Great White + Repost

Gallery: LandscapePosted December 21, 2009282 views15 comments

A shot ive been planning since the last time i was at this place last winter. I thought it would be cool to shoot these ice caves at night. I guess technically this is a 'light painting', although the way i see it, it was more just a shot of me lighting up the interior of the cave with a flashlight

I used a 30 sec exposure at ISO 400. I wanted a hint of the opposite cnayon wall, so this was shot one hour after sunset from inside the cave Wednesday night in the White River Natl forest in NW CO. It only required a short hike through about 2ft of fresh powder, but i could tell from the lack of prints that i was the first one in the cave for at least 5 days. The white icicles hanging reminded me of the jaws of some giant prehistoric shark.
5DMkII; 17-40; 30s at f/16
C&C Welcome!
See repost bleow!

Comments

15 comments

Comment posted by Jimmy Gekas on December 21, 2009 at 11:11 AM

This is really cool, Stan. The deep blues in the background really compliment the colors and sharp elements in the foreground. I would maybe tone down the three teeth in the middle of the frame and toy with cloning out the small bush in the llc. Small nits for a nicely thought out and executed image.

Registered on July 26, 2007, 244 Posts, 2807 Comments

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on December 21, 2009 at 11:54 AM

It does look like the jaws of a shark. I like the hint of blue in the ice and the fact you can still see detail detail outside the cave. BTW - Looks a little dangerous.

Registered on January 4, 2009, 1015 Posts, 13229 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on December 21, 2009 at 12:01 PM

Jimmy--i really want to clone that bush, if someone can suggest a way of doing it without three hours of Photoshop im all ears!

You know, Eva, as i was listening to the running water somewhere way underneath all that ice, it occured to me that one of these thousand pound chunks of ice could come crashing down on my head at any moment--which is why i tried to keep my head clear of ice!

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments

Comment posted by Daniel Ewert on December 21, 2009 at 12:23 PM

Very cool! I would prefer to see just a bit less light on those areas close to you to closer match the darker background, but this is great stuff! Well done!

Registered on June 2, 2009, 103 Posts, 1500 Comments

Comment posted by Anil Rao on December 21, 2009 at 12:41 PM

The constrast between the inside and outside of the cave is really striking and that is precisely what makes this photograph sing in my opnion. Very nice work, once again, Stan.

Registered on November 15, 2003, 234 Posts, 4923 Comments

Comment posted by John&Patty Benway on December 21, 2009 at 1:43 PM

This is definitely nice Stan, beautiful color and detail, and beautifully done.
John

Registered on May 12, 2006, 626 Posts, 8700 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Capurso on December 21, 2009 at 4:03 PM

Very interesting shot, Stan. I'm tempted to look for some reference of scale--how big were those icicles?

Mark Capurso

Registered on January 4, 2008, 47 Posts, 321 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on December 21, 2009 at 4:55 PM

Hi Mark, good question--the bottom ones were maybe three feet high; im guessing the big ones hanging down were at least 6 feet long--the top of the cave was several feet above my head.

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments

Comment posted by Anish Desai on December 21, 2009 at 10:02 PM

Great idea and stunning composition, Stan! I agree with a couple of other posts that the flashlighting could be toned down a touch, but this is still a really cool shot. I especially love the way the icicles align with the trees.

Registered on May 23, 2009, 49 Posts, 410 Comments

Comment posted by Abdullaziz Bin Ali on December 21, 2009 at 10:22 PM

Wow Stan,
You are the king

Lovely work, I like the blue sky.
I feel the grass on the left (down) is a bit distracting

I'm wondering what was the temperature at such a snowy place?

Good job Stan

Registered on May 31, 2009, 112 Posts, 1590 Comments

Comment posted by Chris Chamberlain on December 22, 2009 at 12:24 AM

To live life well, comes with at least some amount of risk!!!! They do remind me of a shark, but also of daggers. You are brave to go in there. Nice work!

Chris

Registered on March 13, 2007, 500 Posts, 8365 Comments

Comment posted by Dorin Bofan on December 22, 2009 at 3:24 AM

Original as always, Stan! Looks pretty slippery down there, but I'm glad you took this one. Beautiful!

Registered on April 30, 2007, 122 Posts, 3086 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on December 22, 2009 at 10:57 AM

Thanks! Crampons were necessary to get inside since the whole floor was ice. Heres a repost with al ittle less highlite and a cloned out weed--thanks for the input!

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments

Comment posted by Aleksandra Miesak on December 22, 2009 at 3:02 PM

My favorite of yours from this series!

Registered on March 1, 2009, 15 Posts, 133 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Sieren on December 23, 2009 at 1:37 AM

Stan, Wow, great job of spreading the light and making it look like a strobe lit scene. Much improved on the subtle adjustments.

Registered on January 2, 2008, 360 Posts, 5321 Comments