Rainier Magic

Gallery: LandscapePosted August 23, 2010624 views25 comments

My previous post was from this area of MRNP, but I've been back a couple times when the wildflowers were blooming to get another shot at it. The conditions ended up being very similar to my previous post -- it was cloudy most of the afternoon and luckily cleared just after sunset. I've been very lucky up there this year.

Some personal nits I have:
- Wish I had balanced LLHC a little better. Feels a little empty right now.
- When processing I tried to even out the color of the lupine (in originals the lupine color varies from purple to blue), unclear if I did a good job of this.
- Web sharpening could be better. I've been using Marc Adamus's general approach (USM max .2 radius twice then reducing to web sizes). Have had pretty good luck with it but think the flowers could be a little sharper in this image.

Technical details: Sony A850, f/16, 2 exposure manual blend

C&C appreciated -- Thanks!

Comments

25 comments

Comment posted by Joshua Hardin on August 24, 2010 at 12:10 AM

I think you're being a bit too critical of your own work. I'd love to have a Rainier image as nice as this one. I'm not concerned about the llhc, the lupine color variation looks great on my monitor and you could always add some selective use of the sharpen tool on the flowers if you feel you want more sharpening but I don't think it's necessary in this case. No serious nits at all.

Registered on July 29, 2006, 40 Posts, 414 Comments

Comment posted by Bruce King on August 24, 2010 at 12:10 AM

Sweet shot Mike, no nits from me. I'm jealous.

Registered on January 14, 2010, 276 Posts, 2212 Comments

Comment posted by Jeremy Cram on August 24, 2010 at 1:19 AM

Yep...no nits here. Beautiful.

Is this from Spray park? I'm heading up tomorrow I think, not sure where yet though. Might be spray park.

Registered on June 4, 2006, 204 Posts, 818 Comments

Comment posted by Scott Smorra on August 24, 2010 at 1:30 AM

Very nice shot Mike. No nits from me. I really like the light on Rainier and the lenticular cloud on top. Nice job balancing the light with your blend.

Registered on November 2, 2009, 161 Posts, 2143 Comments

Comment posted by Dean Sauskojus on August 24, 2010 at 3:09 AM

Fabulous shot Mike. It looks real good to me. Agree with Joshua. Nice work!

Registered on September 29, 2009, 137 Posts, 2659 Comments

Comment posted by Rafael Rojas on August 24, 2010 at 3:25 AM

I could not find any nits here...forget about yours! :) Really great image. This as vertical would also work very well...well done!

Registered on March 1, 2009, 56 Posts, 623 Comments

Comment posted by Abdullaziz Bin Ali on August 24, 2010 at 5:28 AM

it is nice to critic on your work before posting it and this is what i'm doing every time
this image looks nice for my taste
these layers of clouds are beautiful and added like a third dimension to this scene

Excellent

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

Comment posted by Kurt Budliger on August 24, 2010 at 7:38 AM

Smokin' shot, no nits from me

Registered on June 11, 2006, 113 Posts, 2116 Comments

Comment posted by scott lanz on August 24, 2010 at 9:29 AM

Classic Rainier.

Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments

Comment posted by Jeff Loomis on August 24, 2010 at 9:36 AM

What a beautiful place. The colors work really well and I like the POV and perspective.

Registered on January 26, 2010, 68 Posts, 719 Comments

Comment posted by Matthew Goldsmith on August 24, 2010 at 9:37 AM

I agree. Lovely image of Ranier. I was just up there a little over a week ago. No clouds or fog to create a mood like this.

Registered on June 29, 2010, 37 Posts, 286 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on August 24, 2010 at 10:46 AM

This is very nice. Great field of flowers and nice color. The clouds and the light on the mountain look really nice. Good work.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments

Comment posted by Tom Nevesely on August 24, 2010 at 11:01 AM

This looks great Mike. I especially like the clouds enshrouding the mountain.

Registered on June 14, 2005, 147 Posts, 1550 Comments

Comment posted by Kory Lidstrom on August 24, 2010 at 11:03 AM

Very beuatiful and engaging. That fog really makes it sing. I have only one nit: it seems just a tad underexposed to me, but nothing that couldn't easily be fixed.

Registered on November 19, 2008, 49 Posts, 1035 Comments

Comment posted by William Vrolyk on August 24, 2010 at 11:57 AM

A breathtakingly beautiful photo, Mike.

Will
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada

Registered on November 1, 2003, 278 Posts, 3524 Comments

Comment posted by Scott Anderson on August 24, 2010 at 12:50 PM

This is a beautiful photo. If the lupine colors actually vary from purple to blue, shouldn't you leave them that way?

Registered on July 1, 2009, 30 Posts, 181 Comments

Comment posted by Jeremy Kessler on August 24, 2010 at 7:23 PM

This is incredible, couldn't ask for better conditions. Fantastic work.

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

Comment posted by Robert Dayton on August 24, 2010 at 8:21 PM

Stunning, Mike! You have a beautiful meadow of wildflowers, alpen glow on
Rainier, and a complementary cloud blanket. Your personal nits don't bother
me. I could see this image being published as a calendar page, a poster,
greeting card, etc. I certainly hope that you make a large print of it to hang
in your environs.

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

Comment posted by Mark Metternich on August 24, 2010 at 10:44 PM

Looks great.

Registered on June 19, 2009, 276 Posts, 6240 Comments

Comment posted by Nicholas R. Gibson on August 24, 2010 at 11:17 PM

Hey mister, you're supposed to stay on the path! haha.. Just teasin, I was sitting in the exact same spot last week with Marc Adamus lol. Great shot!

Registered on June 24, 2009, 5 Posts, 14 Comments

Comment posted by Zack Clothier on August 25, 2010 at 11:17 AM

Looks good, the mountain seems a little soft, but this could be from the fog or the web sharpening.

Registered on January 28, 2010, 343 Posts, 2257 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on August 26, 2010 at 1:26 PM

Mike,

This is just gorgeous! Great comp and the timing couldn't be better with the low hanging clouds/fog around the mountain. I know what you mean about finding the right hue for the lupine, but they look great to me.

My only nit was last mentioned by Zack. I also think the mountain looks a little soft, but most likely due to the foggy conditions in the background. Otherwise, this is just grand and beautiful.

Lon

Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Sieren on August 26, 2010 at 8:33 PM

Nice to see what I missed out on Mike. I like the way the mountain hovers about the clearing fog like an emerging giant!

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

Comment posted by Cory O'Neill on August 30, 2010 at 11:27 PM

Beautiful capture, Mike! The atmosphere is phenomenal!

Registered on October 4, 2008, 28 Posts, 273 Comments

Comment posted by Shaun Mazurek on September 4, 2010 at 12:33 AM

Breathtaking :)

Registered on June 12, 2010, 21 Posts, 162 Comments