Posted by Kane Engelbert on October 15, 2010 at 12:01 AM
I met Koveh at the Longs Peak TH at 3:30am last Monday morning. Koveh immediately began to talk about clouds, and the fact that once again, we would need to begin praying for clouds; it was crystal clear again. We can't seem to get clouds for our Chasm Lake trips.
The usually uninteresting, nightime hike to Chasm Lake was quite interesting actually. Having a partner for these long stretches of quite really makes a difference with the "fun factor." Koveh and I talked about photography for about two hrs, and talked about how cold it was for about a half hr. I kept thinking I wasn't ready for this "extra weight" thing that the winter brings.
The forecast the past few days called for up to 9 inches of snow so we were prepared for it. We packed microspikes for the skinny, exposed trail that descends from the pass to the Chasm Lake area. It wasn't long that we realized we wouldn't need them. It was basically a dusting of snow on Longs for our trip. We made great time and showed up at Chasm Lake at about 6:10 am and had almost an hr to shoot the stars aboove the great Longs Peak.
Sunrise was very intense. So intense I ended up selecting a star shot as my favotite, then converted it to BW to take advantage of the dusting of snow, lake and star highlights and contrast.
BTW, be ready to move fast if you hike with Koveh, dude moves quite well. Downside, he gets cold then he sneaks off searching for sunrays without telling you. .
Kane, that is an absolutely fantastic shot! Really captures the feeling of pre-dawn in big mountains, amazingly beautiful but longing for sunrise.
Posted by D J Kuklinski on October 15, 2010 at 1:09 AM
Excellent!
Posted by Pam Colander on October 15, 2010 at 1:15 AM
So beautiful! The crispness of the B & W goes perfectly with how it must've been in person. Great processing choice and execution.
Posted by Don Grall on October 15, 2010 at 1:37 AM
Exquisite!
Posted by Rajeev Thomas on October 15, 2010 at 2:13 AM
Kane..great job!! You have a great eye for beautiful landscapes... I wouldn't have done B&W conversion but you did it and it looks great!
Posted by John Mumaw on October 15, 2010 at 6:47 AM
You know what makes this work so well for me (aside from the very wise choice of using b&w and shooting at that time)?
The sublime light.
It's just about perfect here. Almost like you did a masterful job of dodging and burning. Moonlight?
This really is one of the best b&w images I've seen in a long, long time. My only advice would be to burn down the right edge of the mountain on the right subtly enough not to be noticed, yet enough to force the viewer's eye more inward. Tony Kuyper has outlined a method in his 'blog (second example in particular) if that interests you.
Simply outstanding work here (along with a very interesting story)! Koveh will have a hard act to follow.
Posted by Paul Wegemann on October 15, 2010 at 7:53 AM
Outstanding work, Kane! This is one of the best BW night images I've seen.
Posted by Todd Caudle on October 15, 2010 at 9:27 AM
This is just mind-boggling!
Posted by Rod Chandler on October 15, 2010 at 10:10 AM
Kane, unbelievable shot. Love it. I have been wanting to hike in there myself. It may have to wait until next year though as snow is coming and I can't get away until next week. Any advice on that hike for an old guy - 68?
Posted by Brian Jackson on October 15, 2010 at 10:26 AM
Love it, nice crisp and sharp. Well done.
Posted by Michael Renner on October 15, 2010 at 10:38 AM
damn, that is an amazing shot, Congrats!
Posted by Jeff Hackett on October 15, 2010 at 11:58 AM
Incredible image!! WOW!
Posted by Koveh Tavakkol on October 15, 2010 at 12:00 PM
Kane, it certainly was great having someone to chat with on the long hike up there, and in all honesty you are in better shape than I am. As for this shot, I absolutely love it man. My night shot ended up being my favorite from the morning as well, but I have not had a chance to play around with processing it yet. This B&W conversion is just stunning. I really have to take your advice and pull the trigger on that one man. The only advice I can give is to echo what John mentioned..I would tone down the bright mountains on the right just a little, and maybe see if you can brighten up the bottom left a tad to even it out, but overall this is just outstanding work! Looking forward to the opportunity to hike out to some locations with you again soon.
Posted by Ernie Marx on October 15, 2010 at 12:00 PM
Posted by Doug Koepsel on October 15, 2010 at 1:15 PM
Great to look at with the nice range of light and shadow on the mountains! Really nice night scene. Possibly dodge just a little on the darker left of the mountain?
Posted by Jesse Speer on October 15, 2010 at 2:52 PM
Dude. No words.
Posted by Paul Martin on October 15, 2010 at 3:23 PM
Discussion
25 repliesThe usually uninteresting, nightime hike to Chasm Lake was quite interesting actually. Having a partner for these long stretches of quite really makes a difference with the "fun factor." Koveh and I talked about photography for about two hrs, and talked about how cold it was for about a half hr. I kept thinking I wasn't ready for this "extra weight" thing that the winter brings.
The forecast the past few days called for up to 9 inches of snow so we were prepared for it. We packed microspikes for the skinny, exposed trail that descends from the pass to the Chasm Lake area. It wasn't long that we realized we wouldn't need them. It was basically a dusting of snow on Longs for our trip. We made great time and showed up at Chasm Lake at about 6:10 am and had almost an hr to shoot the stars aboove the great Longs Peak.
Sunrise was very intense. So intense I ended up selecting a star shot as my favotite, then converted it to BW to take advantage of the dusting of snow, lake and star highlights and contrast.
BTW, be ready to move fast if you hike with Koveh, dude moves quite well. Downside, he gets cold then he sneaks off searching for sunrays without telling you.
http://www.kaephotography.com/photo/chasm-lake-tranquillity/
The sublime light.
It's just about perfect here. Almost like you did a masterful job of dodging and burning. Moonlight?
This really is one of the best b&w images I've seen in a long, long time. My only advice would be to burn down the right edge of the mountain on the right subtly enough not to be noticed, yet enough to force the viewer's eye more inward. Tony Kuyper has outlined a method in his 'blog (second example in particular) if that interests you.
Simply outstanding work here (along with a very interesting story)! Koveh will have a hard act to follow.
RIchieV