Fire and Ice

I really like the perspective and elements here.
The blue icebergs seem over-saturated, and the blown white areas at the top detract a bit.
Sandy r

Beautiful! I like the inclusion of the ice in the foreground and the light over the summit is beautiful

wow, nice Mike! I love that reflected light the clouds give on the snow/mountains.

Gorgeous pic ! does justice to this incredible place. great light on the peaks. loved that bit of blue on the glacier.
I am not so sure about on the inclusion of the waves in the extreme foreground.

Sandy,

Now that I'm looking at the sRGB conversion more closely, I agree with you about the saturation in the icebergs. Here is a re-post with a slight desaturation applied. I wish I could get more detail out of the highlights but this is pretty much the best I can do. Thanks for the input!

-Mike

Mike,

This is a refreshingly original image of Laguna Torre. The juxtaposition of the warm and cool tones keeps me trapped in the frame.
Your work is amazing. These are the type of images that makes you want to empty your savings, throw your gear in a backpack and go for broke exploring the world. Once again, thank you for the inspiration.

I couldn't agree more with Shaun's assessment!
However, those blown out areas are quite distracting to me. If you aren't averse to 'patching' them somehow, I think it would be a real asset.

Seriously? Do you ever take a bad picture? This is way up there cool stuff man!

the warm glow on the peaks is wonderful. coupled with all the rest of the stuff in the image and this makes for a fabulous image.

Beautiful work, Mike. I am not particularly disturbed by the bright clouds...the scene has an incredible amount of contrast. I'm amazed that you were able to get it done in one take! The light you've captured under/on the peaks is truly inspiring.

I think the hot light in the sky is well balanced by the glow on the peaks and light rreflection on the water. It is not bothersome to me and adds to the scene IMO. Beautiful work Mike.

As if the peaks aren't impressive enough, you threw some awesome light and icebergs into the mix as well. I love this one, Mike.

This is amazing Mike. Thanks for the much needed inspiration.

Excellent Mike!
I suspect that the hot highlights in the cloud might actually work on a print?

I like your composition here. the light on the peaks is amazing. I'd prefer the repost. What distracts me the the most are the white blown ares in the sky.

Breahtaking, Michael! This will definitely work as a print, poster, and
greeting card. Thanks for sharing.

I can't stop looking at this photo. The composition and light are really beautiful. From the shapes in the icebergs to the light in the background.

There is one gorgeous purplish spark on the iceberg at the left side.

Fantastic picture Michael.

This is really nice Mike. Great composition and just nice to look at. It does make me feel like I want to go there. The ice included in the forground is a nice added element. I like the second post better with the slightly less saturated blue color in the ice. Nice work.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, Wi

Amazing light and the relection adds much to this grand shot. Maybe if you took a darker exposure you could blend the controlled highlight area into this shot and it would be perfect. The comp is just excellent!

I think I would like a tweener. The second version, possibly more realistic, seems a bit flat. Stand up job on taming the massive amount of dynamic range present here. I could see a 5% crop off the bottom, towards a 4x5 aspect. For print, personally I'd dodge the lower glacial flow to create a small amount of separation. Great image!

Well you're brave Mike and i feel your pain with massive DR
What a stunning scene, drama doesnt get much better than this! Now on to the pain...
I think Sandy's remarks were spot-on, and the second version takes care of those issues, but as Matt notes it looks like you sacrificed some contrast to get there. I think if you can add some more contrast to the rock/water/ice (maybe burn the water??) and still not lose the job you did taming the highlites, it will get there. This is about as hard as it gets exposure-wise. It sure is pretty!

Fantastic landscape, Mike! The light in Patagonia is something out of this world.

Amazing light you got there Mike. Definitely, autumn is the best time of the year to shot Laguna Torre. Timing is great for the water. I love it
Dodging the grad line? Did you use a hard one?
I want to see more photos from Patagonia my friend !

Wow. An absolute stunning location--and you nailed it!

Jason
www.flickr.com/photos/jasondenham/

WOW...that peak looks on fire. What a great image and I am astonished by the interplay of warm vs. cold feeling here. I agree on the crop from bottom to remove that wave. Very well done Michael.

Thanks for all of the critiques and commentary. I'll go back to the Raw files and see if I can blend a different exposure into the highlight area- it may be tough because the wind was howling and the clouds move really fast. But I appreciate the feedback. I will take another look at the wave at the bottom and see if I can crop or blend another image without the wave in there. Thanks evryone!

-Mike

Wow! What a sight. No comments on the tech or this comp/that crop...I .am awestruck...I would love to sit and embrace this scene in person. Wow! Ken S

Holy cow that is a spectacular scene. The cloud highlights don't bother me, but the little speckle of light coming off the right side of the left iceberg does distract me a little. Still an amazing moment captured. I have a hard time recalling a more impressive Patagonia image.

Amazing light Mike, and magnificient comp. As always, your work continues to please and inspire.

Dang! This is so awesome.

Mike,

Power, drama and LIGHT - you've got it all. What an incredible image - again! A little subtle, but I love the vibrant blue in the face of the glacier, which makes the big connection as to why these big chunks of ice are floating in the water... Awesome.

Lon

Another very impressive shot but the little details such as the highlights on the left iceberg make this special in addition to fire and ice.

That's pretty majestic Michael. What a view, just spectacular.
Thanks for sharing.