Blue Ethers

This is a beauty,  Dave. You captured the quiet stillness of day turning to night in the mountains. Lots of wonderful elements..the tree has a great structure, looks like it was painted in. I like the foreground rocks, the young ground cover, and the lines created by the cliff edge and the mountains. The soft streaky sky gives a strong mystical presence to the image. A couple of nits...I think the moon might be a bit too low in the sky and the image, so if it was mine I might play with cropping out some of the sky and see if that brings a different balance,  A part of me wants a little more space on the left  of the tree.  Having got that out...I think this is a fantastic photo, you have put me right in the image watching the moon rise and I can almost feel the cool night air settling in.

You do realize we all have to post a not so good photo every now and then, right? Because you're not obeying that law.... But all joking aside, I can easily see why this is a favorite of yours. The sky is dreamy and very beautiful, and the tree is a perfect silhouette, while still retaining enough details in it. If I had to pick a nit, then I would have preferred a wee bit more space on the left, but fortunately nobody can force me to pick a nit, so I choose not to in this case, haha. I can see Stephens point about the position of the moon, but for me it works like this, since the sky has its own character and therefore can stand on its own as a larger part of this comp, if that makes any sense.

Dave,  This is a fine image and you controlled the varying light very well.  What a great spot.

Dave,

Besides echoing Roel's comments, I just gotta say this is gorgeous!  That sky is indeed dreamy.  What a difference 20 minutes make and I can just feel that sense of wonder and excitement you must have experienced that evening.

For me the blue is perfectly beautiful here.  The moon perfectly exposed.  If there was a wish, it would be for a little room on the left, but that's minor.

You were well rewarded for  your planning and vision.  Awesome!

Lon

A really sweet image with a lot of depth to it. Processed quite nicely also. Yea, I could see cropping some of the top off to make a different aspect ratio as suggested, but for me, it is not a significant issue.

Another very beautiful image, Dave. 

Dave, What a beautiful image this is and that moon looks fantastic. I love what it adds to this scene. I could see a little crop of the upper part of the sky but I'm just fine with it as it is. Very nice work, Dave!

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI