Back In Action

By Jason Hines | Published October 25, 2011

I’ve had to take a little break from blogging the last several days because I’ve been so busy with work. I am happy to announce that I am back in action however. This past weekend I had the opportunity to act as photographer on a canyoneering trip with several Boy Scouts. It was a really fun trip and I was able to take some nice pictures. I will post of a few of them in the upcoming days.

So what’s next on the agenda you ask? I have a quick weekend trip planned to Sedona this week where I will be looking to get some killer fall foliage shots. Next week on Wednesday I’m leaving to spend 6 days in Southern Utah in search of arches, slot canyons, natural bridges and with a little luck, some great Milky Way shots. All of this followed up with a possible trip to Monument Valley and Arches National Park during Thanksgiving weekend if the weather (snows) cooperates. This next month is going to be very exciting so keep checking back!

Cape Woolamai

Today’s image is another from the Pinnacles at Cape Woolamai taken on Phillip Island Australia. This place remains one of my favorite places that I’ve photographed so far. I’ve been playing around with some different processing styles and today, I wanted to ask your opinions of the processing on this image. Which do you like better?

This first image is the result of manual blending and brightness/contrast/saturation adjustments in Photoshop:

This second image is the result of Tone-Mapping in Photmatix followed by slight brightness adjustment in Photoshop and finished with Topaz Adjust:

Camera: Nikon 90
Lens: Tokina 11-16
Processing: Photomatix Pro 4, Adobe Lightroom 3, Photoshop CS5, Topaz Adjust

21 Comments

Posted October 25, 2011 at 7:37 am by Len Saltiel | Permalink

Beautiful images with great composition and light Jason. Sounds like a great month you have got lined up. Look forward to seeing the images.
Len Saltiel recently posted..Fall Foliage Graffiti

Posted October 25, 2011 at 7:43 am by Dave DiCello | Permalink

Wow Jason, what a view! I think that I would have to go with the second one, as the colors seem to be a bit more even and the highlights more under control. They are both outstanding though!
Dave DiCello recently posted..Natural elegance

Posted October 25, 2011 at 7:46 am by Eden | Permalink

Great image Jason, and welcome back!
Eden recently posted..Self Portraits In Stripes

Posted October 25, 2011 at 9:41 am by Steven Perlmutter | Permalink

This is a beautiful scene and both styles look great. If I had to choose, I’d go with the second version. The colors of the rocks and water just seem a little more natural than the first. Welcome back.
Steven Perlmutter recently posted..Harbor Blues

Posted October 25, 2011 at 9:56 am by Jesse Pafundi | Permalink

First image, hands down. Maintaining shadows and uneven lighting makes it a much stronger image IMO.
Jesse Pafundi recently posted..The Beal Family / Long Island Family Photographer

Posted October 25, 2011 at 11:45 am by Chris Frailey | Permalink

Beautiful shots Jason. Welcome back.
Chris Frailey recently posted..A Taste of Fall

Posted October 25, 2011 at 11:54 am by Rick Louie | Permalink

I much prefer the first image. It’s so much more dramatic. The 2nd image seems flat.
Rick Louie recently posted..Fall Morning View

Posted October 25, 2011 at 1:08 pm by Toad Hollow Photography | Permalink

There’s no way I can pick! I pick ‘em both! What a great shot, my friend, can’t wait to see what you come back with from your upcoming travels and adventures.
Toad Hollow Photography recently posted..BC Forest Discovery Centre

Posted October 25, 2011 at 1:52 pm by Edith Levy | Permalink

Welcome back Jason. You have an amazing travel itenary planned. Can’t wait to see the images. As far as these 2 go they’re both amazing. If I had to pick I’d say the 2nd one as there’s a touch more detail in the rocks and water.
Edith Levy recently posted..Fallen

Posted October 25, 2011 at 2:45 pm by LensScaper | Permalink

Another tough call – I love both of these shots particularly with reference to the rays of light just above the horizon – that’s where the quality is perhaps most important and the result in that area is a dead heat. I like the more dramatic color in the first but I find the rocks Lt foreground just a touch bright. So If I had to choose I would go with the second. But both on their own would be great individual images.
LensScaper recently posted..Snow Crossing

Posted October 25, 2011 at 8:35 pm by Michael Libbe | Permalink

Fantastic! The extra light on the rocks in the HDR image is quite nice. Great work!
Michael Libbe recently posted..Wading Birds

Posted October 26, 2011 at 12:58 am by Darcy | Permalink

Spectacular view and color
Darcy recently posted..Horse in an Autumn Field

Posted October 26, 2011 at 7:47 am by Jan Winther | Permalink

Excellent shot and processing. You got some real nice colors going on.
Jan Winther recently posted..P & R – West Bank

Posted October 26, 2011 at 1:03 pm by Mike Criswell | Permalink

Nice work Jason, I like version 2 better, more details and better color, at least for me
Mike Criswell recently posted..Le Sabre

Posted October 26, 2011 at 1:29 pm by Marc Collins | Permalink

Excellent processing and love the detail in those rocks. I prefer shot one, more realistic to me.
Marc Collins recently posted..Sunlight

Posted October 26, 2011 at 5:20 pm by John | Permalink

So, after looking at these shots I think I like the top shot the most, but I think the perfect shot would be a combination of the two. I like the sky from the bottom and the water/rocks from the top put them together and I think it’d be all around perfect.

Anyways busy is good right? Just don’t get too busy man!
John recently posted..The Guinness Drinking Squirrel

Posted October 26, 2011 at 6:47 pm by Adam Olson | Permalink

I like the first image a bit more Jason. You get a little more drama in the water. Though the highlights are blown a little within the clouds in the first image.
Adam Olson recently posted..Golden Wrapped

Posted October 26, 2011 at 9:09 pm by Phillip Burrow | Permalink

Amazing images Jason! Both are great but I like the orange color in the top one.

Posted October 27, 2011 at 5:51 am by Adam Allegro | Permalink

I gotta go with the first one Jason. Really cool look there. I think Photomatix goes a bit overboard exposing everything. I like to go for the more natural look with my stuff, and usually use the smalled tonemapping setting. This shot is fantastic though. Well done Jason.
Adam Allegro recently posted..Miseno Seascape

Posted October 27, 2011 at 3:05 pm by Mark Garbowski | Permalink

Both beautiful, but the second is just a touch flatter, so I prefer the first.
Mark Garbowski recently posted..Don’t Fence Me In

Posted October 28, 2011 at 10:45 am by Justin | Permalink

That is a tough one Jason, but I really like the first one. The rocks just pop!
Justin recently posted..iPhone Friday