Pikes Peak or Bust

Gallery: LandscapePosted March 29, 2010341 views28 comments

When an early Spring storm with plenty of lightning, wind, and wet snow knocked my power out for 22 hours last week, i decided to stay warm by going for a drive out to the Wet Mountains, which got 1-2 feet of snow from the storm. I remembered there was a good view of Pikes Peak (40 miles away) from the highway near the town of Wetmore, so i went there in time for sunset, pulled over on a dirt side road and climbed up a hill in the snow to get an unobstructed view of Pikes Peak. This is a two shot focus blend, plus i double processed the RAW for exposure.
5Dmkii; 70-300 at 200; 1/10, 1/30s at f/16
C&C Welcome!
Please See Larger Version!

Comments

28 comments

Comment posted by John Mumaw on March 29, 2010 at 7:24 AM

This is amazing! Love all of the wintry layers present.
That fog bank works well in making the Peak appear as if it's floating.
Perhaps a wee bit more saturation in the warm colors?

Right time, right place....and you were definitely there. Great work!

Registered on September 9, 2005, 62 Posts, 2289 Comments

Comment posted by Joseph Rossbach on March 29, 2010 at 7:29 AM

Beautiful image Stan! The pano crop works really well man.

Registered on November 25, 2005, 484 Posts, 1377 Comments

Comment posted by John&Patty Benway on March 29, 2010 at 7:33 AM

You caught a little bid of everything in a wide view, love to see this in print. Beautiful work Stan

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

Comment posted by Matt Anderson on March 29, 2010 at 8:00 AM

Lovely comp and lovely light.
I could be real picky and say lighten up the mid area shadows to alleviate the appearance of a dark grad band. Like John said, you did get a bid of everything.
Looks like it belongs in a coors commercial !

Registered on September 6, 2007, 346 Posts, 2696 Comments

Comment posted by Abdullaziz Bin Ali on March 29, 2010 at 8:05 AM

this is from the wonderland

such a great work

love it Stan

wish you all the best

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

Comment posted by Bill Chambers on March 29, 2010 at 8:54 AM

Sweet shot Stan. Looks like a winter wonderland for sure.

Registered on April 10, 2005, 753 Posts, 21216 Comments

Comment posted by Paul Wegemann on March 29, 2010 at 9:46 AM

Stan, this is gorgeous. I've never seen Pikes Peak look so beautiful.

Registered on December 14, 2006, 58 Posts, 1888 Comments

Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on March 29, 2010 at 10:30 AM

Interesting crop - I like it. Fabulous content in those layers.

Registered on September 27, 2006, 636 Posts, 10682 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on March 29, 2010 at 10:56 AM

Wonderful colors on the mountains and I like the tree layer to add contrast to the mountains, well done.

Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Maile on March 29, 2010 at 11:02 AM

What a wonderful way to keep "warm" Stan! Watching the larger version load on my monitor was just very cool--beautiful image and layers.

Registered on March 2, 2009, 984 Posts, 2518 Comments

Comment posted by R.Bill Moser on March 29, 2010 at 11:11 AM

This is a stunning shot. nice view of Pikes Peak. love the pano format - it works well here. Lovely comp and light. love the clouds between the first layer and the mountain range. Good job.

Registered on January 29, 2010, 285 Posts, 4281 Comments

Comment posted by Bret Edge on March 29, 2010 at 12:38 PM

This is gorgeous, Stan. The large version is even better. Love the atmosphere, the colors, the light...it's all fantastic.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 711 Posts, 6363 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Jones on March 29, 2010 at 12:58 PM

Wow, this will be a classic! The four layers are fantastic, and the light is beautiful, but not overpowering. That lets us admire the Peak for itself.
I am so glad that your idea of warming up is climing a snowy hill!

Registered on April 18, 2007, 953 Posts, 6435 Comments

Comment posted by Zack Schnepf on March 29, 2010 at 1:16 PM

Lovely light and atmosphere and an un-common view of Pike's Peak for me at least. I do see some noise in the sky of the large version, but that is an easy fix. Beautiful work Stan.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 403 Posts, 2528 Comments

Comment posted by Floris van Breugel on March 29, 2010 at 2:26 PM

Sweet! What a lovely view of that mountain with the snowy christmas tree farm in front

Excellent cool to warm transition.

Registered on December 19, 2008, 306 Posts, 4840 Comments

Comment posted by Arnab Banerjee on March 29, 2010 at 2:30 PM

It's crazy good, Stan

Registered on January 3, 2007, 313 Posts, 2270 Comments

Comment posted by Daman Sidhu on March 29, 2010 at 2:34 PM

Very nice Stan! great composition and colors here.. fabulous! Never thought of stacking 2 shots for focus blend.. very neat idea! Thanks for sharing.
-Daman

Registered on December 16, 2009, 21 Posts, 176 Comments

Comment posted by Dorin Bofan on March 29, 2010 at 2:34 PM

While I would have preffered to see more of the mountain range, I think this also works as it is. Well worth the effort and a very good processing, Stan! The light is very special.

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

Comment posted by Robert Dayton on March 29, 2010 at 2:58 PM

Fantastic colors, particularly the sky pinks and blues, Stan. This is great composition
that would make a beautiful wall calendar image or a large print.

Registered on November 11, 2008, 281 Posts, 3958 Comments

Comment posted by Rajeev Thomas on March 29, 2010 at 3:32 PM

Amazing Stan...so cool.... cannot believe this is Pikes peak....

Registered on February 20, 2008, 0 Posts, 291 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on March 29, 2010 at 5:19 PM

You really brought this to life with your blend and double processing. One of the best Pike's Peak shots I have ever seen, I believe.

Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments

Comment posted by Vance Gese on March 29, 2010 at 5:58 PM

Incredible pano Stan. The large image is stunning. Gorgeous.

Registered on November 13, 2008, 298 Posts, 6629 Comments

Comment posted by Jeremy Kessler on March 29, 2010 at 9:24 PM

Beautiful image stan, love the color palette.

Registered on September 13, 2007, 36 Posts, 1283 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Pelton on March 29, 2010 at 10:23 PM

this is simple but stunning. THe cloud layers and sunset light are gorgeous and the foreground really places the viewer into the scene.

Registered on November 25, 2003, 380 Posts, 4647 Comments

Comment posted by Rick Goldwasser on March 29, 2010 at 11:51 PM

You're right, you really have to see this large - the light and the tones on the mountain are gorgeous as are those low lying clouds! I'm not crazy about the trees in the foreground, but that 50/50 diagonal comp is really unique - really nice image.

Registered on May 10, 2009, 127 Posts, 970 Comments

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on March 30, 2010 at 9:03 AM

A very majestic view of Pike's Peak Stan. I have only seen it in the summer time when it is basic brown. I love the mix of warm and cool tones.

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

Comment posted by Stan Rose on March 30, 2010 at 9:40 AM

thanks, this is the most snow ive seen on the south side of Pikes, usually its only that snowpacked on the north side. all that snow id probably gonna be melting fast-we may be in the mid 80s here today (at 4700 ft, the elevation in the photo here is around 6500).

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

Comment posted by Aaron Feinberg on March 31, 2010 at 5:54 AM

Pretty cool indeed. Would say take about 2" or so off the right side as it doesnt seem to do much out there and then the shot also feels a bit more balanced perhaps? Lovely layers and light here!

AF

Registered on October 26, 2009, 399 Posts, 2789 Comments