Posted by Mark Stahlke on August 29, 2007 at 9:31 PM
Clouds moving up the Fall Creek valley towards Tuhare Lakes.
I just returned from a four day backpacking trip in the Holy Cross Wilderness. The trip was one night at Lake Constantine and one night at each of the Tuhare Lakes.
Lake Constantine is pretty lake near timberline (about 11,300 ft) surrounded by fire rings*. It's set in a heavily used and abused area, complete with barking dogs and screaming children. I didn't spend much time there. Tuhare Lakes are much nicer. They aren't as abused. The waterfalls between Lake Constantine and lower Tuhare Lake and between the two Tuhare Lakes are some of the best I've ever seen in Colorado.
And then there was the weather. In this shot from lower Tuhare Lake the cloud coming up the valley never stopped coming. Thick at times, thin at times, it was fascinating to watch. Unfortunately, when the clouds and mist were most interesting the light was at its flattest and dullest. I kind of like this one although I have mixed feelings about the large expanse of featureless gray cloud.
This image was made with a Nikon D80 and 24-120VR lens with a rain drop to provide that lovely soft circle left of center.
I've been working on my monitor profile so I'd appreciate any comments about brightness, contrast, or color balance.
* A fire ring is a hideous scar on the face of the wilderness. It is a small circle of blackened rocks with charcoal in the center. Nothing grows within 20 feet of a fire ring.
Posted by Todd Caudle on August 29, 2007 at 10:05 PM
Interesting shot, Mark. I love the strong diagonals. Hope we see more.
Posted by Mark Stahlke on August 29, 2007 at 10:11 PM
Another shot of flat, dull light.
Posted by Mark Stahlke on August 29, 2007 at 11:19 PM
One more shot of the clouds rolling in to Tuhare Lake.
Posted by Todd Caudle on August 29, 2007 at 11:26 PM
Oh man, that last one is my fave!
Posted by Joshua Hardin on August 30, 2007 at 12:20 AM
I agree, that last one is cool.
Posted by Mark Stahlke on August 30, 2007 at 1:05 AM
One final image then I'm ready to start working on some of the "happier" shots.
Posted by Kalin Wilson on August 30, 2007 at 3:22 AM
Great mood with the clouds, don't let them get you down
I like the lake shot too, looks like an interesting area. I know I loved the Missouri Lakes area of the Holy Cross.
Looks like some seriously dynamic weather, Mark. Definitely tough shooting conditions when it's this heavy, but it looks like you made the most of it. I'll look forward to the "happier" shots as well.
Regarding your work on your monitor profile - brightness and contrast look good to me given the lighting conditions. Color is tough to judge on these since the light is so flat, but the first one comes across as a little heavy on the yellow/green side of things in the rocks and trees, though the clouds look about right. #2 feels a touch too green in the mid-tones, but the cloud looks good to me. Really tough to judge #3, and #4 looks good colorwise, but maybe a 1/2-stop too dark. Hope that helps with the profiling.
Posted by Jody Grigg on August 30, 2007 at 11:44 AM
Nice work Mark! Hope you didn't have to pay Todd too much for the clouds.
Discussion
9 repliesI just returned from a four day backpacking trip in the Holy Cross Wilderness. The trip was one night at Lake Constantine and one night at each of the Tuhare Lakes.
Lake Constantine is pretty lake near timberline (about 11,300 ft) surrounded by fire rings*. It's set in a heavily used and abused area, complete with barking dogs and screaming children. I didn't spend much time there. Tuhare Lakes are much nicer. They aren't as abused. The waterfalls between Lake Constantine and lower Tuhare Lake and between the two Tuhare Lakes are some of the best I've ever seen in Colorado.
And then there was the weather. In this shot from lower Tuhare Lake the cloud coming up the valley never stopped coming. Thick at times, thin at times, it was fascinating to watch. Unfortunately, when the clouds and mist were most interesting the light was at its flattest and dullest. I kind of like this one although I have mixed feelings about the large expanse of featureless gray cloud.
This image was made with a Nikon D80 and 24-120VR lens with a rain drop to provide that lovely soft circle left of center.
I've been working on my monitor profile so I'd appreciate any comments about brightness, contrast, or color balance.
* A fire ring is a hideous scar on the face of the wilderness. It is a small circle of blackened rocks with charcoal in the center. Nothing grows within 20 feet of a fire ring.
I like the lake shot too, looks like an interesting area. I know I loved the Missouri Lakes area of the Holy Cross.
Regarding your work on your monitor profile - brightness and contrast look good to me given the lighting conditions. Color is tough to judge on these since the light is so flat, but the first one comes across as a little heavy on the yellow/green side of things in the rocks and trees, though the clouds look about right. #2 feels a touch too green in the mid-tones, but the cloud looks good to me. Really tough to judge #3, and #4 looks good colorwise, but maybe a 1/2-stop too dark. Hope that helps with the profiling.