Languid Dream [+edits]

John, I really like the image. I personally am partial to good night shots. This one works very well. Good interest all the way through the frame.The whole image works well for me. Well seen and photographed. 

The large version is a must-see! This is very well done, and your persistence paid off, John. The Columbine(?) look as if they are dancing. This really speaks to a peaceful mountain night.
--P

John,  Clicking on the larger version was a real treat. The small version seems to be much flatter and off color just a bit with lighter shadows, but then the large one just comes alive. I'm looking at it in a dark room on a calibrated monitor and very much enjoy what you did here. Wonderful !!! 

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI.

Amazing image John.  The flowers in the foreground make it for me!

Excellent once again, John.  The flowers are a perfect compliment to the Milky Way.  All aspects look spot on to me.  That's one amazing image,  Congrats!!!!

John,

This is fantastic. Kudos to you in visualizing and crafting this alpine night time landscape.  Just beautiful.

Who am I to make a critique when I have no experience on these type images, nor any info on the flowers themselves, but I'll pose this anyway.  Are the original, daytime flower pedals white?  I get the color temp will change a LOT during the late times in which you're photographing, but I just want to think that these should be more white? Not pure mind you, far from it, I get the hour and color temp... but again, I don't know the flower so I could be way off base.  

I hope my line of questioning makes sense.  And regardless, I love the image and kudos for pulling this off.  I think you've nailed the exposure and luminosity between the two combined scenes.

Lon

Outstanding image, John. Just beautiful. I like the "stars under the stars" concept you pulled off with the avalanche lilies. I agree with Lon about the color of the lilies. I'd prefer it if you could shift it back to more white, but that's a minor nit.  

It looks like they may be White Avalanche Lilies. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erythronium_montanum

And yes perhaps they are a bit too blue. Although the color seems more 'right' when the overall exposure is lower such as in the large version. I actually like the lighter version overall, except that the flowers are unnaturally blue in that version.

Thanks for the feedback on the blueness of the flowers. Scott and Igor and correct; they are Avalanche Lilies. Here's a post moving them almost to white; they have just a touch of blue and a hint of magenta, but most of the color is removed. (See the next version below too.)

In the original processing I wanted to keep a bit of blue in the image to give the feeling of night; in this version the flowers lose that and look dull IMHO. (Once again, it's best to click on the image to view it on a darker background.)

Having some time to go back and review the original though, I agree it is too much. The eye acclimates so much during processing; I find it easy to not notice color shifts that an eye sees after viewing neutral. (This effect is much stronger with a bright background, such as NPN's default white with the smaller version, than it is with a dark background. Since I process on dark, it's a bit harder to pick up.)

...and here's a version that is whiter, but retains more blue. It's my favorite of the three. (For now; I'll reassess with a fresh eye tomorrow )

John,

Thanks for taking the time to rework and repost this image after feedback.  Completely agree, your intermediate repost goes back too far to neutral and doesn't look natural.  I agree that a nighttime image should have blue in it and understand you wanting to retain it.  I think your last repost is spot on!  It's completely natural - at least to my eye what I would envision the color temp to be had I been there experiencing the scene. The repost is leaning white, but has just the right amount of coolness and luminosity.  Awesome!

Lon

This is flat out gorgeous, John. The third post is the clear winner for me as it looks the most natural with the blue tones dialed back just a little. I like the fact that the flowers mimic the stars in the sky. Great job on pulling this off.

Ed

I just looked at this again, John. The second re-posted image is the ticket. I appreciate your efforts to continue to refine this lovely image.
--P

John, image #3 is my preference.  You might try reducing the blue just a tiny bit more and see if it is better.  #3 is quite close though.

Agree with the others, #3 looks great! Excellent foreground to go with the milky way, and nicely captured. Well done.
 

Superb! What an awesome presentation of the beauty of not only our planet but the universe.

Guess I'm the lone one who'll put in a vote for the first version which I think is outstanding. The others seem dull in comparison without the vibrant blues in the flowers. I like the compostion and lighting here more than your previous post too.

Great image. The blend looks entirely natural. Congratulations on the WP.