Road to Valley of Fire (Nevada)

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This photo is from the last leg of my driving photography trip through Arizona, Utah, Nevada and California. After spending day in Zion National Park I was ready to drive to Las Vegas before reaching my final destination – Los Angeles.

I did not expect much from 300kn drive. Actually I thought that after witnessing some amazing landscapes in the past 4 days, the drive would be boring and uneventful.

It proved to be true in the beginning of my trip while driving along Interstate 15. At some point when the boredom was intolerable I exited highway and took rout 167 towards Lake Mead.

This is when it became clear to me that the boredom was over and I am back in the world of travel and landscape photography. It was very different form Arizona and Utah but it was beautiful in its own way.

The featured photo is from Valley of Fire State Park

Travel Photography Blog - Nevada. Valley of Fire
Nevada. Valley of Fire
Loc: 36.4297, -114.5154

 

Deconstructing Featured Photo

Travel Photography Blog: 3 Bracketed Shots ( -1; 0; +1)

Camera: Canon 60D
Lens: Sigma 17-70mm
Focal Length: 57mm
ISO: 100
Aperture: F8
Bracketing: 5 shots (-2,  -1, 0, +1, +2 )
Tripod: hand held

Processing: HDR Processed in HDR Expose 3

Lightroom: import, tagging, export to Photomatix
Photomatix: I used 4  images to tone map image (-2, -1, 0, +1), 16-bit tiff image was exported to Lightroom.
Lightroom: straightening, color correction, cropping, export as PSD image.
Photoshop:  cleaning, contrast
Photoshop Plugins:

  • Topaz DeNoise was used to reduce digital noise (sky)
  • Topaz Detail was used to enhance details in foreground elements (foreground, rocks)

 

  • Kishore Jothady says:

    Do you, as a practice, process all your images to HDR? Also, I have tried Topaz DeNoise software but despite the convenience it offers, I find that this software gives a ‘painting’ like look to my images. I find Lightroom better for removing noise where I can see the gradual progress and finally round it up by sharpening. Every one to his own.

    Reply
      • Kishore Jothady says:

        Hi Viktor, thank you so much for your prompt response. I am quite interested in HDR, have tried it with Photomatix and will surely go thru’ link provided by you. As regards, Topaz DeNoise, as I said, everybody has his/her preferences. Finally, the results matter. I would love to share my images shot in Nevada & Arizona during my 3 months’ stay in US (although they may not be as good as yours). How can I do it?

        Reply
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