This is was my first visit to Monument Valley and it became a very memorable one. The main reason for that was the weather.
The rain started and stopped at least 5 times during my visit, but what made it very distinct is the sudden temperature drops. When the sky was clear with some beautiful clouds the temperature was around 25-26°C (77°F), it was humid and hot. It was t-shirt weather.
But when the rain clouds were starting to cover the sky it was becoming windy and you could feel the fast and sudden temperature drop. In 10-15 minutes later it was raining with the temperature below 10°C (50°F).
But I did not complain, it made perfect photography weather.
Loc: 36.953240, -110.086364
Shooting
I took this photo from the John Ford Point. I had to wait in the car for 15 minutes or so, waiting until the rain stopped.
I was shooting on a tripod. I took 3 bracketed shots.
When I was editing the featured photo my initial intention was to remove all the cars from the composition, but later I decided to keep at least one, as the reference object, to better communicate the enormous scale of the scene.
Camera: Sony a6000
Lens: Sony-16-70
Focal Length: 46mm
Shooting Mode: Aperture Priority (A)
ISO: 100
Aperture: F10
Shutter: 1/200s
Bracketing: 3 (-1, 0, 1)
Tripod: FEISOL Tournament CT-3442
Processing
It was a single RAW file editing.
I used the Natural preset from my Landscape Collection first and after I used TOOLKIT to boost colors and contrast.
The Lightroom Preset Editing Formula: Natural (9, 12, 17, 21, 34)
Photoshop: color correction, contrast, cleaning. I use the Stamp Tool to remove the cars.
Photoshop Plugins:
- Topaz DeNoise was used to reduce digital noise (sky).
- Topaz Clarity was used to enhance details and boost colors (foreground, mountains).
