Platte River valley, Wyoming

Hi everyone. I'm hanging out in Saratoga, doing my duty at the artist's co-op in town, and got a chance to head out of town last night and photograph the landscape around the Platte River. Last night saw 30+ mph winds, interesting clouds, and intermittent and interesting sunlight. The leaves have recently appeared on the cottonwoods and aspen and seem to glow in warm late-day light. I'd appreciate any comments or critiques if you have them. Spring/summer is finally here - woo-hoo!

Evening along the river

Last one. All images Sony a900 camera, post-processing in Photomatix & Photoshop.

I'm liking that first one. Spring green is a nice color...

Oh man these are great shots Brett. I love this area; a very special place in my heart down near the Sanger property especially. Thanks for posting!

These are all great. Love the bold colors. Thanks for posting.

Really beautiful stuff, Brett. That first one makes it look like you and Paul W. are twin sons of different mothers, as his shot and your first one have such a similar feel and emotion to them. Great trio!

Nice. I like the second one the most. The curve of the treetop on the left and the clouds promote the implied motion of the river. The strong greens against the deep sky are very likable too. The horse is also really cool.

I'm not the only one that noticed the similarities in the nice, soft light and 'development' between this and 'Pastoral'.
Lovely scenes all, and you did a fantastic job with Photomatix here!

The only nitpick I have is that the limited DOF in that terrific shot with the horse looks a bit contrived. If indeed this is the result of postprocessing, then you might consider applying a gradient to make the blur more realistic as it graduates from behind the horse to the mountains.
If this is as you captured it, then my humblest apologies.

Thanks for the comments! It is cool that Paul posted his shot shortly before mine, because I was going for exactly the same feel with this one albeit with a slightly different type of landscape. I suppose what I posted is the "Wyoming version" of pastoral, which of course requires a healthy dose of sagebrush. John, I just checked and I shot the horse image at f8 @ 300m, with the horse maybe 30 feet away from me. What is shown is the actual DOF. I've never manipulated DOF using post-processing except for brief experimentation with Helicon Focus. I'm a rank amateur when it comes to animal photography; would cranking up the ISO to allow a smaller aperture and greater DOF have enhanced the horse shot?

Great set. I just love all those different shades of green.

Personally, I like the shallow DOF for the horse. The bright snowy areas on the OOF mountains do, however, draw my attention. Maybe a gradient to darken the background would help???

Fist one is my preferred shot. Good depth to the image with the trees leading back to the light falling on the hills. The clouds in the sky add a bit of drama to the image.

Brett the first two are really great shots with #2 being my favorite.

Marvelous series. From capture to pp all elements are done expertly! Lovely work.

We're in cahoots and we didn't know it
Phenomenal work here Brett. I can't say enough good things about the first two images. I love the horse shot, but the background is messing with my eyes bit. I find that various crops from the top make my eyes relax into the image more, if that makes sense. The lighting on the horse is fantastic.

" What is shown is the actual DOF. I've never manipulated DOF using post-processing except for brief experimentation with Helicon Focus. I'm a rank amateur when it comes to animal photography; would cranking up the ISO to allow a smaller aperture and greater DOF have enhanced the horse shot?"

I don't think so.
I think that Paul and Bill may have nailed what I mistook for postprocessed DOF blur (..sorry).
Bill's suggestion of slightly darkening the mountain and skies in relation to the rest of the scene may be the ticket.
Again, I think it (and the others) are superb images well 'developed'.

Sweet! I love the first two, terrific clarity in them, and great scenes. I dont really care for the shallow DOF in the horse shot, there looks like plenty of light there so i dont think you would have needed to crank up the ISO.

Beautiful work. My favorite is the first.

- Dan.

Sweet light on the second shot!! I am with the others on the horse. I think also the pose would work better if you could see some of the other eye as well. But you may not have had that option.

The colors and tones in the first one are really sweet, as is the comp. I like the second one for the bright colors and dark grey skies behind, one of my favorite kinds of light. I like the third one as well, but wish the horse was more on the left side of the frame so it isn't looking out of the frame.

That second shot looks like a perfect candidate for an IR image. I really like the horse image but think it would look a little better if the background wasn't quite as soft.

On a side note I'm about ready to get my a900 before my trip to Yellowstone and Glacier national park; I've already acquired the Zeiss 16-35mm lens.

Hi Jason. You're right, the second image makes a great B&W with an IR look. Have a great time with your a900 in Yellowstone & Glacier! Perfect lens for Glacier in particular - I was there 2 summers ago and wished I had a wider lens. If you get the chance, take the Grinnell Glacier and Iceberg Lake hikes - they're the best I've done in the park and the scenery is out of this world. On another note, I've done some testing with (a rented) Zeiss 16-35 lens and found that shooting at f11 provided the best combination of center and corner sharpness; when shot at wider apertures, corner sharpness really suffered.

thanks for the hike and lens advice!