The Dawning

Gallery: LandscapePosted August 2, 2011596 views38 comments

The two hour drive from my home to this lake in the San Juan mountains of SW Colorado during the height of wildflower season last weekend provided a very nice respite from the desert for me.
Out of the series of images I took here on this morning after a nightlong rain, this one with the first kiss of sunlight was my favorite.
Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

Two image blend to correct for exposure and DOF limitations.
Canon 5DII w/17-40 lens @ 17mm
1 sec. & 1/3 sec. @ f16 ISO100

Comments

38 comments

Comment posted by Chris Chamberlain on August 2, 2011 at 10:32 PM

Man that's a gorgeous scene!! 2 hours from home, I'd be there a lot! Not sure, but I get the sensation that it's slightly tilted?

Chris

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

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on August 2, 2011 at 10:40 PM

Perfect in every way, John. What a beautiful place.

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

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on August 2, 2011 at 10:53 PM

Killer reflection and gorgeous color and light John. The foreground flowers are a colorful delight.

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

Comment posted by Doug Koepsel on August 2, 2011 at 11:17 PM

Beautiful shot, John. The brighter sky and its reflection on the left tend to keep one's eyes away from the darker face on the right. Well composed.

Registered on April 1, 2010, 196 Posts, 1592 Comments

Comment posted by Rudy Ruberti on August 2, 2011 at 11:37 PM

Beautiful alpine scene and great light. I saw some of these flowers on the Grand Mesa a couple of week ago. Nicely done.

Registered on October 28, 2008, 179 Posts, 1875 Comments

Comment posted by Jared Atencio on August 2, 2011 at 11:41 PM

Love the change of pace for you John. Beautiful scene and lovely comp that just screams San Juan high country. The reflection is a little bright and seems to have more saturation in the cyan than the actual sky which throws this off a bit for me. I also might like to see the FG with a little less contrast and open up the shadows just a bit, although the flowers really pop in the version you've presented. In any case, once you massage the processing a bit you'll have a killer image on your hands. Hope you're having a great summer

Registered on June 23, 2009, 21 Posts, 422 Comments

Comment posted by Charlie Baugh on August 2, 2011 at 11:49 PM

This beautiful. Wildflower paradise in all that other beauty. Wow!

Charlie

Registered on April 18, 2011, 329 Posts, 1985 Comments

Comment posted by Joel Hazelton on August 3, 2011 at 12:07 AM

Amazing, John! And as always, perfect processing from you

Being a fellow desert dweller, it's been a while since I've seen that much green

Registered on August 6, 2008, 194 Posts, 1315 Comments

Comment posted by Jeff Loomis on August 3, 2011 at 12:09 AM

Wow, this is superb! I'm so glad I opened the large version. It really puts you in the scene and seems to convey the depth better (if that makes sense). I agree the reflection of the sky is slight oversaturated, but fix that and its a definite wall hanger. Congrats.

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

Comment posted by Brian Schrayer on August 3, 2011 at 12:14 AM

Absolutely beautiful, John. Wonderfully composed with great color throughout.

Registered on May 28, 2004, 114 Posts, 2890 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on August 3, 2011 at 12:29 AM

Looks great, John--good balance, natural exposure...nice! Has me psyched for my 'weekend'

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

Comment posted by Floris van Breugel on August 3, 2011 at 2:02 AM

What a marvelous mountain view, love it!

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

Comment posted by Ed Lowe on August 3, 2011 at 7:16 AM

Sweet scene, John. I love the light and reflection along with the array of wildflowers.

Registered on February 7, 2004, 414 Posts, 7115 Comments

Comment posted by Svein-Frode on August 3, 2011 at 7:35 AM

Lovely photo John. Truly a stunning scene! From the large version I see that you've gotten great corner sharpness from your 17-40mm. Mine is a lemon and hardly sharp in the middle at the 17mm end :(.

If I were to give any constructive critisism it would be on the composition. I think you have a great sky here that you could have included more of. Also, the left side of the picture is kind of uninteresting compared to the rest of the scene (Less flowers, dark and drab mountainside and no sky).

Registered on November 13, 2003, 9 Posts, 277 Comments

Comment posted by Kevin Trinkner on August 3, 2011 at 8:13 AM

2 hours from home!?! Man would that be nice.... I gotta move....

Beautiful image John, love the first light on the peaks, great reflection, and great comp. I would be tempted to open the shadows a tad/maybe a little less contrast, but those are more personal preferences..

Gorgeous scene!

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

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on August 3, 2011 at 9:41 AM

A beautiful scene John. I like everything here. Great light, colors and really enjoy the reflection.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

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

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on August 3, 2011 at 10:06 AM

This is beautiful. It has so many great elements, dawn light, clear reflection, wildflowers. I see how you could spend hours finding compositions.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on August 3, 2011 at 10:54 AM

Some serious eye candy here. Gorgeous from top to bottom.

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

Comment posted by Koveh Tavakkol on August 3, 2011 at 10:59 AM

Just a beautiful shot John. Great comp and lovely colors. The conditions really worked for you and you definitely took advantage of them. Great job my friend.

Registered on September 1, 2009, 41 Posts, 608 Comments

Comment posted by Phil Pogledich on August 3, 2011 at 12:34 PM

Looks wonderful to me, John. I don't have any nits . . . just a great scene all around.

Registered on August 24, 2009, 123 Posts, 3099 Comments

Comment posted by Jeff Hackett on August 3, 2011 at 12:38 PM

Like I said in the RMNP forum, this should be a mural on someone's wall. Amazing image!

Registered on March 13, 2006, 65 Posts, 1119 Comments

Comment posted by Robert Dayton on August 3, 2011 at 1:44 PM

An awesome grand scenic, John! An excellent FG and a wonderful reflection
with great lighting and colors throughout. I could see this hanging big in a
gallery and also being part of a wall calendar series.

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

Comment posted by Philip Schwarz on August 3, 2011 at 2:34 PM

Beautiful comp and capture.

Registered on November 29, 2006, 236 Posts, 1210 Comments

Comment posted by Art Escobado on August 3, 2011 at 2:44 PM

Nice light, great comp, and great conditions = great photo!!

Registered on January 7, 2007, 0 Posts, 775 Comments

Comment posted by R.Bill Moser on August 3, 2011 at 3:22 PM

A very beautiful place.Well composed.

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

Comment posted by Daniel & Loana on August 3, 2011 at 4:00 PM

Wonderful shot. You managed everything perfectly.

Congrats

D&L

Registered on October 7, 2008, 166 Posts, 3044 Comments

Comment posted by Hamed Musharbak on August 3, 2011 at 4:31 PM

amazing light & comp

Registered on June 1, 2009, 372 Posts, 2282 Comments

Comment posted by Dean Sauskojus on August 3, 2011 at 5:41 PM

John, you hit this one out of the park. Everything is sharp and detailed. Spectacular image!

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

Comment posted by Tim Donnelly on August 3, 2011 at 6:19 PM

The detail from front to back is just incredible! What a stunning scene. The only small nit would be the colour difference in the reflection to the sky! But apart from that..A Cracking shot!

Registered on March 2, 2011, 13 Posts, 54 Comments

Comment posted by Yiming Hu on August 3, 2011 at 8:08 PM

I love the beautiful foreground and the killer reflection. Blending works very well. The reflection of the sky is more colorful than the actual sky.

Registered on April 28, 2011, 38 Posts, 733 Comments

Comment posted by John Mumaw on August 3, 2011 at 11:22 PM

Thanks, folks!
I greatly appreciate the kind words and good advice.

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

Comment posted by Rick Goldwasser on August 4, 2011 at 8:46 AM

Love everything about this, all I can say is wish I was there!

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

Comment posted by Chikku Baiju on August 4, 2011 at 5:40 PM

Thats a gorgeous scene John! Perfect in every way.

Registered on January 9, 2010, 31 Posts, 246 Comments

Comment posted by Sebastian Kraus on August 4, 2011 at 5:56 PM

Greate frame and colours! Well done!

Registered on March 17, 2011, 30 Posts, 132 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on August 4, 2011 at 9:06 PM

Drawn right through the middle! Outstanding, John! Wow!

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

Comment posted by Nicolaus Wegner on August 4, 2011 at 11:26 PM

Very nice John. These mountains look amazing...those greens are stellar. And the kiss of light on those peaks really make this image shine.

The only thing throwing me off is the difference in colors between the sky and the reflection of the sky in the water. Is that natural?

Regardless, a perfect mountain scene.

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

Comment posted by Jack Garrett on August 5, 2011 at 1:50 AM

I love this John...well balanced, great reflection and love that first light on the mountains. Wish I could have camped there!

Registered on November 7, 2007, 41 Posts, 251 Comments

Comment posted by James Fougère on August 8, 2011 at 5:18 PM

Well Done. Those flowers just POP in the foreground

Registered on October 25, 2010, 41 Posts, 831 Comments