RMNP - Flattop Spires this morning

I'm dedicating this shot to Derek Sedillo. I was really impressed that he would get up and drive 3 hours for a sunrise shoot only to have to deal with bad weather. I'm not sure I would have been that dedicated. The weather in RMNP was much better today than yesterday, still windy though. BTW, for those who like to venture out onto Dream Lake for ice shots, I fell through the east end of the lake several times this morning. I was wearing snowshoes too! I decided not to venture onto the ice after that. This is actually a blend of 6 shots in Photomatix. I didn't really need to do HDR for this shot, but I'm experimenting.
40D, Contax Vario Sonnar 35-70.

Thanks for any comments,
Paul

Nice shot Paul! Great color going on there. Wow! Breaking through the ice is not something I have done nor hope I ever do! Sounds like your were in the shallows though I hope.
John

Beautiful color Paul, but I think it looks a little muted in the snow. I would try to bring the snow up a bit. Still for HDR, I think its excellent.

Mel-

Great colors! Do you like this HDR version over what you could do with a single exposure, since you say you didn't need HDR?

Very nice image Paul. I like how the upswing of the peaks is continued with the clouds.

Paul, cool shot. Those colors are awesome! And you can even see the peak this time.

Thanks for the inspiration to get back out there! RMNP is one my favorite places in the state. I must admit that leaving at 2:30 am really wipes you out the next day though. I may opt for car camping which is what I do in Aspen and the San Juans when shooting Fall colors, etc...

Breaking through the ice is a scary thing. I would have thought by now the ice would be very thick after all the winter cold and snow. I am glad you made it out safely. I guess that is a good warning to all of us ice lovers.

Spectacular!

This is great Paul!!!! I looked out the window this morning and was wishing I was out. I like the look and wouldn't have guessed that you used HDR. They typically suggest just three exposures, one center, one high and one low. How did using six help? This is terrific and if that is what it takes, then I'm switching.

On my monitor, the photo looks spectacular. I would not change anything. One question? Does the photo look clean at 100%? Meaning no weird colors at edges of different shades? Thank you for sharing.

Thanks for the comments guys. I would have thought the ice would have been thicker too, so I was quite surprised to have broken through. I was in the shallow areas, but I still got wet. That's never happened to me up there in January before.
To Kalin and Erik, regarding HDR: The reason I used it on this image was an experiment. I found, in this case, that it was easier to punch up the midtone contrast using HDR than with PS. This image was taken before the sun was up, so the dynamic range wasn't extreme and I really didn't need HDR. The reason I tried 6 images is that I've been doing lots of reading on HDR lately and a number of folks are saying they get better results by shooting more images with less EV spacing. Normally I would use -2, 0, and +2. In this case I just went one stop under to one over and did 1/3 spacing. I found that the image looks more natural and you don't get that weird HDR look. I have more experimenting to do and if anyone learns more, please post.
Paul

Momo,
We must have been updating at the same time. Yes, it looks very clean at 100%. I can't tell it's an HDR. I'm going to try this 6 shot technique some more and see how it holds up. I haven't been real impressed with my HDR shots in the past, but if using 6 shots helps, I'm all for it.
Paul

Thanks for the reply Paul.

Using HDR in CS3, I got some really weird color transitions that looked awful.
I will try your technique next time (more closely exposed photos).

Thanks again.

BTW, I forgot to mention that I use Photomatix for HDR and not CS3. I've never actually used PS for HDR so I can't say which might be better.
Paul

Beautiful shot, Paul--love that sky!

Awesome shot! Really like the details in the mountains and the color of the sky.