Posted by Paul Wegemann on February 16, 2009 at 11:31 PM
The light on the peaks was a bust at Dream Lake this morning, so I did some ice shots (see E,S&S) then climbed the ridge to the south of Emerald Lake just to scout. The wind wasn't nearly as bad as what Steve P. experienced at Sprague Lake. Web compression is hurting this. I didn't use a polarizer and actually desaturated the blues a bit. Critiques most appreciated. 40D, Tokina 12-24, manual blend.
Thanks,
Paul
Posted by Bill Pelzmann on February 16, 2009 at 11:36 PM
Nice selection of the foreground lead-in line.
The sky appears very dark. Did you use a polarizer?
Posted by Todd Caudle on February 16, 2009 at 11:59 PM
Yeah, I'd lighten the sky and the rocky spires, but this is really excellent.
Posted by Nick Moore on February 17, 2009 at 9:00 AM
I really like the composition Paul, the curving snow edge leads the eyes upto the peaks nicely. I also like the contrast between the sky and the peaks, but would perhaps lighten the blue a little more. This is very nice!.
Posted by John Mumaw on February 17, 2009 at 9:41 AM
An excellent composition!
I agree with the rest re: 'depolarizing' the sky.
Posted by Steven Peckham on February 17, 2009 at 10:07 AM
+1 on the composition. Really like the leading line. And that ice shot over on ESS is also a really nice one. I guess I need to get some more winter gear one of these days so I can get up to dream lake this time of year.
I am not surprised by the dark sky. Once the first band of cirrus pushed through it was a nice deep blue sky. You must have taken this one around 8 am as the thick high clouds were back by 9 (there is just a hint of clouds in the upper left). It is interesting that you did not have much wind as several of the high peaks were getting a lot of snow blown off. Hallet's peak was not showing that much - maybe the WSW wind direction sheltered the Dream and Emerald lake area? I thought for certain that you must have been experiencing some 70+ gusts up there given the strong gusts down at Sprauge.
S
Posted by Don Grall on February 17, 2009 at 1:13 PM
Beautiful comp, and I agree about the dark sky.
Posted by Guy Schmickle on February 17, 2009 at 1:30 PM
Add me to the growing list of fans of this comp. Very nice!
Posted by Jeremy Week on February 17, 2009 at 1:52 PM
Great composition! The snow line really works for me.
Posted by Morris McClung on February 17, 2009 at 2:38 PM
Ditto what Todd said. It is an excellent comp.
Posted by John Zinn on February 17, 2009 at 5:05 PM
Paul, I love the sweeping foreground, but would lighten the sky since it's started to go blue-gray. Great find!!!
Posted by Dan Walters on February 17, 2009 at 9:29 PM
Nice shot. I like the comp and the color of the snow in the foreground.
Posted by Paul Wegemann on February 17, 2009 at 10:53 PM
Thanks for all the comments everyone. Sorry bout that sky. I didn't even notice how bad it was until I saw this on my work computer. I brightened things up bit and did a minor desaturation.
Posted by Brent Doerzman on February 18, 2009 at 12:22 AM
Very nice Paul, I do like the revised version better too. That leading line is killer!!!
Can I assume the lake was fairly free from snow? I'm thinking of heading up this weekend, but really hoping for a clear lake. Thanks for any info.
Posted by Jesse Speer on February 18, 2009 at 3:05 AM
Sweet line dude. Good eye. I'd still work on the luminosity of those blues up there - maybe just a bit.
Posted by Steven Peckham on February 18, 2009 at 10:31 AM
I like the rework as well, but I don't think you should rework the sky much more.
As I suggested previously, the sky was a dark blue due to shading by the cirrus band that passed through earlier. Since there was reduced light passing through the atmosphere above the spires there would be less scattered (blue) light directed towards the camera. Note that the cloud above the ridge on the far left is dark gray as well suggesting shading from the clouds to the east. The light hitting the spires is passing below the cirrus band to the east. Just my $.02 on it.
Discussion
16 repliesThanks,
Paul
The sky appears very dark. Did you use a polarizer?
I agree with the rest re: 'depolarizing' the sky.
+1 on the composition. Really like the leading line. And that ice shot over on ESS is also a really nice one. I guess I need to get some more winter gear one of these days so I can get up to dream lake this time of year.
I am not surprised by the dark sky. Once the first band of cirrus pushed through it was a nice deep blue sky. You must have taken this one around 8 am as the thick high clouds were back by 9 (there is just a hint of clouds in the upper left). It is interesting that you did not have much wind as several of the high peaks were getting a lot of snow blown off. Hallet's peak was not showing that much - maybe the WSW wind direction sheltered the Dream and Emerald lake area? I thought for certain that you must have been experiencing some 70+ gusts up there given the strong gusts down at Sprauge.
S
John
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John Zinn
Enduring Light Photography
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Can I assume the lake was fairly free from snow? I'm thinking of heading up this weekend, but really hoping for a clear lake. Thanks for any info.
I like the rework as well, but I don't think you should rework the sky much more.
As I suggested previously, the sky was a dark blue due to shading by the cirrus band that passed through earlier. Since there was reduced light passing through the atmosphere above the spires there would be less scattered (blue) light directed towards the camera. Note that the cloud above the ridge on the far left is dark gray as well suggesting shading from the clouds to the east. The light hitting the spires is passing below the cirrus band to the east. Just my $.02 on it.