Morning at Lily Lake

Last week I had a couple talk to me about their need for a photo of Lily Lake to hang in their living room, to remind them of their wedding there. I showed them what I had but they weren't happy with any of them. I asked them what they were looking for and they said "drama". I've been watching the weather for the last week waiting for an opportunity to re-shoot the lake. This morning looked perfect and I managed to get a few shots which I am happy with. Unfortunately, I just discovered that I can't blow any of them up past 16x20. I'm guessing that a thin layer of fog must have developed on the lens without me knowing. Oh well, I'll just have to try it again!

Here's another one: http://morninglight.us/forum/07/0504b.jpg

Erik,

Nice light and the touch of color in the clouds is great!

Yup - gotta be careful with all that heavy breathing when faced with a beautiful scene - you'll fog up the lens in no time!

I love the foreground reeds and the placement of the moon in the reflection. Very, very nice images Erik.

Too bad about the fogging to an otherwise great shot.
Well, at least it's an easy retake!

Looks like that would have been a good morning for the Twin Sisters trail, redo.

Erik, love both shots but especially that reflection with the moon set! Very cool! Too bad about the fogging.
John

Beautiful image! Love the color and the light.

Nice shot Erik! I like the little reeds in the foreground... it would be nice to try and emphasize them even more next time... but it's sweet anyhow how it is. I think this shot could use a little brightening too. Where'd all the snow go??!!!

Ooooo.. I really like your linked shot!!! Wow... I like the light better, more balanced comp, more detail along the shoreline, the moon (reflected!), and the mist shows up better too. Stunning!

Beautiful shot, as mentioned could be just a tad brighter, especially if you can bring out the reeds more.

Erik,
I like the horizontal better. If it were mine I'd probably crop off the mountain (Estes cone?) on the right to make Long's & Meeker a little bigger, then also brighten a bit.

Thanks guys for all of your comments. They are truly appreciated! I'll re-work the image above to brighten it up. The second image was the primary one I took for this couple that was married on the opposite shore. They requested that I get a horizontal image with dramatic lighting, that includes the far right area where they actually stood to be married and they also requested that I get reeds in the foreground. It's not often that customers are that specific. As a result, I probably won't crop out Estes Cone even though I certainly understand what you are saying Tony. It is a strange lake to shoot with the prominence of little Estes Cone and that band of trees across the mid-section, but it is one I have to have in my portfolio. It is nice to have a place like this (RMNP)where I can get some honest feedback and grow in my photography and post-processing. Thanks!