Smokey Owens Valley

Gallery: LandscapePosted October 21, 201715,245 views7 comments

When I was in the Owens Valley and eastern Sierra, there was a lot of smoke. I am not sure if was from the San Bernardino fire or Santa Rosa, but it was heavy in the south end of the valley. I decided to go with the smoke for a few images and I rather like this one. I like the layering and the way it fades out and encourages my eye to hunt for detail in the background. I experimented with lightening the detail in the trees, but decided I liked it better as presented.

D810, 70-200mm

Comments

7 comments

Comment posted by Dave Dillemuth on October 21, 2017 at 4:43 PM

Fine image and great way to make the best of challenging conditions. I agree that the layering in this is very nice. The haze and reduced contrast gives this a beautiful quality. My first reaction was to increase the contrast / darken the blacks but the more i view it, I think the lower contrast is a large part of what makes this image work.

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

Comment posted by Ed Lowe on October 21, 2017 at 5:20 PM

I will have to echo Dave's thoughts on this image although I would be curious to see this with a bit more contrast just for comparison, Harley. I know everyone in CA is having such a horrible time with all the wildfires. Hopefully it can be contained in the immediate future.

Ed

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

Comment posted by Brian Schrayer on October 21, 2017 at 5:38 PM

I like the way that this conveys the sense of scale with the two trees compared to the middleground hills and the background peaks. The way that the smoke creates a haze in the background elements seems to place more focus on the two trees which seems to further enhance the scale of the scene.

Registered on May 28, 2004, 114 Posts, 2890 Comments

Comment posted by Paul Breitkreuz on October 21, 2017 at 5:45 PM

Harley, this worked out very well and was a good B&W thought with all the heavy smoke overall. The trees and undulating hills in the BG are good points of interest and provides some items to focus on away from the depths of the smoke..... laugh

Needless to say this has been one of the worst years CA has had for fire issues. My trip cut short to Utah was impart to our second fire this year coming close to our home as we backup to the Cleveland National Forest. The first event was very close. However, the second event that caused the loss of homes in the Anaheim Hills was wind driven west from our location...... cheeky

Registered on February 25, 2006, 525 Posts, 8448 Comments

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on October 21, 2017 at 9:44 PM

I like this a lot Harley. Sometimes the smoke (although bad) adds to the atmosphere.

Registered on January 4, 2009, 1015 Posts, 13229 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on October 22, 2017 at 4:55 PM

Harley,

Kudos for taking advantage of the crummy conditions! This is excellent! You've worked the smoke and let it enhance the scene rather than ruin it. The large view of course is superior. The two trees anchor the scene nicely and the smokey haze obscures, yet enhances the background.

Everything is working with this one. Darnit, if I just can't find anything to nitpick. angel

Lon

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

Comment posted by John Williams on October 24, 2017 at 1:54 PM

The subtle shades and composition are very strong Harley. I'd love to compare a version slightly warmer, but really no nits

Registered on September 6, 2007, 221 Posts, 5985 Comments