Northern Pickets

Gallery: LandscapePosted September 21, 20072,594 views29 comments

Looking down on big, scary, remote Luna Cirque (and Northern Pickets). The Cascades' greatest explorer/historian Fred Beckey calls this the "most impressive and intimidating" wall in the entire range.

I was glad to make a trip through here last week, and although the weather was great for climbing, it was terrible for photography. I was reduced to Earth shadows and sunstars. I posted this on a local climber forum and they seemed to really like this shot. I was wondering how a group of keen-eyed photographers like yourself react...?

D200, 12-24, 3 stop split ND
Picket Range, North Cascades, WA

Comments

29 comments

Comment posted by Mike Dawson on September 21, 2007 at 11:37 AM

Beautiful, talk about rugged, I might suggest dodging the tops of the peaks light to eliminate any evidence of the grad. Minor nit in a great image. Thanks for sharing this!

Registered on February 4, 2006, 364 Posts, 8872 Comments

Comment posted by Daniel McKeehan on September 21, 2007 at 11:42 AM

Oh very nice, love the sunburst. must have been some hike.

Registered on July 31, 2005, 99 Posts, 590 Comments

Comment posted by Jeremy Cram on September 21, 2007 at 11:52 AM

I think it's beautiful. I would like to see more of the lake, and cloulds would be really awesome. I think you did very well with what you had to shoot.

Registered on June 4, 2006, 204 Posts, 818 Comments

Comment posted by Tom Nevesely on September 21, 2007 at 12:39 PM

Very nice. I also really like the sunburst.

Registered on June 14, 2005, 147 Posts, 1550 Comments

Comment posted by Michael Joubert on September 21, 2007 at 1:46 PM

Looks like a spectacular part of the Cascades. Must've been amazing. Nice capture. I think I'd try to add some contrast to the middle ground.

Registered on November 30, 2006, 0 Posts, 47 Comments

Comment posted by Marc Adamus on September 21, 2007 at 2:32 PM

Absolutely stunning place. I'd sure love to be there now. I can't say enough good things about this photo. It really puts you there.

Registered on September 17, 2005, 780 Posts, 8091 Comments

Comment posted by Kartik Venkatarama on September 21, 2007 at 3:08 PM

Gorgeously rugged...I like the hint of the turquoise lake. The strong GND presence could be mitigated though.

Registered on July 27, 2007, 197 Posts, 830 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Wong on September 21, 2007 at 3:32 PM

This is awesome! If this is the only photo you got from the trip then I'd still say it was a success. Makes me wish I were a mountaineer.

Registered on February 2, 2006, 79 Posts, 2629 Comments

Comment posted by Arnab Banerjee on September 21, 2007 at 4:33 PM

Definitely unique - never seen this view. You did very well given the weather - with adding the sunburst a master touch. The perspective is awesome and the light on the bottom 2/3 is beautiful

Registered on January 3, 2007, 313 Posts, 2270 Comments

Comment posted by John Zinn on September 21, 2007 at 4:33 PM

Great view and great capture David. It looks like your grad might have been a hair low, so I would just soften its effect on the top of the ridges and you're golden.

John

Registered on November 1, 2003, 41 Posts, 1743 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Rasmussen on September 21, 2007 at 4:48 PM

Very nice! I personally would prefer the middle ground to be a little darker, neutralizing the effects of the grad and making the whole scene a little bit more natural... but that is my opinion! Well done--I wanna' go see this place myself.

Registered on July 26, 2005, 121 Posts, 1884 Comments

Comment posted by Vincent FAVRE on September 21, 2007 at 6:06 PM

Waow, really good. Nice view !

Registered on September 2, 2007, 37 Posts, 213 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on September 21, 2007 at 7:17 PM

One of these days im getting back to the Picketts for some unfinished business. Ive got a photo of luna lake and Fury permanently engrained in my mind. Its all good.

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments

Comment posted by Bryan Swan on September 21, 2007 at 8:18 PM

Its a nice shot David, but it doesn't grab me like a lot of your other work does. The chunk of rock in the foreground (assuming thats Luna) blends in a little too well with the background and it doesn't establish the level of depth I'd like to see here. I think a more zoomed in look at the upper half of the ridge, with the sun right over Challenger, then Shuksan and Baker would have worked much better. 'Course armchair composing doesn't work so well most of the time, so I could be way off. :)

At least you got to the Pickets - thats worth it in itself.

Registered on August 1, 2005, 34 Posts, 187 Comments

Comment posted by Jody Grigg on September 21, 2007 at 8:43 PM

Wowser !

Registered on February 7, 2004, 165 Posts, 1227 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on September 21, 2007 at 9:32 PM

This is scary. I like the shapes the snow forms on the far side of the cirque. I have a feeling it was an impressive feeling just be here.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments

Comment posted by Ashutosh Rajekar on September 21, 2007 at 10:59 PM

Beautiful shot David ... no nits here ... very well done!

Registered on June 8, 2006, 51 Posts, 910 Comments

Comment posted by David Svilar on September 21, 2007 at 11:15 PM

Thanks for all the comments. I'll work on that grad line as suggested.

Bryan, Thanks for the criticism. I had a prime 50mm lens in my pocket that would have probably been perfect for the type of shot you were thinking of (from the armchair!). I'm so infatuated with wide angles that, being in a place I'll be lucky to visit 3 times in my lifetime, I felt compelled to use the wide angle. Hopefully my photographic eye evolves over the years and I'm able to come up with more comps in any given situation (if that makes sense). Until then...

Registered on March 8, 2007, 17 Posts, 211 Comments

Comment posted by Bryan Swan on September 22, 2007 at 4:56 AM

Heh. I know how you feel about the wide...

Registered on August 1, 2005, 34 Posts, 187 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Fach on September 22, 2007 at 7:13 PM

David: Spectacular image IMO. Wonderful scene superbly captured. >=))>

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1805 Posts, 26981 Comments

Comment posted by Trevor Anderson on September 23, 2007 at 12:29 AM

Considering the rarity of north cascades' images there is on this forum, you know I'll leap from my seat in anticipation to view any of them, picture lake shots included. I literally hit the ceiling if it is from a hike that takes supreme effort and the image is superbly captured to boot, like this one is.

I agree with Bryan in certain respects, though.

Registered on April 25, 2007, 64 Posts, 483 Comments

Comment posted by Eric Good on September 23, 2007 at 2:07 AM

What a view! As others have already mentioned... I'd try to minimize the grad line just a little. I still can't get over how epic this view must be on top of that ridge.

Registered on March 17, 2007, 116 Posts, 4764 Comments

Comment posted by Carol Hyman on September 24, 2007 at 1:53 PM

David, Your BG mountains and starburst are great.

Well seen.

Carol

Registered on January 18, 2007, 597 Posts, 8062 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Hudon on September 24, 2007 at 2:30 PM

Jeez Louise!

Registered on November 1, 2003, 315 Posts, 2246 Comments

Comment posted by Catherine Reilly on September 24, 2007 at 2:52 PM

The vote is: We love it! Me too! Congrats on the editor's pick for it. I love the little lake (maybe not so little?) lake tucked in at the foot of the mountain. The scene is impressive, as is the image, as is the effort to get there!