Island Lake Storm + Repost

Hey Folks,

I've been away for a while busy with work, life, photography, etc. (missed the shindig). But, here I am now and bringing an image from last summer that I've been working on. Island Lake is pretty much only photographed in color because of the vibrant color of the water. I took a different approach as the daylight wasn't that great for color. I intentionally processed this dark for the mood.

I've sampled it with a few people and have received mixed feedback. What do you all say?

I really like this image even though I'm a near 100% color shooter. The subtly of the light creeping up both the side slopes with the lighted lake and island below conveys great moodiness and sets the tone for the entire image. I like the darkness of the side slopes and foreground; it creates an air of mystery; certainly a mood reflecting Island Lake. The San Juans in the background show enough light and detail so as to allow recognition and familiarity. The overhead clouds have a brooding, impending quality that serves to keep your eyes focused on the lake itself. Really excellent; congratulations. Wish I had done it.

Doug Beezley
Snellville, GA

Doesn't work. Needs Color

I like the strong contrasts here. The reflected sky in the lake contrasts well with the dark hillside and foreground. You've also captured the tonal textures in the clouds well. The lighter distant mountains give this a sense of depth. I also like the perspective that you have chosen. Overall, you've succeeded in capturing a unique mood with this as it conveys the threatening skies of the afternoon Colorado thunderstorms.

Although I realize the dark sides of the image were processed that way, I wish that was more of a gradation from the extreme dark of the edges moving to the lighter center. Just a bit too much lack of detail in a major portion of the dark portions of this image for my tastes. Other than that personal taste issue, the image really conveyed the feeling of the thunderstorm.

Ken nailed my concerns re: the dark edges. Still not convinced that this particular image makes a successful b&w image, but fixing that might change my mind.

I like the pano comp, the clarity, and the conversion (except for what has been mentioned already.)

There are many Island Lakes in the west. Where's this one?
I like the pano comp as well and I think BW is great for the image, but the black side mountains are just too dominant.

Near Ice Lake Basin.

Jon, I wouldn't mind seeing this in color for comparison's sake.

Thanks for the feedback! This is what I was looking for. I'll work on lightening up the dark hillsides a bit later this week (currently away from home) and give you a color one to look at, Todd.

I like the pano format and the darkness around the lake (maybe a little less dark) and the cloud reflections in the lake, there is a really great atmosphere in that part of the image. Then my eye moves back from the lake to the mountains in the background, which seem a little flat and lack the mood of the rest of the image so the image as a whole doesn't feel cohesive. I don't know if some added contrast there would help or not.

Man it's tough looking at possibly Colorado's most beautiful alpine lake in b&w. Or for that matter, anything in the San Juans in b&w. I would love to see the color version because I'm not sure I've seen a pano of Island Lake from this perspective.

Kane

I can't do the larger versions in replies, but here's a reworked b/w pano.

Here's a color pano.

And here's a non-pano with a different foreground that several people outside this forum have commented on.

Bingo! And 3 times, too!
The repost of the pano looks perfect on my monitor, the color version is gorgeous, and although the last one is just as well done, the bright rocks pull too much attention away from the lake and beyond. Just my two cents worth, Jon.

That was my thought, too, on the third version. Yet, I was surprised to hear that several people I asked in private liked this version more than the pano.

The repost is excellent! Reveals some fine subtleties of the mountains while retaining the dark mood. Does this still convey what you wished? I think it does.

Thanks for asking, John. The repost does indeed work better. I've spent a lot of time looking at this image in different sizes and monitors and found a smaller image looks darker than a larger version that I spent most of my time viewing. I've made a few tweaks to my (hopefully) final version when viewed large which is close to my repost.

Thank you all for your comments and feedback! I think I'm quite happy with how it turned out.

Jon, I was going to echo the other comments about the dark edges, but your rework is excellent. While this is normally a great color shot, I think this particular shot, with the less than optimal weather makes for a very good B&W.