200. Another Big Round Number

‘Sunrise at the Ghost Town of Old Paria’ - Paria, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA
photo by John Fowler
website - https://www.flickr.com/photos/snowpeak/
original image - https://unsplash.com/photos/5bv-_tIwHFk

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Beautiful lighting and combination of colors. But there was something strange about the sky - there were some strange colors and halos where it met the cliffs. Possibly the clouds were added in later, or maybe it was just a result of a long exposure.

Whatever the case, I decided to do a sky replacement of my own to remove the artefacts. So now it's definitely a composit. I really liked the original atmosphere, so I tried to stay true to it as much as possible - which was not easy. I also darkened the whole thing.

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166. My, What a Big Rock You Have

Spider Rock, Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona, USA
photo by Steve Allen
website - http://http://steveallenphotography.com/
original image - https://www.alamy.com/overhead-view-of-spider-rock-in-canyon-de-chelly-national-monument-image68383794.html?irclickid=SdwweEylHxyIToKUQ7X4Nz5IUkG3H6x1BWmPwk0&irgwc=1&utm_source=77643&utm_campaign=Shop%20Royalty%20Free%20at%20Alamy&utm_medium=impact
Bing Wallpaper version - https://www.wallpaperbetter.com/wallpaper/889/911/628/landscape-nature-rock-formation-sunlight-canyon-valley-desert-cliff-1080P-wallpaper.jpg

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Sure is impressive. But doesn't look like a spider. Something else, maybe, but not a spider. So I hopped over to Wikipedia. Apparently, it's named for Spider Woman, a key figure in Navajo lore. Anyways, the aerial point-of-view makes this photo really stand out, and the great lighting makes it exceptional as far as I'm concerned. I used Bing Wallpaper version as a starting point, because they cooked-up some really nice colors over there.

So I just deepened them a bit more.

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148. Na-Na-Na-Na-Na

Scenic sunrise over Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming, USA
photo by Anthony Heflin
website - https://www.instagram.com/anthony_heflin_photography/
original image - https://www.dreamstime.com/scenic-sunrise-over-wyoming-s-devils-tower-national-monument-warm-sunset-light-filters-across-meadow-gravel-road-below-image124973134

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Another land feature made famous by a... well, feature - Close Encounters of the Third Kind. A nice dramatic photo with a path that leads your eyes right to the Devils Tower.

The colors were too sugary for my taste, so I limited them somewhat, mostly by getting rid of the pinks. At least the clouds don't look like cotton candy any more. There was also a halo around the tower, got rid of that.

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121. As Many Rocks As You Like

‘Utah Canyon Lighting’ - Broken Tooth crag, Bears Ears National Monument, Utah, USA
photo by Nicholas Ringling
website - https://www.instagram.com/nicholasringling/
original image - https://i.imgur.com/Cm6JB0l.jpg

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Yeah, more rocks. And another added-in plane.

I brought out the detail out of the shadows. This had the added benefit of lightening the landscape and simulating a layer of air between the crags and the plane - so that it appears to be closer to us, as it should.

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92. Watch Out for Sandworms

Cosmic Ashtray, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA
photo by Galyna Andrushko
website - https://www.instagram.com/galyna_andrushko/?hl=en
original image - https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/cosmic-ashtray-unusual-natural-formation-cosmic-ashtray-grand-staircase-escalante-national-monument-utah-united-states-99940937.jpg

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Straight out of Dune. In Utah, and there's going to be a plenty more of that state, as it's full of stuff like this.

I did a lot here. The original photo was at least a little overexposed, and while I could get the detail in the sky back, it was very grainy. Anyway, I didn't like the stark midday lighting, so I decided to change that. It was made possible by the Ashtray itself being just under a cloud shadow, and lit only indirectly. So I replaced the sky with sort of a sunset/duststorm variant for a moodier experience, giving the Ashtray a sort of secluded feel.

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12. More Rocks!

‘Desert Dessert’ - White Pocket, Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, Arizona, USA
photo by Nickolas Warner
website - https://www.nickolaswarnerphotography.com/
original image - https://i.redd.it/2ib9ds8016f71.jpg

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Crazy colored rock formtions in front of the moody sky. What's not to like. Also, really nice composition, with the plant serving as a great point of interest, and simultaneously breathing life into the scene.

Didn’t do much here - removed a subtle vignette (gah...) and emphasized the colors a bit.

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