Paradise Valley Moon

What a sunset we had Sunday Night. Seems to me we've had a lot of these lately or I'm just noticing more. The bad thing about this area is that it is all private land, so this had to be taken from the road. I would have preferred a better foreground so I decided to emphasize the sky. There were no level lines in this image. I just set it where I thought it looked best. Any comment good, bad, that would be great.

Here's another one that I threw together that's been cropped with added contrast.

Gorgeous sky, know what you mean about private land around there...Personally I secretly wish they would have just turned the whole valley into a park starting at Livingston.....One of my favorite areas.

Love that Mountain, its a fun hike/ski.

Again Beautiful Photo, especially given what you had to work with.

P.S Did you see the sunset over there last night as well? it was incredible.

Forgot to add, I think I like the first one better, personal preference.

Great sky, might be even better today with a few clouds around.

Sweet scene, Dean. That sky really is something else, and the moon puts it over the top. If I have a minor nit, it's the placement of the moon so close to the left edge. Obviously you take what you get with moon placement in a comp like this, and it still works very well. Like Jeremy, I prefer #1 - better foreground impact.

Wow, that is an incredible sky. I love the different textures in the clouds.I, too, like #1 better. More foreground balances it better for my eye.

Now thats a nice sunset.

Another vote for #1. That blue-red combo in the sky is to-die-for.

Nice one, Dean! Of the two, I prefer the first for the lighter foreground. Some anchor in the foreground would have been nice, but the comp works for me regardless. I often feel like these grand landscapes with moon have a tendency to damage the comp trying to include the moon, forcing the scene too wide. But that's not the case here. The sweep of the clouds, the mountains and the hills all give it a feeling of radiating from somewhere out of the frame to the right (makes it feel wider and more expansive than it is), and the moon anchors the left. I miss Montana!

Gorgeous colors in that sky!!!!! I also prefer the 1st one for the lighter foreground. Great shot!

Oh WOW, that's a sweet shot. Love #1.

I prefer the more pastel look of the first post, but that is one great sunset. Marvelous color.

Great shot! I prefer #1. Some of the clouds look a little blown in #2

Who needs foreground??? These shots have everything needed to have that WOW! factor.

Very sweet Dean. That sky is gorgeous.

You nailed that one. I vote #1 too. The sunrise this morning was terrific as well. Moon was down but the sky was gorgeous. Of course, I was inside at a breakfast meeting. RATS! :)

Jeremy, I wish to that the state or the feds would have had the smarts to purchase a big part of this valley from Malcolm Forbes. It was for sale. Instead the CUT Ranch religious cult ended up with it. They also were at one time going to dam the Yellowstone River near Livingston and flood Paradise Valley. Kinda reminds me of Glen Canyon but they didn't go through with it. Instead we have subdivisions. Montana is being bought up!

I agree with you Rick. I would have preferred the moon to be over to the right more but the circumstances prevented it. Thank you.

This was a magnificent sight. Something I just can't portray on pixels.

That's a stunning photograph. I like the softness of #1.

Kane

Sweet! Awesome sky. Im with the 'wish the moon were farther to the right' crowd, but that's minor. You also might want to check the reds in your histogram--they look a bit clipped here. Very nice!

Something I just can't portray on pixels.

Well, you came mighty close! A beautiful sunset and moonrise.
Yet another fan of #1.

Dang, I knew about the Dam, but never knew the state had the opportunity to buy some of the land. Really to bad, thanks for the info though. I always daydream about buffalo and what not roaming the valley when I drive through......

Both are awesome with some spectacular light!

I think I did clip the reds in the second one. It was a jpeg file, I should have paid more attention. Thanks Stan.

Nice! I prefer the lighter foreground in the first, but they both work for me.

Dean,

Awesome shots and gorgeous lighting! Well done.

Wow, Dean. I'm partial to #2 - but they both work well. Foreground isn't really important, if you ask me.

Yowza, that's awesome!