Mummy Range Moon

Here's an image from earlier this month that I've been working on. Taken from one of my favorite viewpoints in Loveland, CO near where I went to elementary school. The rocky hill on the lower right is Mariana Butte (on the other side of the butte there is now a golf course) with Palisade Mountain on the upper right, Mummy Mountain, Hagues Peak and other peaks of RMNP's Mummy Range in the center-left.

This is a two-image blend. One shot was taken of the 99%-full moon and the mountains at about the same time as the sun was rising toward the east (thanks again for TPE, Steve T. ). The second shot was of the Canada geese flying by, though that occurred several minutes later after the moon had set behind the mountains. I know there might be differing opinions on this, but I would personally describe this as a composite or "photo art" because, even though I didn't move the camera or recompose the shot, there was a long time period between the two different exposures used in the blend. I thought these two images worked well to combine together since I liked the moon and the color of the mountains of the first shot but the formation of geese in the later shot happened to nicely fill the large gap in the composition existing between moon and mountains. Would love to read your thoughts, any thoughts, on this one. Thanks!

Interesting shot, Josh. Doesn't bother me how you put it together, though i personally think the disclosure is a good thing. I do have one critical reaction, take it or leave it--my first thought was that the sky color and fg clash--they don't seem to go together, probably because of the red-green combo. It may very well have been the accurate sky color, but i think this would look better with a little more blue in the sky--it would create more harmony and bring the parts together, whereas red-green separates them and makes this look even more 'composite'. If you notice the snow on the landscape has a blue tint, so i don't see why the sky can't have one as well.

Josh I love it! I personally have a few image composites that I put together for varying reasons and always let the viewer know and they are well received. I think this is beautiful! I'm unfortunately viewing this on an iPhone so I need to see it better on my computer, but from this view I don't see anything wrong with it. I love the lighting, colors and the comp! I think it's great how the glowing underbelly light on the geese looks like it was taken around the same time. Great job ! Blessings, Deb

Stan beat me to it. I love the shot, regardless of how many images it took to create it, but the tobacco-colored sky is bothering me. I think if it melded into a more vibrant deep or medium blue, it would be more appealing.

Great shot! The geese really add an extra dimension... I don't think the photo would be as exceptional without that element. And, I would never have suspected the dual image had you not disclosed (in fact my only suspicion was a pasted moon - I hate when people do that!) The colors looks good to me.

Awesome image. My original suspicion was the same as Jack's, and the sky color seems fine to me. Very nice work.

It doesn't matter to me how it was put together, I think it's a wonderfully composed image. I think this looks very natural as is, but for aesthetic reasons I do agree with Stan and Todd. To my eye, the color of the foreground, snowy mountains, and sky, are just too similar and blend together. There needs to be just a bit more separation. The suggestion to add more blue to the sky would help, but removing just a bit of the reddish cast from the mountain snow, might also do the trick. Either way, nice work, Joshua.

This is fabulous Joshua! I agree with adjusting the sky and adding perhaps a bit more contrast to it, but otherwise I really love this. What a great perspective on some of my favorite peaks!

Thanks everyone! I'll definitely take a look at the sky color. I had a 2-stop GND on to get more detail on the moon, but that may also be the culprit for the color shift.

I liked this one at first sight and appreciate you sharing your technique. The blend is simply flawless, and the geese do indeed fill that gap nicely. I suspect this is air pollution that's creating the haze in the sky. I see it here when there's no breeze to knock down the haze issued from the coal fired power plants in the region.