Phendrana's Edge +Update

Beautiful image Alex. The shapes and contrasts of the landscape caught my attention.

I hope everyone will look at the large version with the dark background. It is absolutely amazing!

Beautiful image. I honestly can't think of a thing to change here. This may be one of my fav twilight images... BTW, how do you get the stars to appear over the original landscape image (how do you overlay a lighten layer)?

I definitely like this on a dark background, as you have provided. Bet you were tired after capturing this!

What a stunning image Alex! Some of the others on your website are equally stunning and like Nathan said, I'd love to know how you do get the stars just right.

Thanks, peeps! All my twilight stuff needs a dark background to really shine, so thanks for checking it out there.

Nathan: Floris Van Breugel has an excellent tutorial on twilight/star blends to get you started, right here on NPN. I have my own touches/techniques, but he covers the basics of it in that article.

Nice Crisp Clear Crater Lake Image

Dang man, every time I see these thumbnail shots I almost always expect to see some stars, and this did not disappoint. I like the different perspective from this area and the great reflection of the stars. Everything here is well balanced. Another winner Alex!

Stunningly crisp photo. But why are there stars in the snow?

This is a really god composition! I have seen few crater lake winter images, but this one does it for me. I like your fg composition a lot, it works perfectly. I also like the starry sky and its reflection on the lakes waters. A very good image Alex!

This is excellent. A very cool comp and the light is so pure. At first I thought the bottom left corner was a bit heavy on the negative space, but the more I look at it the more I like it. It's actually a nicely balanced comp when you look at it for more than a few moments.

Youssef, I knew someone would ask that! Those are sparkling snowflakes picked up from the long exposure - they're even more evident in the RAW. I thought about cloning them out, but initially decided against it since I knew they were natural. However, since looking at the file again at 100%, they don't look great - so I went ahead and cloned them out (check out the updated Purchase Print link). Thanks for mentioning that.

Kory, I was unsure about the overall balance myself, but I didn't have a ton of time to find a more detailed foreground cornice - this is the first interesting and pristine one I could find on my hike up. Ideally I'd have found something with snowdrift detail like my second time at Crater Lake. Also, I had a tree directly to the left of my tripod, so if I wanted the snow cornice to strike the corner of the frame, I couldn't really move from this spot.

Lovely crisp image Alex. Nice lines and contrast. I could see cropping a little bit from the bottom and left. Stars look great (and the sparkles in the snow).

I have to try this technique you keep posting...results are killer. Are they taken back to back or is there a delay between landscape and sky? Lovely tones and light

aF

David, I agree that might help pull the distant peak and the island more toward their respective thirds, and help the overall balance. The reason it exists as-is is because I wanted that right-hand cornice to strike the corner of the frame and cropping off the bottom would ruin that. I posted a slightly updated version at the Purchase Print link, with a little cropping and warping to help the overall balance, and with the snow sparkles cloned out.

Aaron, there's about an hour delay between the landscape and the sky exposure. The entire point of overlaying the star exposure is that the stars are only just starting to show up when the twilight is perfect on the landscape, so they don't quite come through in a typical ISO 100, f/11 exposure yet at that time. Usually I go with ISO 1600, f/4, 30 seconds for the star one - not sure why I went to 3200 here, but I had to darken the exposure so that only the stars were coming through. All you need is the white points, you don't want any lingering sky color. There is a period of time where you can still see light on the landscape, a gradient in the sky, and the stars coming out with your bare eyes - and that's what I seek to convey with the blends.

love the stars, their reflection in the water and the fg ridge

Very nice.

Wow, you've really been knocking them out of the park lately Alex!! This is beautiful. I especially enjoy the reflection of the stars in the lake. It looks so quiet it feels like a vaccum.

Wonderfully crisp winter shot. The cool snow colors are perfect. The distant horizon appears maybe too sharp given the distance, maybe go easier on the sharpening in that area. Probably just the web version I would expect.

Harry, I didn't do any additional/selective sharpening on any part of the image. What you're seeing is the web sharpening. Also, keep in mind the air is REMARKABLY clear at Crater Lake in the winter, especially in cloudless conditions - the RAW file shows almost as much detail on that horizon as it does in the near areas.

Excellent image Alex. I really like those sparkling snowflakes in the foreground. I bet they would look awesome in a larger print.

Absolutely beautiful image with the cool tones and starry sky. Yet, compositionally, it doesn't seem quite as well balanced as many of your other recent images.

I agree, Kah - the comp is what kept me from processing and posting it for so long. Although, if you check out the slightly updated one on my website, I think the cropping/warping I did helps with the balance (less empty space in the LL). My more recent Crater Lake image is a lot more well-composed, I think - but doesn't have the glassy reflection or star thing going on. I hope to put both of these images to shame with a couple more trips there.

Alex,

I'd say this is pretty successful even if it's not your favorite side of the lake.. ;-) The stars really dominate the scene here which is interesting too because there isn't so much sky present - it's all in the reflection.

I don't consider this a nit, but an observation. I haven't tried it... but I'm wondering about a 5% crop left and bottom to reduce the amount of real estate the snow bank takes up. Just a smidge maybe? I know there is some nice texture in the snow, but still it's a uniform space, that well, takes up a lot of space. Don't get me wrong, I like it, just thinking out loud I guess.

Lon

edit: just read your remarks and also checked out the version on your website. Never mind! That version is awesome.

love the ice cold feel of this image and the reflection of the stars in the water.
Excellent

That's a fabulous image! I love how you shoot and process these!

This is a great image Alex. At first I was a bit confused by the sparkles in the snow, but once explained I have embraced this wonderful photograph. This has also given me the opportunity to have a good look around your very impressive web site.

Wow! Just love how the snow peak in the foreground launches me into the scene. Just noticed the starry reflection as well. Pretty cool.

Just stunning - truly exceptional!
Congrats on the WP!
Sandy