The Candy Man Can……

Richard Charpentier Off Road Adventures, Photography, Workshops 1 Comment

In an effort to find some unique shooting for our second day of what was the White Pocket Photo Workshop we pointed the Titan North into the Grand Staircase Escalante.  Oh what a place it is.  I’ve visited the area before and enjoyed it, but there’s so much to explore that I haven’t seen yet.  I will be planning a trip or two in the next few months to investigate out of the way spots for workshops.  But our decision on where we went was spot on.

No crowds, few travelers only traversing a lonely washboard road, and those travelers didn’t bother to get out and explore areas.  In our case, we did.  Slot Canyons, huge canyons, unique rock formations.  We saw it all.  And I also found a super cool camping spot which I will never ever disclose.  🙂

A favorite stop in our travels was of course “Candy Land.”  Appropriately named, this location is right along the dirt road that crosses from 89 to 12.  And you can’t miss it unless of course you’re paying to close of attention to your driving.

Candy Land made for many amazing photos for all of us!  And I definitely found one image I intend to print!

This is not an HDR.  The 0EV shot looked so good right out of the camera that I didn’t even bother with the HDR.  I did run the image through Photomatix with 3 exposures, but I decided to try a couple of techniques new to me.  One new piece of software, PhotoTune (from OnOne) was used to generate this final image.  I’ve got to say, it’s not far off from the 0EV shot, but the minor enhancements really brought this image to the place where I decided, yes this is a print!

I should point out, mother nature really did a great job for this shot.  Amazing and colorful rock formations, an off the hook storm front, and just the right lighting!  I was in the right place at the right time to be sure!  🙂

I’ve spent a good bit of time sorting and selecting from the weekend’s trip, and I have more time to dedicate.  900+ frames of stuff that I mostly like!  That’s not bad.  Of course, I’ll weed the images down to absolute favorites.  I’m sure this weekend’s participants are doing the same thing right now.

One more image that I’m on the fence about will be included here too.  Just so you can see a little more of Candy Land!

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