Posted by Ken Henke on February 20, 2012 at 1:42 PM
Since it is cold and windy, I am spending the day revisiting some summer/fall images from last year.
I suspect this one of Dream Lake has appeared several times in this forum. However, a sunrise view of this lake in Rocky Mtn NP allows inspires me.
Taken last September, the early rise to walk to the lake was well worth it.
The final image was created by blending three differing exposures using Oloneo software. I was using a trial version of the software, but was impressed on the natural look it created without much effort. I normally use Photomatix or Nik HDR, but found, in particular, Nik didn't handle the bright sunshine well.
To achieve the final effect, I used Nik filters to bring out contrast and adjust some color.
Posted by Bill Pelzmann on February 20, 2012 at 2:05 PM
That is a very nice HDR blend, Ken. Welcome the the forum.
To my eyeballs, the shoreline gives the impression of a massive tilt to the right.
Posted by Ken Henke on February 20, 2012 at 2:15 PM
Umm...good observation. Probably caused by the lens focal length of 11mm. Yea, to capture all the elements of this image, I was either forced to take a very wide shot or take a panorama. I actually did take several shots to create a panorama. Might be interesting to create the panorama and compare.
Posted by Ken Henke on February 20, 2012 at 2:27 PM
Oops, the original image was not one I had straighten to compensate for the wide focal length. This image is a bit better.
Posted by Kane Engelbert on February 21, 2012 at 9:04 PM
Hi Ken, welcome to the forum!
I think the processing looks good here, especially the nice shadow detail. My issue is with the composition of this iconic scene. It's just too wide, especially on the right side of the image. Look, I'm always trying to make an Iconic scene my own by stepping out occasionally. I usually lose these battles but occasionally I can at least save a different perspective.
I've lost track at how many times I've shot this scene and I just can't find any room in my bag for the wide angle lens on a hike to Dream. I'm a wide angle junkie and it just doesn't work at Dream. I've come to realize Dream is about a 45-50mm shot in my opinion.
Hallet Peak is a stately mountain. It needs 45mm to keep it stately or you lose it to another high alpine mountain scene that doesn’t differentiate itself from others. Hallet is a difference maker. Remember first seeing Hallet as it reaches for the sky? There's a Wow factor there and it's worth preserving in an image. The compromise here is the forfeit of Hallet’s power, for more reflection. Just not worth it in my opinion.
Lastly, the next level will require clouds. Clouds kill all of that negative space that bluebird days to for images.
I typically don't right save click and rework others images but I wanted to give you an idea of what I feel to be closer to the best comp for this spot. I hope you are not offended.
Kane
Posted by Ken Henke on February 21, 2012 at 9:45 PM
Kane,
Actually, I REALLY appreciated your comments! This is why I joined NP to get critical,honest opinions, and different perspectives.
I really intended images taken here would become a panorama, but I quickly found out that perspective certainly didn't work well. However, I still wanted to display the overall view of the lake and surrounding area by creating at least a wide angle view. Although I may have achieved my overall goal, there is no doubt one's eyes do not stay drawn to the peaks. Clearly, the snag on the right (and left) does serve to distract one's view. That said, I do like how the snag adds some reality to the image, that everything in nature is not perfect.
I actually thought about taking more vertical shots of Hallet, but it would have meant moving to my right. And that was not an option unless I wanted to crowd the other photographers that morning!
No doubt though that your crop does display a different cleaner version of Hallet. Yea, I agree about clouds. I was so hoping I would get lucky, but at the end of September, its difficult to get the right kind of clouds, particularly this early in the morning.
The same thing happen to me at yet another iconic place, Maroon Bells. I had a most perfect day, perfect lake, and way too perfect ,cloudless sky. I may have to post that image to maintain my current theme of most photographed places in Colorado.
Great creative landscapes are difficult and maybe is the reason why I take more macro/close-up images these days.
Discussion
5 repliesI suspect this one of Dream Lake has appeared several times in this forum. However, a sunrise view of this lake in Rocky Mtn NP allows inspires me.
Taken last September, the early rise to walk to the lake was well worth it.
The final image was created by blending three differing exposures using Oloneo software. I was using a trial version of the software, but was impressed on the natural look it created without much effort. I normally use Photomatix or Nik HDR, but found, in particular, Nik didn't handle the bright sunshine well.
To achieve the final effect, I used Nik filters to bring out contrast and adjust some color.
To my eyeballs, the shoreline gives the impression of a massive tilt to the right.
I think the processing looks good here, especially the nice shadow detail. My issue is with the composition of this iconic scene. It's just too wide, especially on the right side of the image. Look, I'm always trying to make an Iconic scene my own by stepping out occasionally. I usually lose these battles but occasionally I can at least save a different perspective.
I've lost track at how many times I've shot this scene and I just can't find any room in my bag for the wide angle lens on a hike to Dream. I'm a wide angle junkie and it just doesn't work at Dream. I've come to realize Dream is about a 45-50mm shot in my opinion.
Hallet Peak is a stately mountain. It needs 45mm to keep it stately or you lose it to another high alpine mountain scene that doesn’t differentiate itself from others. Hallet is a difference maker. Remember first seeing Hallet as it reaches for the sky? There's a Wow factor there and it's worth preserving in an image. The compromise here is the forfeit of Hallet’s power, for more reflection. Just not worth it in my opinion.
Lastly, the next level will require clouds. Clouds kill all of that negative space that bluebird days to for images.
I typically don't right save click and rework others images but I wanted to give you an idea of what I feel to be closer to the best comp for this spot. I hope you are not offended.
Kane
Actually, I REALLY appreciated your comments! This is why I joined NP to get critical,honest opinions, and different perspectives.
I really intended images taken here would become a panorama, but I quickly found out that perspective certainly didn't work well. However, I still wanted to display the overall view of the lake and surrounding area by creating at least a wide angle view. Although I may have achieved my overall goal, there is no doubt one's eyes do not stay drawn to the peaks. Clearly, the snag on the right (and left) does serve to distract one's view. That said, I do like how the snag adds some reality to the image, that everything in nature is not perfect.
I actually thought about taking more vertical shots of Hallet, but it would have meant moving to my right. And that was not an option unless I wanted to crowd the other photographers that morning!
No doubt though that your crop does display a different cleaner version of Hallet. Yea, I agree about clouds. I was so hoping I would get lucky, but at the end of September, its difficult to get the right kind of clouds, particularly this early in the morning.
The same thing happen to me at yet another iconic place, Maroon Bells. I had a most perfect day, perfect lake, and way too perfect ,cloudless sky. I may have to post that image to maintain my current theme of most photographed places in Colorado.
Great creative landscapes are difficult and maybe is the reason why I take more macro/close-up images these days.