Ode To Joy

Nearly a perfect Colorado winter scene!
Composition is excellent! I especially like the snow covered rocks ('pillows') in the lower left and the bit of rushing water you captured in the lower right. Something about the tall deciduous tree reaching for the sky really appeals to me, as well.
The 'development' is nearly flawless. Your hard work in reaching this place paid off in spades...a real natural beauty!
How far was the hike? Done in the dark?

This is gorgeous Stan, and composed beautifully. Love every bit of it. Beautifully seen and done.
John

John(s): thanks! I hiked about 3 miles upstream (started 1 hr before sunrise so it was light enough i didnt need a lamp) and this was about 2 miles up i believe. The snow was pretty compact from other snowshoers/hikers so i didnt posthole until 2+ miles up.

What a great place, Stan. I always like when the snow covered rocks look like mushrooms. You've found a lovely composition here. I might try to brighten the right side just a little and the blending in the sky looks a bit strange along the ridge - minor technical nit-picking.

I had to drive to Grand Junction and back yesterday for work, so no time for a camera and it was killing me. The Colorado looked like the Hudson in winter. That river never freezes over and it was yesterday. Incredible conditions and light. You also picked my favorite classical music piece. Everything is right about this one! Fantastic work, Stan.

Hey Stan,
Glad the great effort was rewarded with a great image! I love the soft undulation of the snow and how the river leads us to the wonderful sunrise. Very nicely done!

Hi Stan,

This is a fine image, but not as good as some of your most recent work as posted here. Personally, I find it a bit on the busy side but I have a couple of suggestions to help a bit: 1) crop up from the fg to eliminate half cut off rock in water. 2) slight crop down from the top above the dead tree and below branch jutting into the scene from conifer in the top center of the frame. I hope this helps. Let me know what you think. Michael

I could go for that crop, Michael--thanks! This creek is very hard to find decent comps, which is why i had to hike a few miles just to find a spot that was relatively unblocked by trees and where i could get to the creek without killing myself. This is more about the mood than compositional perfection.

Gorgeous scene Stan! Beautifully composed and masterfully blended!

Great work!

Shane

Very nice capture of this winter wonderland. Your blend looks great but I wonder if maybe you could darken the sky just a bit near that ridge on the left as it looks a touch bright. Other than that minor nit, this is wonderful.

Beautiful scene! Your stuff is always good, Stan.

Chris

A marvelous winter scenic, Stan! The mood is great here, and I like the
colors that you've captured throughout. The inclusion of the moguls in
the FG relly adds to the image.

This certainly captures the essence and beauty of winter in the pines. The creek makes for wonderful aid to draw the viewer into the frame. However, next time, maybe you could stand in the water. The running water in the center of the frame would maybe be more effective.

Really like this one Stan, love the subdued color palette. Perfect winter scene!

Tony--believe it or not i actually was standing in the creek (fortunately only a few inches deep there), or at least my right foot and two tripod legs were--but you cant see that from this angle. Thank God for waterproof boots!

Hi Stan this is a inspired presentation Every detail of this scene is great, even the title
Albert Darmo Canada

A wonderful winter scene! Nice work with the blend. The sky, the snow, the water and the trees all combine well.

3 manual exp. blending... Guess it has been kind of a hard work considering the complexity of the scene. Well, it worked fine, this is just immaculate and beautiful spot.

Beautiful Stan has all the right elements. Nicely done

A beautiful image, Stan. This looks like a wonderful place to explore. Excellent job with the explosure blend... looks very natural. I love the blue of the sky with the red sunlight on the clouds. A magical scene!

This is an incrediblely beautiful photograph.

Beautiful winter scene Stan. I can feel the cold.

A little heavy on the darks on the left, maybe a 4x5 crop of the right side? Great job on handling the DR. I really like the foreground snow covered rocks. And I am cold here in Miami, it dipped to 68 and will be colder tonight. I hope I survive. I can't even imagine standing in the water here.

A beautiful scene - so pristine. There appears to be some haloing along the ridge on the left though.

this is beautiful stan! I like you´re images a lot but don´t comment them that much. I like the natural look of you´re images, this one is no exception, feels like I´m there(I wish). fabulous comp.

Bruno, thanks, i appreciate that--that's my goal, to let people feel like they are there. Thanks for all the comments, folks!