Layers of Mountains

Headed into Rodeo the other morning to meet with Chiricahua Sky Island Rodeo for the weekly hike when this view presented itself.  Rounding the curve by the old bridge north of town the combination of location and the early morning sun were just right creating a layered effect of the series of ridges in the Peloncillo Mountains to the southeast.  Stopping on the road and backing up to find the best location the image below was captured.

Of course the camera never records the exact image I see (the result of either the camera software or the operator), so the image was processed in Gimp.  The contrast was increased, the image partially desaturated, and the color curve adjusted slightly.  This highlighted the layering effect of the various hills and ridges from the foreground to the background.  The real trick was to achieve some differentiation between the clouds and the most distant ridge line in the photograph without overexposing the areas of clear sky and areas of the image where the sun was particularly strong.

The camera used was a Canon SX110 IS I purchased at Wallmart.  Nothing fancy, but is small and works well.

Looking southeast into the Peloncillo Mountains