Teton Gold - RePost

Gallery: LandscapePosted October 7, 20174,945 views24 comments

I experienced some great lighting during a recent visit to the Tetons just prior to the 1st snows of the season. This was the kind of sunset where the light reflects the sky to the ground, messing with the color balance. I rendered it as close as I could to what I experienced, a surreal glow as dusk. For some reason, I think I was the only photographer here, though I'm pretty sure there were over 50 or so about a 1/4 mile away, jockeying for position at Schwabacker Landing. I returned here a couple of times during promising lighting for the tranquility and still waters.

Nikon D810, 16-35. Single exposure, processed x 2 to preserve the sky's far right highlights.

Comments

24 comments

Comment posted by Ed Lowe on October 7, 2017 at 8:31 PM

I do not know about the other photographers but you sure came away with the gold, Harry. The lighting is spectacular as are the crepuscular rays along with the reflections in the water. Everything works beautifully in this scene from the front to the back. Great drama in the sky BTW.

Ed

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

Comment posted by Dave Dillemuth on October 7, 2017 at 9:56 PM

This is magnificent, Harry. Exceptional light and fine composition with lots of depth. You were fortunate to have conditions still enough to capture the foreground grasses so sharply. Processing looks great and I find the colors very believable. Hard to give any suggestions. Only nit might be to burn down the one bright reflection in the lower left. For some reason it seems to grab my eye.

Registered on December 10, 2015, 104 Posts, 1112 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Kearl on October 7, 2017 at 10:36 PM

Well this works for me..
Spectacular light but the comp and view is not the usual and the processing is very nice.
I think the foreground grasses could be toned down is my only suggestion.

Registered on September 2, 2013, 209 Posts, 1514 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on October 7, 2017 at 10:37 PM

Harry,

Oh My! This just might be approaching Epic! The entire scene is awesome, but I particularly am impressed with the clarity of the water and reflections. The clouds are awesome and the light rays top this off.

If I had one small suggestion to solidify an epic label.... I'd clone out the fuzzy top of the grass stalk lower edge left of center. Looks like the only thing in the frame that caught a little breeze... Other than that, this is simply gorgeous.

Kudos as well to your OP publications!

Lon

Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments

Comment posted by Igor Doncov on October 7, 2017 at 11:16 PM

This is a really fine image. The light is perfect and the colors have been processed in a very natural way yet still get your attention. The grasses are working really well for you as foreground subject matter. There is an issue here in that the sun is setting behind the mountains yet the fg grasses are sunlit from the opposite side. I don't know how much people care about this anomaly. If you darken the pods on the grass you lose an important attribute of the fg. If you don't, it looks fake to the discerning viewer. You could burn them in a bit and see. It's really an incredible image as is.

Registered on November 22, 2014, 189 Posts, 2733 Comments

Comment posted by gary phillips on October 7, 2017 at 11:42 PM

Truly epic, Harry. Glad you found some solitude from the other togs, Love the comp and you handled the light perfectly. I agree with toning down the fore grasses. I don't think their brightness adds much to the image. Beautiful and congrats on the OP stuff.

Registered on October 24, 2013, 185 Posts, 4136 Comments

Comment posted by Ian Cameron on October 8, 2017 at 4:44 AM

Gorgeous Harry
The lighting is of course exceptional but I am particularly impressed by yor organisation of an otherwise busy composition.

Registered on August 6, 2004, 1125 Posts, 3318 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Teller on October 8, 2017 at 7:33 AM

This is one of the most dramatic scenes of one of my favorite places on earth. I could spend a lot of words talking about everything I like about this image. Just beautiful. I was here in last April and had to hike down to Schwabakers from the highway. But I had the whole place to myself. No one else there until I was getting ready to leave and another couple showed up. An unusual experience for sure.

Registered on August 23, 2010, 1162 Posts, 6692 Comments

Comment posted by Ry Birge on October 8, 2017 at 7:37 AM

What a wonderful photograph! Superb in every way

Registered on September 23, 2017, 118 Posts, 278 Comments

Comment posted by Harry Lichtman on October 8, 2017 at 7:50 AM

Igor - The appearance of the FG grasses were lit from behind might have been due to the reflected light from above and behind me in the way of the brightly colored clouds. Anything that had a yellowish tone to begin with, like the grass heads or the midground willow and aspen had a strong glow. That's what made the lighting so surreal.

Registered on September 17, 2010, 304 Posts, 3507 Comments

Comment posted by Mattia Oliviero on October 8, 2017 at 8:57 AM

Great light conditions, Harry. I also like the composition and the reflection. Perhaps a little less of saturation? But it's just a matter of taste.

Registered on August 24, 2016, 43 Posts, 254 Comments

Comment posted by Harry Lichtman on October 8, 2017 at 9:12 AM

Thanks Lon and Gary - i think the issue has been lost in mail, haven't seen the issue yet.
Ian - I did spend a bit of time looking for comps with the most reflection but keeping the grass heads out of the reflection. Had to get a little wet to minimize space between reflection and grasses and maintain a more intimate / prominantÂ feel with the grasses.

Registered on September 17, 2010, 304 Posts, 3507 Comments

Comment posted by Harry Lichtman on October 8, 2017 at 12:38 PM

Click image to Enlarge

I used some of the suggestions when processing the vertical version of the same shot. Primarily, I reduced the reds in the FG area which compared to the original seemed to affect the yellowed grasses. Also reduce the saturation in that area. What I like about the vertical is that the Grand Teton seems to be getting hit with some nice warm light that hadn't hit it in the horizontal shot. Again, one exposure, processed x 2 to hold the highlights in the left sky.

Registered on September 17, 2010, 304 Posts, 3507 Comments

Comment posted by Igor Doncov on October 8, 2017 at 1:26 PM

This is also an exquisite image. It's a hard choice as to which I prefer. In the horizontal the reflections play a more important part and in the vertical it's the foreground grass. Since I love those reflections I would go with your original post. Thanks for the repost. It made me better aware of how good those reflections are in the scene.

Registered on November 22, 2014, 189 Posts, 2733 Comments

Comment posted by Shirley Freeman on October 8, 2017 at 2:37 PM

Wow, Harry, this is incredible! Sweet light, a beautiful scene, and then to get the reflections too, one can't hardly ask for more than that. Well done.

P.S. I hadn't seen the vertical until I posted my comment. I believe I prefer the original best.

Registered on May 27, 2017, 77 Posts, 844 Comments

Comment posted by Harley Goldman on October 8, 2017 at 5:23 PM

Beautiful!! I much prefer the horizontal. I would tone down the bright white reflections in the foreground, but pretty dang minor to my eye. Excellent work.

Registered on November 19, 2003, 586 Posts, 11271 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on October 8, 2017 at 5:43 PM

Harry,

Love the vertical too.

RE: my comment on the "fuzzy top of grass stalk." Now I see what it is in reality - part of the cloud reflection! duh. Not so much a bother now that I figured that part out.

Lon

Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments

Comment posted by Igor Doncov on October 9, 2017 at 1:12 AM

I just wanted to add that I think the original processing brought better results. The reds you brought down has made the reflections less arresting. The original also appears to have just a tad less exposure giving richer colors. The vertical probably comes closer to reality but as an image I think the original is stronger.

Registered on November 22, 2014, 189 Posts, 2733 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Chambers on October 9, 2017 at 10:25 AM

What a beauty, Harry. Of the two, I greater prefer the vertical because the FG grasses become such an important part of the image but they don't overwhelm the Beauty of the mountains. Great shots!

Registered on April 10, 2005, 753 Posts, 21216 Comments

Comment posted by Doug Koepsel on October 9, 2017 at 9:25 PM

Harry, you were treated to a nice sunset scene near Schwabacher. The rays and clouds are really nice. My suggestive thought is that the foreground grass may be a little too orange and bright. I just returned from spending last week in the Tetons.

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

Comment posted by Anil Rao on October 10, 2017 at 1:15 AM

Harry, both versions are lovely. However, I prefer the horizontal one because the composition looks more natural (i.e. unforced) and provides greater depth. The overall scene is grand and I am also enjoying the light show. One of the most stunning renditions of this location.

Registered on November 15, 2003, 234 Posts, 4923 Comments

Comment posted by Harry Lichtman on October 10, 2017 at 6:19 AM

Doug - Did you get snow or rain? It was either or with short breaks of sun. Not much foliage turning except for near the river, hope you found some good stuff, lots of wildlife.

Registered on September 17, 2010, 304 Posts, 3507 Comments

Comment posted by Doug Koepsel on October 10, 2017 at 9:56 AM

Harry, I arrived last Monday afternoon. There were 2-4 inches of snow on the valley floor, more towards the north end of the park. Wednesday dawned with a clear view of fully white mountains. It snowed a little more that afternoon. The aspens near Oxbow Bend were almost peak, while the one stand at the downriver pullout was peak. Heard some wolves howling last Saturday morning along the river near Schwabacher. There was no sunset like yours during last week. My preference is for your horizontal image.

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

Comment posted by Craig Moreau on October 12, 2017 at 6:22 PM

Harry, this is fantastic! I prefer the horizontal, but the vertical is very nice as well. That sky is epic, but it’s all tied together so well in the composition. It’s funny how you don’t have to very far from the iconic views to find some solitude. It’s good to know that it can still be found in that area. Beautiful photograph!

Registered on April 21, 2015, 64 Posts, 584 Comments