The Colors of November...

[w7xman]

I just pulled two days up in the whites and did a few daytime hikes, ending up in photogenic locations at dawn and dusk. This is one of these roadside scenes that I've been struggling with for a long time, and I (think I) finially made it work.

Taken from rt. 302 near the Mt. Washington hotel, the last rays of the sun snuck under the clouds and hit the snow on the high peaks. The exposure was a nightmare, but with filters, I pretty much came away with this straight from the camera, with a bit of dodging in the midground. The highlights burned out above the peak, but I don't think I am going to do much with them, despite a possible RAW double process...as this was close to what my eye saw!

I'd love to hear thoughts on the colors, contrasts and most importantly composition.

Canon 20D w/ Sigma 18-200 @ 33 mm
2.5 Seconds @ F14
ISO 100
2 Stop Hard GND + 1 Stop Soft GND
Polarizer
Tripod

PS...I haven't been around much for a week or so, and had to play comment catchup...great shots in the photog phorum all around recently...

 

[NewHampshire]

Overall not much I can really complain about. Everything looks crisp and sharp, the foreground is interesting, and the colors on the background exceptional.

One question. Have you thought about trying HDR? This scene looks like it would have been the perfect candidate.

Brian

 

[w7xman]

Overall not much I can really complain about. Everything looks crisp and sharp, the foreground is interesting, and the colors on the background exceptional.

One question. Have you thought about trying HDR? This scene looks like it would have been the perfect candidate.

Brian

Thanks Brian, It was a beautiful strip of light to behold!!!

As for HDR...

I have seen some good HDR's, Some bad HDR's, and some puzzling ones. Without causing an HDR debate, I think that the technology has promise, but is not for me. I like the challenge of getting the photo right in camera, and thus spending as little time as possible in front of the computer.

Filtering and metering is my favorite part of photography, and seeing the shot show up right on the LCD is therefore most gratifying. Am I limiting myself...perhaps, but I wouldn't find three to seven random exposures of the same scene any inspiration to shoot it right

 

[Grumpy]

This photo has a nice impressionistic-romantic "feel" to it. Beautiful composition that makes it appealingly dynamic (thanks to the diagonals in the river). Great light no the mountains behind. Very nicely done.

G.

 

[kmorgan]

Great shot, definitely a keeper. Love that orange banding, especially since you can see it in the base of the foreground rocks.

Kevin

 

[NewHampshire]

Thanks Brian, It was a beautiful strip of light to behold!!!

As for HDR...

I have seen some good HDR's, Some bad HDR's, and some puzzling ones. Without causing an HDR debate, I think that the technology has promise, but is not for me. I like the challenge of getting the photo right in camera, and thus spending as little time as possible in front of the computer.

I know exactly how you feel. I have seen some work that blew my mind, and then others having me scratch my head saying "whats different????" It seems to be an art form in and of itself .

Brian

 

[bikehikeskifish]

That is one I might be inclined to purchase and frame!

Tim

 

[ROCKYSUMMIT]

Wow, looks like you've done it again! Thanks for sharing another excellent shot. I guess the Sigma 18-200 is your walk around lens. And the use of the two ND filters is very interesting. Are you using the Cokin filters?
-Tony

 

[w7xman]

Wow, looks like you've done it again! Thanks for sharing another excellent shot. I guess the Sigma 18-200 is your walk around lens. And the use of the two ND filters is very interesting. Are you using the Cokin filters?
-Tony

Hi Rockysummit...
I just can't get pas the convenience of the sigma. I had my ultra sharp 24mm prime with me, but my hands...not yet used to November's charms, decided to stay in their gloves. When the $ is good, I'm going to buy a 17-40L and a 70-200L and I won't have to worry at all about image quality, or fumbling with prime lenses!

I used HiTech graduated filters for a resonable balance between price and quality. I find that Cokin's just aren't neutral enough for me, and give a magenta cast that I couldn't get past. The HiTechs are a bit more, but good. I get them from Teamwork Photo and Video across the pond which saves $ as well...

The choice of 2 filters...I use two different types of grads, hard edges and soft edges. I used one of each here to smooth the line, and to place the hard edge right on the alpenglow...

Hope that helps...

Jim

 

[ROCKYSUMMIT]

HiTech filters I will have to check out. I think I would have stayed with the Sigma too, as the image quality looks great to me. Thanks Jim for the info.
-Tony

 

[JohnL]

I love this shot. Beautiful lighting on the ridge and I like the way that the bend in the stream takes your eye right out to the ridge. The lone birch on the right adds a bit of loneliness to the feel and the clouds frame the peaks nicely with an otherwise bland sky. I did, however, crop a bit from the left and bottom of the image and bumped up the saturation a bit and added some contrast to give you this.

JohnL

 

[w7xman]

John,

I like the contrast and saturation punch on the ridges, I might play around a bit with that. Your cropping suggestion does put more focus on the the ridge as well. There is more work to be done!

Thanks..
Jim

 

[NewHampshire]

I stilllike the origional. Johns crop cuts out too much interesting space for my taste, and the contrast is too over the top. The origional has enough contrast to show a hint of detail, but is not overpowering to the mood of the photo.

Brian