The Nature, Wildlife and Pet Photography Forum - Fine Art Landscape Photography

Mt. Moran, A Storm and Some Foliage

Posted By: James Morrissey

Mt. Moran, A Storm and Some Foliage - 10/26/08 05:03 PM

We did not have a ton of great sunsets and sunrises during this last trip, however, we did get some really weird lighting. For example, daylight conditions with heavy storms passing. The lighting kept changing with the second, and I will admit that it was one of the cooler experiences of the trip. These are two from a series of shots I took at Mt. Moran during this last trip.

I hope folks enjoy.

James



Posted By: dave_lines

Re: Mt. Moran, A Storm and Some Foliage - 10/26/08 07:36 PM

I like the first one the best,, storms over the mountains are neat. DAve
Posted By: Tucson Jim

Re: Mt. Moran, A Storm and Some Foliage - 10/26/08 08:43 PM

Hi James:

I like both of these shots for different reasons. In the first, I like the way you can see the storm clouds moving in while the trees in front are still bathed in sunlight. At the same time, off in the distance, you get a hint of the blue skies to come.

The zoom on the vertical crop juxtaposes the warm, rich, and inviting colors of the fall foliage with the stark, cold, and foreboding atmosphere of the mountain.

I think I prefer the second shot because the perspective makes me, as the viewer, feel like part of the scene.

Jim
Posted By: James Morrissey

Re: Mt. Moran, A Storm and Some Foliage - 11/03/08 01:59 PM

Thanks for the comments, everyone. The lighting was different from what I would normally get, and while I like the photos, I was still not sure they worked or not. The mountain, being such a massive part of the composition, yet being clouded out (literally) made me concerned that it just would not translate.

James
Posted By: whawn

Re: Mt. Moran, A Storm and Some Foliage - 11/03/08 06:32 PM

I was there Sept 20th. No leaf color to speak of and not a cloud in the sky. Three days I hung out. Nothing. Motel bills getting high. Had to leave. Looks like I shoulda stuck it out.

I noticed then, and again here, that the glacier seems smaller than I ever remember it. It's been a very dry summer and warm autumn.

I think the second image works better than the first, but the blue mountain seems to be a bit too light above the strong yellow of the trees. H'ever, I think by cropping from the bottom, about halfway up the trees, the mountain comes to dominate, has nearly the right tone, and you get a nice rhythmic thing going left to right; the tallest tree, the mountain and the clouds beyond echo each other nicely...
Posted By: RomanJohnston

Re: Mt. Moran, A Storm and Some Foliage - 11/04/08 02:32 AM

Hey James, I like both for diffrent reasons....somthing seems to get lost in the translation....dont know if it is just PP, or somthing else.....maybe a nice split ND filter...or a blend.

They just seem to have more drama in the real moment than was captured.

Does that make any sense?

Roman
Posted By: Jim Poor

Re: Mt. Moran, A Storm and Some Foliage - 11/04/08 12:05 PM

I think I prefer the first one, though I wonder what the second would look like if you boosted the top half in saturation and played with it a bit.
Posted By: James Morrissey

Re: Mt. Moran, A Storm and Some Foliage - 11/05/08 03:32 PM

OK Folks,

Do I hear a Post Processing Challenge coming on???

James
Posted By: Jim Poor

Re: Mt. Moran, A Storm and Some Foliage - 11/05/08 04:30 PM

I'm leery about messing with peoples' images on hear as it doesn't seem to be the norm as it is on another site I hang out at. But, if you're game, I'll take a crack at one of these.
Posted By: James Morrissey

Re: Mt. Moran, A Storm and Some Foliage - 11/05/08 09:01 PM

Hey Jim,

It is something we seem to do in spurts. :P Having said that, please!! Modify my images!!!

James
Posted By: RomanJohnston

Re: Mt. Moran, A Storm and Some Foliage - 11/06/08 02:01 PM

Do I see a RAW file coming my way?

:~)

Roman
Posted By: Jim Poor

Re: Mt. Moran, A Storm and Some Foliage - 11/06/08 03:08 PM

I did this on my laptop with the touch pad, so please forgive the bad selections. I was also using the JPG downloaded from here, so I didn't have the benefit of the raw file.

I was going to take it to my main machine, but I'm pretty sick today and I have three big events Fri, Sat, & Sun, so I'm staying in bed. If you look at where the selections are a bit sloppy, you can see just how much blue there is in the original.



Here are the steps I took:

Select mtn, Copy to new layer > Filter> Blur>Average.
Add Levels adjustment layer, click with gray dropper on solid color
Delete solid color layer, adjust levels layer to about 50% opacity
Merge Down, Reselect mtn

> selective color > add black to blacks, black to blues and black to neutrals.
Hue / Saturation, add saturation to master and darkened

Select Sky, > selective color > add black to black, black to white.
Hue / Saturation, add saturation and darkness to blues
Posted By: James Morrissey

Re: Mt. Moran, A Storm and Some Foliage - 11/06/08 09:52 PM

Thanks, Jim. Does anyone else want to take a stab at this?

James
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