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Black Bear Dawn
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Black Bear Dawn

by Scott Fricke

Gallery: LandscapePosted April 26, 2013991 views2 comments
Black Bear Pass, San Juan Mountains, Colorado

I used to camp up here every July when the pass was finally cleared of snow, not many people camp up this high so it's peaceful, with just the sound of the wind in the trees and a couple waterfalls flowing down the mountain... fond memories. This pond is up at about 12,000 ft. elevation, just above where I set up camp. Usually I have great weather but this time a thunderstorm came barreling through most of the night. By dawn it had cleared up and I got just a bit of color, reflected in a mirror smooth pond. This is a 3 image blend taken just before the sun peeked over the mountains. I'd appreciate any critiques you may have as I haven't done very many blends.

Canon 1D II, 24-105L @ 24mm, ISO 100

Comments

2 comments
Comment posted by Bill Reid on April 27, 2013 at 1:58 PM
A wonderful scene with a wonderful reflection Scott. My only nit would be to tone the highlights down a bit. Otherwise really nicely done.
Registered on January 27, 2013, 65 Posts, 2460 Comments
Comment posted by Ben Horne on April 28, 2013 at 11:03 AM
I'm really surprised you haven't received more comments on this one! This is a drop dead beautiful shot, and your processing is excellent. The sky looks fantastic, and the reflection is so perfect it almost looks unreal. The foreground flowers bring an excellent texture to the shot, and I think you have just the right amount of tonality in your dark tones. The blend looks great to me. :toast:
Registered on August 27, 2009, 51 Posts, 959 Comments