi in una mostra fotografica, ti darei il primo premio. Bravissimo, complimenti sinceri!
Ciao
Paolo

Lucalain (1928) 2008-10-21 12:22 [Comment]

Show Comment

walkmania (315) 2008-10-23 22:40

It's an impeccable capture of a magical landscape. It's interesting that in Yunnan province,China,we have a bend rather like the twin of this one,you can check out at http://www.8848tibet.com/shangri-la/tours_4953.html

hamady (662) 2008-10-25 9:48

Amazing panoramatic picture,perfect contrast and colors... ;o)

Dyerco (9640) 2008-10-26 4:26

Hi John
This came out very well considering the midday light. Well exposed and good saturation. Like you say at another time of day there would have been shadows somewhere. Smileys later.
Phil

Estelle (2319) 2008-10-29 6:38

Hello John,
I can't believe I missed such an amazing picture on the TE gallery. Better late than never!
The extra wide angle is definitly a wise choice to make it even more incredible.
The colours are simply incredible
Woua!!!
Estelle

martijn (210) 2008-11-09 1:28 [Comment]

Show Comment

SofiaVinagre (246) 2008-11-09 15:30

Hi
Impressive photo
thanks for saying how did you do it
Sofia

smarcell (15536) 2008-11-10 13:50

What can I say about this picture which does not sound obvious ?
The polarized sky maybe ? Or the green bend over the burning red rocks ?
The super wide angle view ?
ciao Stefano

PeterDF (300) 2008-12-04 6:49

This is truly a spectacular shot...the colors, the setting...the clouds. Everything is just truly remarkable. Wonderful shot. Of all the shots of this amazing place that I have seen on TE, yours is really the most beautiful.

brano14 (2113) 2008-12-19 9:39

John,
I was redirected to this picture by alexis and it was worth it.
Great view, compared to Alexis' picture the blue sky makes the biggest difference for me and you do not have any shades.
Thanks!
Brano

OLF (3924) 2008-12-19 10:56

Hi John,
This is an amazing point of view, fantastic landscape !
I like a lot colors of the rock, the river and the superb sky.
Very well done.
Regards,
Olivier

ilvao (2250) 2009-03-11 0:50

Hi John,
wonderful panorama from up there
your picture is very spectacular and technically perfect
beautiful saturated colors

great job - all te best - olivier

Babarf (1578) 2009-04-13 4:48

Hi John,

!!!WONDERFUL!!!

Nothing more!!! :O)))

Fabien.

azizbilgili (1716) 2009-04-22 2:50

Hi John ,
Incredible colors, sharpness and beauty...

TFS

Nana-S (640) 2009-04-28 14:45

what a beauty!
is it real? :)
tfs
BG

presidente (1115) 2009-05-01 22:58

Wonderful shot! It's a perfect one in a very difficult places. I really like your shot made with the 10.5mm. I made many years ago one with a 24mm but was hard to catch all the view. Your color and light are also excellent. Thank you for sharing. Andrea

akm (1058) 2009-06-05 17:18

Hello John,
Simply wonderful -- glorious sky, amazing sharpness and, best of all, really natural colors.
Regard,
Mary