Posted by Scott Smorra on April 13, 2013 at 7:34 PM
I made it out to the Columbia Hills yesterday to check out the wildflowers. The Arrowleaf balsamroot has started to bloom, especially in the lower elevations. Not much lupine yet. Scattered phlox and desert parsley. Peak is probably still 1-2 weeks out depending on elevation and exposure. Hopefully everyone has a chance to get out there this spring.
"In the Hills" A sunrise view of Mt Hood from the wildflower fields of Columbia Hills State Park.
Nikon D800, Nikkor 24-120 f/4 at 100mm, polarizer (light polarization)
7 image blend for depth of field - this one was tough!
6 images for the foreground flowers - 1/50 sec at f/13, ISO 1600
1 image for the mountain/sky/middle ridge - 0.5 sec at f/8, ISO 100
Thanks for any comments or suggestions you have.
Posted by Debbie Yarra on April 13, 2013 at 9:10 PM
Great depth of field and the subject matter is beautiful and the processing is spot on. Just not sure about the comp. There is a lot of dead space around that flower clump and mt hood, wondering if you can crop some of that out to improve it. I'm not on a computer to play with it but it looks like a square might be just right. Wish we had some wild flowers ! Looking forward to visiting your beautiful state in August ! Blessings, Deb
Lovely! Great job with the focus stacking. I can see the appeal of a square crop or a 5x7 aspect ratio. The flowers in profile toward the left might be cloned out to keep the eye from floating off the main subjects.
Very nice stacking of the foreground. I like that sharpness you achieved. I think I see some haze in the background which takes some of the impact away. Or maybe it accents the foreground. Overall I like it very much.
Posted by wade pettitt on April 14, 2013 at 3:46 PM
Hi scott, thanks for the update, good job with the blends it looks good, I was wondering what you think about the 24-120 f4
Posted by Steve Kennedy on April 14, 2013 at 5:48 PM
Beautiful shot Scott! Good job on the stacking. Everything is sharp where it needs to be. Beautiful light and colors.
I've never been to Columbia Hills State Park. Looks like a place I need to visit.
Gorgeous shot! Like the way you filled the fg with the Balsam Root. Thanks for the field report, too. With any luck, the flowers could be great at the time of our Outing at the end of the month.
Posted by David Bostock on April 17, 2013 at 6:36 PM
Awesome shot, Scott. And great job on the focus stacking!
Beautiful, what a fantastic range of color and fine job with the stacking!
Posted by John Williams on April 19, 2013 at 12:46 AM
Wonderful Scott! The morning I picked to try for this shot (Wednesday) the field I had scouted was all wilted with frost. I ended up in a ravine where the flowers were holding up better (I posted that one in landscape). Still, I would have loved to have caught that pink glow on Hood. Great job on the stack. I sure fought the wind a lot when I was out there; that can make focus blending a real pain.
Discussion
12 replies"In the Hills" A sunrise view of Mt Hood from the wildflower fields of Columbia Hills State Park.
Nikon D800, Nikkor 24-120 f/4 at 100mm, polarizer (light polarization)
7 image blend for depth of field - this one was tough!
6 images for the foreground flowers - 1/50 sec at f/13, ISO 1600
1 image for the mountain/sky/middle ridge - 0.5 sec at f/8, ISO 100
Thanks for any comments or suggestions you have.
I've never been to Columbia Hills State Park. Looks like a place I need to visit.
The only thing I might try to mellow is a little haloing around the main 3 flowers.
The only thing I might try to mellow is a little haloing around the main 3 flowers.