Marcellina Mountain and Kebler Pass

(Correction from Mt Emmons)

They say it's the world's largest Aspen tree/grove. I thought I was arriving a bit late in the season, but then I really like the Fall colors in Gambel Oak trees, which peak a bit later than Aspen does. I like this photo as it feels "painterly". 35mm Sensia 100 with Leica 35mm summicron (I think).

The colors and contrast are vibrant on my large monitor, but a little more muted on my laptop. I'm working to understand soft-proofing in Lightroom so that I can have better control over my display and printing.

If you want to see a very large copy, I have this posted to my smugmug gallery, PhotoKinesis.info

I'd appreciate any comments.

Tom, I like the contrast of the warm golden tones against the cool gray of the mountain and sky. Along with the winding road and layering the image has a nice rhythm.

Mel-

Tom,

Nicely composed and exposed. However, that's Marcellina Mountain not Mt. Emmons.

Doug Beezley
Snellville, GA

Thanks for the correction on Mt Emmons. I used Google maps to try to identify the mountain.

I like how the winding road leads you into the scene. Great colors and comp on this one!

Other than the obvious, glorious seasonal moment, that last little curve to the right and towards Marcellina really makes this shot. Well seen and presented.

Thanks for the complements. This image grew on me each time I came back to it, and it took only a moderate amount of cropping and LR developing to get what I want out of it.

My secret weapon for these roadside shots is my VW Vanagon. If I need to adjust my viewing angle or see over fences and hedges, I can climb (somewhat) spritely up on top of the cab to set up my tripod.

I really like all of the 'curve play' happening here, as well as the lack of color in the mountain, which provides a neat contrast to the colorful foliage.

Tom, I'lll play Devils Advocate . I love the comp; lovely layering, and the addition of the road is perfect. The following is personal taste critique. To me, the image seems too warm and contrasty. That dirt road looks almost orange. The rust colored decaying leaves appear too harsh. The important yellows are tinkering with reds. Try cooloing it down via the white balance tool, then use selective colors to provide punch. Just an idea, that's all.

Kane

Thanks Kane, Those are exactly the external suggestions I needed to figure out what to do. It is easy to be enamored of the high-contrast and bold colors. It is hard to back off and reduce the saturation. As you said, the road was a bit orange. It took only a few tweaks, and I think things are lot better. I'm tempted to desaturate the sky a little, as the clouds are now a bit blue.

Any more fine tuning needed?

edit: I did the adjustments on my big screen, but now I look at them on my laptop, and there is more desaturation. The "real" Gambel Oak actually showed redder than my latest adjustments. I wonder how it will print. Interesting.

I do think this version is easier on the eye . Quite honestly your first post wasn't that far off, thus only a few minor tweaks. I have to admit that I really didn't think about your overcast cloud conditions going more blue by cooling the WB but indeed that would be an issue if you cooled it down any further. You got it just right in my opinion.

Your repost looks great to me Tom. The color balance on the road and foliage looks a bit more natural to me and I'm not bothered by the cooler clouds. Maybe add a little vignetting, especially in the sky, to darken the slightly overexposed clouds and draw the viewer into the scene some more?