Grand Designs Photo

Photographer’s Note

Grand Designs
Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, USA

On our first evening in the beautiful little town of Torrey I popped down the road to Sunset Point which, I was advised, was a great place to go to photograph the reef's eastern facade in the evening light - hence the name. This is one of several shots I took before realising that Sunset Point was another couple of miles down the road!

Capitol Reef is, perhaps, the least visited of the major National Park in the Southwest - but once you've discovered it you'll almost certainly be back for more - and there's certainly more to be had. Behind this grand facade the reef's magnificent fold dissects Central Southern Utah, north to south, for about 100 miles, each mile revealing yet more wondrous canyons, arches and spires, ripe for exploration.

Regards

mossphoto, Fraipont, DKarine, Colombiana, euryan, hispic, angela926 has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

mossphoto (604) 2008-08-18 9:46

Colin-

Very nice shot of Captial Reef.

I've spent some time there. Between this area and Kodachrome Basin (named by NGS photographers),there are many areas that are rarely seen by the human eye. The best times to visit these beautiful places are mid-fall and early spring.

Well done post, with a nice simple (although slightly too large for my taste) frame!

~V~

Nina (4613) 2008-08-18 9:51

Good one Colin!The evening light certainly brought out the colours! An excellent image. I was travelling in the american South West last year and came back with an assortment of images. I must post some here when I remember. :)

Fraipont (104) 2008-08-18 10:13

Wonderful landscape ! A dream ! Beautiful colours and well balanced light !
TFS
Jean

KateinDenmark (1117) 2008-08-18 10:34

Hello Colin,

Excellent representation of the colors of the Southwest. The frame you put around the photo perfectly adds the finishing touch. Well done.

Kind Regards,
Kate

dkeus31 (26361) 2008-08-18 11:08

Hi Colin
a nice image, the light on the red stones is good and the presence of the tree gives a good foreground and color contrast.
the sky is also great
didier

DKarine (3852) 2008-08-18 11:09

Hi Colin,
Magnificent. A perfect set with extraordinary colors.
It is big, it is magic all this color makes rusty.
Karine

Bluejeans (33017) 2008-08-18 11:34

Ola Colin ,
Que linda paisagem o contraste de cores da terra e do céu e magnifico , gostei muito das nuvens sobre as montanhas , belo ponto de visão , parabéns!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

sleon (9352) 2008-08-18 11:36

Hi Colin
How could you have kept this from us for over a year?? What a fabulous landscape, wonderful rich vibrant colours and a delicious light. The conditions are excellent and so is this composition - beautiful and classic.
Regards, Susanna

estan (1279) 2008-08-18 12:12

Hi Collin,

Such a wonderful shot. Light and colors are beautiful. I like the tree and the sky is very interresting too. Great job !
See you
Pascal

Bartleby (5134) 2008-08-18 14:54

Colin,
good work! The exposure is top-notch and I like the combination cloud+rock+tree. A well-balanced piece of work!

Philippe

Colombiana (2546) 2008-08-18 18:01

Colin,

Simply spectacular photo of this amazing place.
Regards,

Maryori :)

gneufeld (15233) 2008-08-18 19:02

Hi Collin,
I like it alot - love those red sandstone formations and the deep rich colors you present are gorgeous. Well done and TFS. Gerald

euryan (8351) 2008-08-18 23:08

The composition here is excellent. The clouds are used perfectly in the photo. Love the light and contrasting colors.

HimalAnda (1072) 2008-08-18 23:24

Hello Colin,

This is a very nice photo. I like colours and the contrast between red mountains and the blue sky. The tree on the right brings some green to the picture : this composition is really good.

Stephane

baba_flies (8091) 2008-08-19 1:51

Hello Colin! What a great post from a great park and I agree completely that people go around it, and this is so nice :) Fantastic how the huge cloud bank approaches the red stone and you managed the red color extremely well, what is your secret behind it? I have tried to work on some but the red always comes out totally strange. Any idea? The tree is really nice and you wonder how it became that big in this harsh climate but it probably stands at the right place. Excellent work and I agree with Susanna but now we can see it and what a treat it is. Barbara.

hispic (7399) 2008-08-19 2:40

Hello Colin,

Reddish earth colour is really impressive, Depiction of the rocks making good use of light is excellent.
Regards, Hisashi

derek3755 (2341) 2008-08-19 10:51

Hi Colin

yes, i would like to spend some more time around Capitol Reef, there's certainly lots of area's i would like to visit there, only had one night there on my last trip. Beautiful evening shot, wonderful light, nice composition with the tree in the foregrund.

Regards
Derek

angela926 (1882) 2008-08-19 18:07

Hello Colin,
Great shot, superb sharpness and depth offield, amazing
colors and clarity, excellent depth of field, composition
and point of view, very nice textures in the rocks and
good lighting.
Well done.
Angela

BoisBarb (9403) 2008-08-28 10:35

Une vue aux couleurs superbes et au cadrage parfait
BoisBarb

Cormac (26455) 2008-09-07 8:29

Hi Colin - I see you have been travelling to the American Southwest and you have some great shots there. The first thing that strikes me about this is the colour - that incredible bright red of the rocks, which makes such a beautiful contrast with the blue sky. I visited Capitol Reef also, but I was just in my infancy as a photographer and didn't get any shots as nice as this. This shot gives me a nice memory of the beauty of the place. Well done!