Wetterhorn Peak Sunrise

It was a chilly night for late July and we arose to frost on our tents and on the grass. A short hike up the drainage brought us to this pond which lent itself well to capture the reflection of Wetterhorn.

#2 -- a few moments earlier.

My goodness I love that vertical composition on the second photo. Both photos are really good Paul! The second one really stands out to me though.

I actually like the horizontal version better. Paul, this is a fantastic perspective of Wetterhorn and you've done the mountain well by capturing it in some pretty sweet light. Some people get sick of reflection shots but not me. The reflection really does a nice job balancing out the image, especially with the lack of clouds. Your processing is about perfect too.

Thanks Ryan, I was torn over which one I preferred.
Thanks Kane -- its funny you mention reflection shots because the entire week I was in the San Juans I think these are the only real reflection shots I captured. I am like you, I love reflections -- so I would normally have many different reflection shots.
Thanks for the feedback guys!

I perfer the horizontal image as well, but both capture the moment quite well. DId you blend focal points or just use a smaller f stop?

Thanks, Ken. I shot this at f/16 -- whenever possible I try to get an image in 1 shot, mostly because I suck at blending.

I prefer the vertical, though both are certainly strong shots. If it were my image, I'd open up the darkest parts of the reflection a bit. It's getting a bit heavy there for my taste. I'm glad you had the time/energy/health to get so deep into the wilderness!

Thanks, Glenn -- I wish I would have had some more time in that area, but it was at the end of my week in the San Juans and I only had one sunset and one sunrise there before I had to pack back out. It was definitely taxing physically, but I am already thinking about revisiting when there are actually some wildflowers.

Beautiful Paul! I like the horizontal best because of the light wispy clouds coming over the peak. Worth the effort. Nice work.

A unique image, at least to my eyes. And the broken pond is a wonderful complement to the mountain!
I like 'em both, but do prefer the horizontal because of that sweet, sweet light and that nice cloud pattern.
Lightening up the reflection just a tad would be an asset, IMO. Great capture, Paul!

Thanks, Dean -- I appreciate the feedback. It was well worth the work to get up there.
Thanks, John!