Our first stop before we headed off into the wilderness of the Apache Trail was Goldfield Ghost Town. The engineer of our little tour train tipped us off that this was THE Kodak moment. I have to admit, I didn’t see it coming. But there it was, the little town backed by the Superstition Mountains.
I spent over an hour editing this shot in Lightroom. I cropped it, adjusted the white balance, and applied several presets: sharpening, punch, and a vignette. It’s not perfect, I think the sky is blown out but I decided to leave that lesson for another day.
Here it is with the ‘Aged Photo’ preset applied. Kinda cool! I have a feeling I’m going to be acquiring several thousand Lightroom presets in the near future.
Confession: I made a slight edit in CS6
Driving the Apache Trail is a story in itself. It’s an incredible drive and I’m glad to be alive.
TexWisGirl says
i do like the aged look – except for the vehicles in the scene, it could be very old-timey. :)
The Artful Diva says
Isn’t it great to find photo ops like this – absolutely the one of the best rewards for travellers!
Viv (modifica) says
Brilliant I love places like that and LR is so good for playing with different types of treatments….
ginanorma says
that is absolutely amazing, I love it!!
Have you ever been to Tombstone? That’s a cool place too, so surreal.
xo
Deanna says
I have several pics of Superstition Mountain…I don’t know if I was on the Apache Trail or not, we drove all the way to Tortilla Flats. Not sure…but I love your edits. You are doing great in lightroom!!
Rosemary Aubut says
Wow these are awesome! Sound like a interesting and fun ride! Loved it!
Inspire Me Heather says
Wow, what a beautiful place! I’ve never been there, it does look interesting though!
A Pretty Life in the Suburbs says
Gorgeous! We go there every time we go to Phoenix! So fun!
marty says
What a wonderful start to a trip! I think I like your first one better…it’s the mountains. They get me every time.
Gail Dixon (Louisiana Belle) says
Lightroom does have some really nifty presets! I really love your edits, but I don’t think the sky is blown in the first shot, it’s just that there’s a lot of white clouds. You could take the adjustment brush, darken the exposure and work on the clouds that way, but I don’t think it’s necessary. This is a very charming scene and wonderful composition.
Ruth says
I love presets too :) Is that a real town? It looks like a movie set! Amazing, I love your old fashioned version too, it suits it perfectly :)
Jesh StG says
Hope you’re not too disappointed if I say that I really like your original shot! But it’s greatly captured:)
tiarastantrums says
don’t you love editing tools to help us all out!
Pieces of Sunshine says
Quite a stunning composition. Must have been very remote in its day.