Sunrise from Moriah Ledges...

[w7xman]

Monday morning on Moriah Ledges.

I'd like to hear thoughts on color and composition. Does this work for you, do you feel connected to the scene?

I felt rushed this morning, with only five minutes of good light, and a great show behind me to the east as well! I'll post another after this thread runs its course.

Thanks in advance...

Canon 20D w/Sigma 18-200mm
1 Second at F13
ISO 100
1 Stop GND
Tripod

 

[bikehikeskifish]

The light on the Presies works for me. The photo is divided nicely into thirds. If I had to pick something negative, I think the snow in the foreground is featureless, not that my eyes are drawn to that, given the spectacular color on the snow-capped peaks. I would like to have more depth right there, maybe a small tree or two.

Can you get rid of that mountain in the foreground? (Imp is it?) ;-) It's blocking my view!!

Tim

 

[Brambor]

I like it. The cool color palette works for this morning shot. Perhaps a crop to cut out the brush on the right and a little less snow would help but it works for me overall.

 

[Grumpy]

I can't see the image. Can you repost or update, please?

G.

 

[w7xman]

I can't see the image. Can you repost or update, please?

G.

Sorry, the server I was uploaded on was down for a few...shouldn't be a problem now...

 

[kmorgan]

I like the picture a lot. The only thing I'd change is to lighten up the foreground a little and get the sky looking a bit more dramatic. I used Photoshop's Adjustments>Shadows/Highlights with a setting of 20 and 50 respectively to get this...

Kevin

 

[Grumpy]

What a wonderful moment you have captured! The hint of red light on the slope to the left is a very nice, and subtle touch.

I got out my "cropping Ls" and trimmed just a bit off the sky and enough off the foreground to elminate the bare branches in the lower right foreground. I also tried cropping just at the base of those emergent bare branches, which kept a band of cold-looking snow all the way across the bottom of the photo (and liked it that way a bit better.) The cropping seemed to place more emphasis squarely on the beautifully lit summit and skyline, which really is the subject here, (I think). We don't need a lot of rather featureless sky to tell us what's going on, in my opinion.

The hint of texture in that cold snow in the foreground is very nice.

My most serious criticism/reservation regarding this photo is the lack of detail I see in the foreground trees and mountain slope in the middle distance (left). A little crude playing with Photoshop allowed me to bring up the "brightness" values in those parts of the picture, and revealed the considerable detail that is there in the digital image. I liked the effect much better. It probably depicts more accurately what "your eye" actually saw.

Tweaked or not, it's a dynamite scene, and that's for sure.

G.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

I do like Kevin's lightening of the snow and the spruce-traps-to-be in the foreground.

It is a great photograph for sure.

Tim

 

[Mark Schaefer]

It works for me. On its own merits the view is not exceptional scenery with some scrubby vegetation. But the early morning light makes it a good picture. I agree with the earlier comments that some judicial cropping and highlight adjustments could improve the picture.

 

[w7xman]

Wow, thanks for the helpful and thought out responses. I will play around with some crops, and the shadow/highlight tool is something I've never used, but looks intriguing.

I have a shot to the east from this hike that I'll post in a bit, and I'll try to get the same issues out of the way before posting.

Very appreciative!

 

[kmorgan]

Wow, thanks for the helpful and thought out responses. I will play around with some crops, and the shadow/highlight tool is something I've never used, but looks intriguing.

I have a shot to the east from this hike that I'll post in a bit, and I'll try to get the same issues out of the way before posting.

Very appreciative!

The Shadow/Highlight adjustment has been called a "digital flash". Very handy.

Kevin

 

[LivesToHike]

I like what you did. It's quite a scene and photo. It definitely hits the thirds and it's a good composition.

My minor points fall in line with what others have already said - crop, and brighten the foreground, and you'd have an even better photograph.

Nice work.

--Mike

 

[darren]

What I like about this most is that you posted a different thread saying that you were think about doing this and then you went out and did it.

I like the shot and agree with all that has been said.

kmorgan - you had a good idea to play with the highlight/shadow tool, but I think you took it a little too far.

Jim - you should play with the shadow/highlight tool. It is great. Be carefull with it though. Setting them too high will bring out noise. Nothing beats a good original exposure, but s/h tool certainly helps. I use initial seatings of 5 and 5 and go from there. I rarely go over 15:

- d