Picture of the Day - 5/22/2011

Red Rocks, Abiquiu, NM - Here's one last shot taken at the Red Rocks area across from Abiquiu Reservoir. This is one of several colorful Mesas in this area. One goal during the process of B&W conversion is to enhance the foreground by adding sharpening and mid-tone contrast. I also added additional contrast in the sky and clouds. Additional burning and dodging provides emphasis on the main subject and balances out the tonal variations that may be distracting. These are the same techniques used by Ansel Adams in the darkroom, but converted to today's current digital tools. Settings: ISO 200, shutter 1/40th second at an aperture of f16 for good depth of field.