Computer vs. Wilderness

I love to spend as much time as possible in the wilderness, but I can't do anything with the photos I take without the help of my computer... which will only run for about 6 hours without being charged. Of course, I can't process images until I'm back at home with my good monitor. So, when I'm not traveling, I try to process as many images as possible - in an attempt to keep up with my ever-growing collection of images. I don't think I'll ever really catch up - but I can't complain. :) This shot was taken along the road on our last trip to Utah. We were somewhere Southwest of Salt Lake city - in the middle of nowhere. Exactly where I love to be.

The processing was difficult, since I was dealing with such a broad range of light. The prickly sage brush added another challenge. It's branches cut into the sky, which needed to be processed separately in order to retain detail in the highlights. I had to make sure I didn't leave a distracting "halo" around the edges of the plant, and I wanted to make sure the sky looked as natural as possible. We were lucky to get such gorgeous skies on the last day of our visit. These clouds continued to move in, and by nightfall, the skies were heavily overcast and it began to rain.
And then there is illustrator. As I said the other day, I'm working on learning the ins and outs of a program that I've used sporadically over the years. The image below is the result of a few hours of experimentation. I'm afraid it's not much - but it's a start. :) I had fun with it.