Posted by Jack Brauer on April 18, 2006 at 12:24 PM
Here's a shot from last Wednesday in the Gore Range. I'm right near the top of Outpost Peak - the summit of which is just out of the left side of the picture. Mt. Powell is in the left distance.
Although the summit view was absolutely stunning, I actually had quite a difficult time choosing a composition. There are many beautiful mountains that I had to leave out... in retrospect I kind of wish I had brought my dSLR and taken a stitched panorama shot. Anyhow, I finally decided that this heavily corniced ridge was the most interesting feature which emphasized the ruggedness of the area. I got several alpenglow shots of this same shot (the sunlight where the shadows are here) but those didn't really work out. Luckily I had one sheet of film left, and I waited about 45 minutes or an hour for the sky to dim enough, and then took this shot with the moonlight illuminating my side of the ridge.
Tachihara 4x5
Nikon 135mm W
f22 @ 8 minutes
Posted by Scott Borger on April 18, 2006 at 12:36 PM
At it again! Jack, I really like your photographic subjects. I'd be interested to hear more of the story behind the shot (how long did you hike for, what time did you start, etc.). From the look of this picture, you must have been on quite a steep slope while shooting. Did you use any climbing gear? Great shot.
Posted by Jack Brauer on April 18, 2006 at 1:00 PM
Thanks guys! The hike was about 4 miles and just shy of 4k vert. I started hiking at noon and got to the top around 6pm. I spent about 2 or 3 hours up there before hiking back down under the full moon. I was right at the edge of a ridge, so I was safe but not if I walked two feet further. No climbing gear, just snowshoes. More about this particular mountain on summitpost.
I used Provia 100F. During the earlier alpenglow shots, I also used Velvia 100F, and I can now confidently say that Provia is a much much better film for snow scenes - well at least low light/sunrise/sunset snow scenes.
Posted by Todd Caudle on April 18, 2006 at 2:01 PM
4K elevation gain in 4 miles with snowshoes and a large format camera...I'm not sure if I im-pressed or de-pressed. Kudos to you for the effort and another for a great image.
Posted by Scott Bacon on April 18, 2006 at 3:25 PM
Wow.
Incredible!
Posted by Grant Collier on April 18, 2006 at 3:29 PM
Nice! You certainly get shots of places I'll never make it to. I hiked all of 1 minute for my most recent shot...
HA! Just kidding Jack!!! Really, it's awesome!! The shot itself is great (I especially like the way the setting sun makes a great separation of sky and mountain), but then you add in the effort of getting there, well, awesome! Show us more!!!
Posted by Jack Brauer on April 18, 2006 at 7:32 PM
Thanks for your comments! Everything was so awesome up there, there were at least four completely different views I could have chosen - I'm still not sure that I made the best photo that I could have - it certainly doesn't do justice to the real life scene.
Really a unique and wonderful photo, Jack. Love the way the ridge meanders into the distance, leading my eye right through the photo. Very well done.
Posted by Jack Brauer on April 19, 2006 at 11:36 AM
Jason - I actually was able to focus just fine with dusk light, then just waited for a while until it got darker to take the photo. I checked the focus one last time with a loupe before taking the shot. With bright moonlit snow there's still enough light to focus anyhow, although a bit tougher.
Posted by Nat Coalson on April 19, 2006 at 5:41 PM
Beautiful work Jack!
I really like shots like this that are monochromatic. Kind of like black and white, colorized, yet purely natural.
Great composition too!
Posted by Paul Beiser on April 20, 2006 at 9:22 AM
Way cool, Jack. Want to get out with you sometime, I like this combination of getting way out there and having my camera with me, especially when it works out
Discussion
17 repliesAlthough the summit view was absolutely stunning, I actually had quite a difficult time choosing a composition. There are many beautiful mountains that I had to leave out... in retrospect I kind of wish I had brought my dSLR and taken a stitched panorama shot. Anyhow, I finally decided that this heavily corniced ridge was the most interesting feature which emphasized the ruggedness of the area. I got several alpenglow shots of this same shot (the sunlight where the shadows are here) but those didn't really work out. Luckily I had one sheet of film left, and I waited about 45 minutes or an hour for the sky to dim enough, and then took this shot with the moonlight illuminating my side of the ridge.
Tachihara 4x5
Nikon 135mm W
f22 @ 8 minutes
I used Provia 100F. During the earlier alpenglow shots, I also used Velvia 100F, and I can now confidently say that Provia is a much much better film for snow scenes - well at least low light/sunrise/sunset snow scenes.
4K elevation gain in 4 miles with snowshoes and a large format camera...I'm not sure if I im-pressed or de-pressed. Kudos to you for the effort and another for a great image.
Incredible!
Lets see the other shots with the Alpenglow!
HA! Just kidding Jack!!! Really, it's awesome!! The shot itself is great (I especially like the way the setting sun makes a great separation of sky and mountain), but then you add in the effort of getting there, well, awesome! Show us more!!!
Anyhow, here's the alpenglow shot if you're interested.
Question on focus. Since it was night, and thus couldn't really see your subject that well, how did you focus to insure a sharp image?
Did you just focus to infinity and stop down?
I've often wondered with these kind of shots about focus. I see you were stopped down to f22, so I'm thinking maybe I'm right.
Worthy payoff for your effort
I really like shots like this that are monochromatic. Kind of like black and white, colorized, yet purely natural.
Great composition too!
Keep 'em comin'!!