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Pioneer Peak, Alaska
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Pioneer Peak, Alaska

by David Taylor

Gallery: LandscapePosted March 21, 2010406 views20 comments
Good morning everyone-
I don't post very much or participate in this forum, but I'm hoping some of you might be willing to critique this image.
Just got back from shooting this same view for sunrise, but I thought I'd post last nights sunset shot here first. I'll try to get a shot (or more) up from this morning as well. Comments and critiques always welcome.

Tech Data:
Canon 5D mk 2
Canon 24-105 @ 50mm
3.2" @ f/16
ISO 50
B+W CPL & Singh-Ray 3 stop soft grad ND

Also posted a quick post on my Journal - if you feel so inclined, please stop on by!
http://sixtyonenorth.com/wp/

Comments

20 comments
Comment posted by Bill Chambers on March 21, 2010 at 2:12 PM
Overall, it looks good Dave. The light on the peak is beautiful. One nit however, the reflection on the water is much lighter than the sky, which is just backwards from what it should be, of course.
Registered on April 10, 2005, 753 Posts, 21216 Comments
Comment posted by Margo Pinkerton on March 21, 2010 at 3:01 PM
Dave, I really like your composition of the mountain and reflection, but I find that the snow in the foreground, while an excellent compositional shape, is just to bright and takes away from all the other lovely elements in your photograph. Maybe crop up a bit, so there is at least some dark heading out the lower right corner, and add some shadow to the snow so it isn't so light in comparison to the rest. I think you want our eyes to go to the mountain and reflections, not to be distracted by the snow in the foreground. I even might risk taking it down 1/3 of a stop.

What a wonderful sunset! Alaska is so magnificent! Thanks for sharing this lovely scene with us!
Registered on October 18, 2007, 39 Posts, 214 Comments
Comment posted by Ken Johnson on March 21, 2010 at 3:13 PM
Dave,
This is a great shot. I love the colors & reflection. I am not bothered by the lighter reflection or the white snow. For my tastes & IMHO the snow leads me into the main subject. Just my perspective. By the way I love the location.
Registered on March 7, 2010, 71 Posts, 272 Comments
Comment posted by Daniel Ewert on March 21, 2010 at 3:16 PM
Beautiful landscape scene. Wonderful image here.
Registered on June 2, 2009, 103 Posts, 1500 Comments
Comment posted by Barry Vangrov on March 21, 2010 at 3:21 PM
I agree that the foreground snow is just a little bit too bright. I wouldn't crop it but I would take the brightness down a notch. Other than that minor detail, I love the shot. Beautifully composed.
Registered on September 1, 2009, 148 Posts, 749 Comments
Comment posted by R.Bill Moser on March 21, 2010 at 3:58 PM
This is a nice scene. The light was fantastic. The light on the distant mountain is gorgeous. Love the reflection as well though it is much lighter than the sky. I don't feel distracted by the foreground snow - I think it's nice compositional element to lead into this image. Good job.
Registered on January 29, 2010, 285 Posts, 4281 Comments
Comment posted by Mark Metternich on March 21, 2010 at 6:07 PM
Very peaceful!
Registered on June 19, 2009, 276 Posts, 6240 Comments
Comment posted by Stan Rose on March 21, 2010 at 6:53 PM
Gorgeous scene! Cold but inviting. I like the comp. Didnt notice the problem with the reflection that Bill mentions unti i saw his comment, but i do see a slight CW tilt to the horizon, and im pretty sure it aint a perspective issue! :wink: Correct those 2 things and this will be awesome. :wavey:
Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments
Comment posted by Dean Sauskojus on March 21, 2010 at 7:05 PM
Love the reflection. Great job.
Registered on September 29, 2009, 137 Posts, 2659 Comments
Comment posted by Justin Peterson on March 21, 2010 at 7:51 PM
This is beautiful...I love the subtle light.
Registered on January 20, 2008, 33 Posts, 298 Comments
Comment posted by Reed Bowman on March 21, 2010 at 8:41 PM
David. beautiful light here. I'm not bothered by the light reflection either, but the vast expanse of white in the fg does distract my eye. It is a strong compositional element but just a bit too strong however I could get a crop that I liked better
Registered on March 2, 2009, 166 Posts, 1058 Comments
Comment posted by Rick Lundh on March 21, 2010 at 8:55 PM
Gorgeous colors, I like how the diagonal fg leads the eye up the view. I kinda wish that there was some more detail in the fg to look at though.
Registered on April 28, 2004, 774 Posts, 4351 Comments
Comment posted by David Taylor on March 21, 2010 at 8:57 PM
I've toned down the foreground snow. I agree the original's foreground snow was too bright. I'm not sure about this second attempt - it looks "unclean". Your thoughts? Thanks for everyone's great insight and taking the time to share with me.
:toast:
Registered on March 3, 2008, 25 Posts, 64 Comments
Comment posted by Zack Schnepf on March 21, 2010 at 10:30 PM
I think this is a beautiful image, but I agree with Bill, the reflection being so much lighter than the sky is throwing me off. I hope you don't mind, I downloaded your image and did a super quick levels adjustment layer to even the exposure out. If it were mine this is the direction I would take.
Registered on November 1, 2003, 403 Posts, 2528 Comments
Comment posted by David Taylor on March 21, 2010 at 10:35 PM
Thanks Zack -
That was my next move, thanks for taking the time to show me it is definitely the right move. Much appreciated. :toast:
Registered on March 3, 2008, 25 Posts, 64 Comments
Comment posted by Chris Chamberlain on March 21, 2010 at 11:40 PM
That is just gorgeous! The adjstments Zack made are just right too.

Chris
Registered on March 13, 2007, 500 Posts, 8365 Comments
Comment posted by Vance Gese on March 21, 2010 at 11:48 PM
Superb Dave. The color of the wintery dusk with Pioneer Peak and that lovely reflection really make this gorgeous. The composition is really nice as well. Your second post and Zack's suggestion on the reflection are spot on in my opinion. Looks like the Matanuska River in the foreground I would imagine. Beautiful image.
Registered on November 13, 2008, 298 Posts, 6629 Comments
Comment posted by Abdullaziz Bin Ali on March 22, 2010 at 12:13 AM
This is really beautiful
the comp is simple but awesome

Love it
Registered on May 31, 2009, 112 Posts, 1590 Comments
Comment posted by Lon Overacker on March 22, 2010 at 6:34 PM
Dave,

A beautiful scene with great color and soft, delicate lighting. I don't want to repeat some of the suggestions, but just say that I think Zack's edit looks just about right. Personally, I don't think the snow bank at the bottom was too bright - and what hasn't been mentioned is that I can see a very, very slight hint of reflected pink in that snow which I think really adds to the overall scene.

Now I know you said you don't participate much in the forum... all I can say is I encourage you to do so! And welcome to NPN and the ES&S Gallery! I'm a little late in the welcome, but better late than never.. :-) We look forward to your participation and contributions.

Lon
Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments
Comment posted by Rick Goldwasser on March 24, 2010 at 12:39 PM
I really like you r comp and this is a beautiful scene. I like the consistency of the lighting in Zack's edit but I think with the fg snow and the reflection toned down the image could use a little more punch to bring some of that twilight glow back into the image.
Registered on May 10, 2009, 127 Posts, 970 Comments