4 days in Crested Butte and all I got was this lousy picture

Hi everyone. Please forgive the playful hyperbole in the title, which unfortunately is a fairly accurate summary of my fall trip to Crested Butte during which I took more photographs but had fewer keepers than I can ever recall. Bald skies the entire time. Without any clouds to complement the otherwise amazing scenery I had to get a bit creative, and I ended up liking this shot the best out of the bunch for its uniqueness. I'm curious to get some feedback on this image. Does it work for you? One thing I've noticed is that although the shadows are just the right tone of darkness (to my eye) on my monitor, they can appear too light or too dark on other monitors.

Thanks!

Brett

I loooooooove it! Such a sweet take on the place with amazing light. WOW!

Thanks Jimmy! This shot was taken from the back porch of our rental home, which is interesting in light of the fact that I didn't get anything I really liked from all the hikes I did in Kebler Pass.

Absolutely unique! I wouldnt bother me if this was the only shot I got on a trip. It would be well worth it. Joe Rogers

Poor baby if this is the only keeper I would KILL for a shot like this...well, maybe not kill...just maim. This is beyond unique in my book. BTW, I feel like I'm seeing the same as you on my monitor. Gosh this is awesome!!!

I wish I could have a lousy print that looks like that! AWESOME!!

Pam stole my "poor baby," but man oh man, that shot is gorgeous AND unique! Wish I'd taken it.

Really neat image!!!!

If this was the only photo I kept out of 4 days in an area, I'd still have a gigantic smile on my face. Awesome. Just freakin' awesome.

That is just too cool. Love it.

Sweet, kiss of light!

Gotta love spotlit aspens; this is great! I could imagine liking just a hair lighter, especially at top left, but it's working very well for me as is.

Oh, you and your lousy images, I only stared into this one maybe ten minutes tops...


Brett, this image is gorgeous and so unique. Usually we strive to fill a scene with all this amazing light, and then you blow that out of the water with this absolute work of art. Can you tell how much I like it, lol! The trip was worth it, definitely. It would be great to see this printed big, and that's going to take some effort with the delicate shadow detail, but when you nail it... woof!

I'm with all the others...wish I had taken this one, and pleased to get one keeper.
You did better than me up there this year!
I think you could actually stand to brighten the spotlit area quite a bit for even more drama.
Shadows look perfect on my calibrated monitor.
Great catch!

It is not about quantity, it is about quality!
Nice!

Time and Place Miracles

Yup, you nailed it

Wow, thank you for the helpful and encouraging responses! I'm with those of you who said that even one "great" shot makes any trip a success. I wasn't sure if this one qualified, but judging from the reactions I'll add it to the Favorites gallery on my website. I'll play with the processing a bit and look forward to printing this image.

Brett, it is a winner in every possible way, congrats!

Ethereal, Sweet! Congrats.

It's easy to be on the fence about an image when you think you may like because it's the best from an otherwise unproductive trip. But even amongst a collection of very strong images, this would stand out. Sublime and evocative.

99.96% of the time, I agree with John's suggestions. On this one, for me, the subtlety of the light is critical to its effectiveness. Brightening up the spotlit area risks undermining the very important contributions from the dimly lit surrounding stands. I do think viewing this against a dark background as opposed to the white web page makes a difference.

Could definitely see a big print of this being a strong seller.

I would certainly like to have it in my portfolio. In this day of thousands of images a day with digital, I wonder if we expect to much from ourselves? It wasn't that long ago, in the days of film, that it was considered a good outing with just one keeper. Rick said it best with sublime and evocative.

Loved the spotlight on the aspens - this is awesome.

So, where exactly is this lousy photo? The one posted is beyond outstanding!
Re: Brightness of the spotlit aspens.....looks perfect as is.

Lousy! Are kidding?!! This shot is fantastic!!

Yep, I really like this one too. Just the right amount of detail in the shadows for me. Well worth the trip!

This image SUCKS,,,,,,my breath away!

Beautiful and unique. Fantastic work!

Beautiful and unique. Fantastic work!

Pretty amazing Brett. Congrats on this one. Exceptional! You just never know.

Awesome!! Ive looked at it on several different monitors, and they all look like they could use a tiny more brightness in the shadows, but not much.

Jaw dropping! If this was the only image I captured all fall, I'd be happy. Outstanding Brett!

Thats too bad that all you got was that lousy T-shirt. Er... I mean image.

If all you got was that in 4 days I'd still call that a successful weekend!

Spectacular! I'd be happy if that's all I came home with.

Great shot with amazing light, while it can disappointing to only get one decent shot out of a trip it's still worth it!