Last Light + Repost...

Gallery: LandscapePosted November 17, 2010707 views31 comments

Here is another shot from my backpacking trip in the Wind River Range of Wyoming in August. The lighting here was "intensely intense" and this image was challenging to process due to the saturated colors. This was certainly one of the most colorful sunsets I have ever witnessed.

This shot was captured a few moments before"The Last Light". Its amazing how much the colors changed between the 2 exposures.

Nikon D80, 12-24 Nikkor Dx, polarizer
4 sec at f/16, ISO 100. Double processed single raw file, manually blended in CS4

All C&C are appreciated. Please view large.

Comments

31 comments

Comment posted by Mitch Moraski on November 17, 2010 at 3:46 PM

Hi Scott...great shot my man! My only nit is the processing of the sky. It's looks a bit "fried" in places where it is most intense in color. Overall, the comp is a killer!!

Registered on August 3, 2008, 105 Posts, 590 Comments

Comment posted by John Fan on November 17, 2010 at 3:55 PM

Amazing image!

Registered on August 24, 2010, 135 Posts, 489 Comments

Comment posted by Pete Bengeyfield on November 17, 2010 at 4:17 PM

Great shot. I've been in the Winds quite a bit, and have never seen a sunset like that. Congratulations.

Registered on December 2, 2003, 1247 Posts, 3439 Comments

Comment posted by Jason Miles Kirk on November 17, 2010 at 4:25 PM

Absolutely amazing light here Scott. My only nit is with your blending -there are some significant halos where your 2 processed images meet at the horizon. Luminosity masking would work quite well here to blend these exposures.

Registered on January 9, 2007, 7 Posts, 55 Comments

Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on November 17, 2010 at 5:56 PM

Great light show for sure. I have no concerns over the technical aspects of the processing but I think what people are criticizing is in actual fact that it looks quite unnatural to have so much detail on the mountains when they look like they are being backlit. Regarding the composition, I'm not a stickler for rules but I an find that the centred horizon gives this a static feel. Overall, a fine shot but there couple of reservations that for me doesn't make it quite a home run for me.

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

Comment posted by Nicolaus Wegner on November 17, 2010 at 6:22 PM

Intense for sure Scott. So rarely do the Winds get these kinds of skies. You got lucky. Beautiful place is it not?

Processing wise, it is your own style so I'm not one to get too critical. I have seen so many photographs here way over done and totally unbelievable, and they get raving mad reviews. I say stick to your guns. If it's a style you like and it's all your own, keep at it. ;]

Personally, I like it.

Registered on February 21, 2010, 133 Posts, 1509 Comments

Comment posted by Geoffrey Baker on November 17, 2010 at 6:34 PM

That must have been awesome to witness

Your composition is excellent.
Well done.

Geoff.

Registered on August 20, 2010, 192 Posts, 980 Comments

Comment posted by Jeremy Kessler on November 17, 2010 at 6:50 PM

Goregous! I could see maybe burning down the peaks just a hair, but thats just a minor nit in an otherwise fantastic image.

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

Comment posted by Scott Smorra on November 17, 2010 at 6:55 PM

Thanks to everyone for the critiques of this image.

Jason - I will take a closer look at the haloing issue.
Kah - I truly appreciate your thoughtful critique of the image. I will probably try darkening the mountains a bit as you suggested.
Nicolaus - Yes the Winds are beautiful and are one of my favorite wilderness areas.

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

Comment posted by Naret Visesvongsa on November 17, 2010 at 9:13 PM

Very stunning shot in term of both composition and light.

Registered on November 10, 2010, 6 Posts, 73 Comments

Comment posted by Youssef Ismail on November 17, 2010 at 9:14 PM

Scott,

This is beautiful. You captured it and processed it very well. Don't know what more to say other than make as big a print as you can and enjoy it.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 474 Posts, 5555 Comments

Comment posted by Arnab Banerjee on November 17, 2010 at 9:16 PM

You can tone down the sky a little, but other than that, this is stunning

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

Comment posted by John Williams on November 17, 2010 at 9:35 PM

Must have been hard to concentrate on taking the photo with that show going on!! Beautiful light, and if you darken the distance a tad it will be right on.

Registered on September 6, 2007, 221 Posts, 5985 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on November 17, 2010 at 10:39 PM

Incredible light and fantastic comp. Very strong and dramatic image.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments

Comment posted by Vance Gese on November 17, 2010 at 11:01 PM

Incredible color and phenomenal light. Amazing image.

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

Comment posted by Steve Sieren on November 17, 2010 at 11:50 PM

Wild light!

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

Comment posted by Chris Chamberlain on November 18, 2010 at 12:37 AM

Whoa, I think I'd be drooling all over myself. Pretty intense light and color!

Chris

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

Comment posted by Gary McGhee on November 18, 2010 at 6:39 AM

Intense but fantastic lighting and colour Scott.

Gary.

Registered on April 15, 2010, 142 Posts, 2416 Comments

Comment posted by Jack Brauer on November 18, 2010 at 6:44 AM

Spectacular sunset and a gorgeous photo for it. I love the sense of space.

Registered on September 12, 2005, 40 Posts, 627 Comments

Comment posted by Arild Heitmann on November 18, 2010 at 8:21 AM

Amazing light and tones! The compo is really good too...

Wonderful image!

Registered on October 13, 2010, 27 Posts, 378 Comments

Comment posted by Pramod Viswanath on November 18, 2010 at 10:01 AM

Gorgeous light and great composition. Beautiful.

Registered on December 4, 2008, 60 Posts, 697 Comments

Comment posted by Phillip Noll on November 18, 2010 at 10:05 AM

Yowzer! Incredible light! I like the depth of this image. Work on the haloing and tone down the brightest (yellow) portions of the sky and this one is over the top! Well done!

Registered on November 17, 2003, 207 Posts, 1083 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Metternich on November 18, 2010 at 12:25 PM

This is a VERY nit picky board. The image rocks! Great job!

Now to nit pick: I wish it was shot at 14 mm (true 14) for more water, walk into the scene feel and to break it up more into 3rds...

Still, killer image.

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

Comment posted by Kurt Budliger on November 18, 2010 at 5:04 PM

Yowza!

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

Comment posted by Catherine Reilly on November 18, 2010 at 5:17 PM

And you came home from here… why? What an amazing scene. The light especially is awesome. Personally, I'd feel more comfortable with less of the soft foreground water flow. But still, this is radiant.

Registered on August 16, 2006, 603 Posts, 9192 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on November 18, 2010 at 7:57 PM

Wowzers is that an incredible sky! Excellent work!

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

Comment posted by Scott Smorra on November 18, 2010 at 10:20 PM

Thanks again to everyone for the critiques on this image. Here is version 2.0. I started over from scratch on this one and made the following changes.

1) Re-cropped the image so that it is no longer a 50/50 split.
2) Worked on removing the blending halos
3) Darkened the mountain to make it more realistic
4) Backed off on the saturation just a bit

Please let me know what you think. As always, I thank you for taking the time to view the image and provide your critiques.

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

Comment posted by Kory Lidstrom on November 18, 2010 at 10:25 PM

Very strong image here. The light is exquisite, the compo and subject material are very compelling and top notch. Only minor nit: there is haloing around the peak, but that may just be from resizing for web.

Overall, excellent job with this one!

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

Comment posted by Dean Sauskojus on November 19, 2010 at 2:47 AM

What a beauty Scott. It's amazing how much color you picked up in the water. I would say my fav of your trip here. You got any other gems hidden in those files. Would love to see them. Congrats! BTW, I like the first post.

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

Comment posted by Kevin Trinkner on November 19, 2010 at 2:21 PM

Beautiful image Scott, wonderful colors and a nice comp. I actually like the first post, but the repost does feel a bit more realistic. I didn't mind the 50/50 comp. Nice work.

Registered on June 30, 2008, 203 Posts, 2641 Comments

Comment posted by Rick Gomez on December 10, 2010 at 5:47 PM

Amazing shot, Scott! I like the first post better. It looks more natural.

Registered on March 3, 2007, 206 Posts, 1853 Comments