Armenia Photography & Art – Amaghu Valley

A work from the Armenia Photography series, a sunset view of the beautiful Amaghu Valley, where Noravank Monastery sits.

The valley is named after the river Amaghu, in some places it’s narrow, becoming a real canyon. Located in the Vayots Dzor region, is not far from the city of Yeghegdnazor.

The valley’s peculiar features (apart from the fascinating Noravank Monastery) are its cliffs, whose bright red rocks emerge on their sides. The drive to the monastery is nice and pleasant. This particular view comes from the bottom of the valley, before starting the short climb to the religious building.

For this image I used first of all the usual techniques, like HDR, multiple exposures and a small bit of digital painting. Then I started experimenting a bit…

I intensified the light/shadow contrast by using harmonious curves, with a “rhythm” similar to those extrapolated from classic sculpture. Finally I combined the dark and light areas with the existing luminance details, before applying them to the work.

I would say the results aren’t bad. In this particular image I followed the pre-existing land profiles. As a result the influenced areas are fitting nicely without a strong distinction.

I’d like to do more experiments in this direction, probably with other kind of images, more abstract, where the contrast can be stronger.