Wind River Paradise

Gallery: LandscapePosted August 26, 2010440 views20 comments

Another shot from my recent backpacking trip in the Wind River Range of Wyoming. It's amazing how many beautiful scenes we passed by while hiking between camps. I would have loved to have been here for sunrise, but as other backpackers here know...you can't have it all. Here is my attempt at capturing the "paradise" feel of the Winds during the middle of the day. All C&C are appreciated.

Nikon D80, 12-24 Nikkor dx lens. Single exposure. 1/3 sec at f/16, ISO 100

I used a 3 filter stack here.
1. Polarizer - to control the glare on the wet rocks and enhance the sky.
2. 4 stop ND filter - to slow the shutter enough to blur the stream.
3. 3 stop soft GND - to keep the clouds from blowing out.

Comments

20 comments

Comment posted by John Williams on August 26, 2010 at 1:29 AM

Boy, that's a wonderful mid-day shot. I can here the water rushing underneath. What beautiful country; I'm jealous of your trip.

Registered on September 6, 2007, 221 Posts, 5985 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Hartmann on August 26, 2010 at 1:35 AM

Wow, I agree, this is a fantastic mid day shot. The sky is perfect and the bright light is uplifting. I also like the shutter speed, just the right amount of water movement! This is the kind of stuff I like on the wall.

Registered on January 15, 2009, 13 Posts, 772 Comments

Comment posted by Andrew Finlayson on August 26, 2010 at 4:36 AM

Nice work with the exposure, spot on and the water movement is just right also. Great shot.

Registered on July 29, 2010, 26 Posts, 404 Comments

Comment posted by Greg Maklae on August 26, 2010 at 5:31 AM

Great scene. Goes to show with a little work, it is possible to get good images and time of day, especially in the more northern regions.

Registered on November 18, 2008, 170 Posts, 759 Comments

Comment posted by Gary McGhee on August 26, 2010 at 6:12 AM

Beautifully composed and the scenery looks fantastic.

Gary.

Registered on April 15, 2010, 142 Posts, 2416 Comments

Comment posted by scott lanz on August 26, 2010 at 7:44 AM

Nice job given the difficult lighting. Great comp featuring the clouds.

Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments

Comment posted by Matt Anderson on August 26, 2010 at 8:39 AM

Nice work Scott.
I like the POV.

Registered on September 6, 2007, 346 Posts, 2696 Comments

Comment posted by Michael R Reynolds on August 26, 2010 at 10:10 AM

Scott,
You've done a masterful job of controlling exposure to create the image you wanted for this location. The composition works nicely and the colors are rich. Best Regards.

Registered on February 26, 2008, 54 Posts, 812 Comments

Comment posted by Lance Warley on August 26, 2010 at 10:36 AM

Good job with the filters to tame the mid-day light, Scott.

The vertical comp with the water coming right at us out of those rocks really works.

Registered on April 18, 2007, 52 Posts, 459 Comments

Comment posted by Phil Pogledich on August 26, 2010 at 10:38 AM

Very beautiful shot, and kudos to you for taking the time to capture this scene while hiking between camps. It's hard to force yourself to set down the pack, get out the tripod, etc., and capture a pretty scene in the middle of backpacking, but it was very worthwhile here.

Registered on August 24, 2009, 123 Posts, 3099 Comments

Comment posted by Michael J Greene, on August 26, 2010 at 12:03 PM

A very nice day time image Scott. Outstanding work here controlling the light and presenting well. Expertly balanced and composed. Congrats.

Michael

Registered on June 18, 2009, 86 Posts, 2317 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on August 26, 2010 at 12:36 PM

Very nice Scott. Nice use of your photography skills to capture this in mid-day light. A beautiful scene. The water and sky look very nice, and good work on the comp too. This has a very nice feel and I think it comes from the bright and airy light. Just what I picture in my head when I think about out west. Nice work!

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments

Comment posted by Mike Bohlander on August 26, 2010 at 1:10 PM

Really clean composition, Scott. Great flow in this image!

Registered on August 22, 2008, 14 Posts, 125 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on August 26, 2010 at 3:11 PM

Gorgeous place. Nicely composed and lit image. The "Paradise" feel come through.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments

Comment posted by Martin Bartsch on August 26, 2010 at 8:26 PM

Your use of filters is pretty inspiring sir, I love what you were able to create here considering the harsh light of mid day. Outstanding technicality, beautiful composition and the flow of water feels great. I look forward to more of your work Scott.

Registered on December 1, 2003, 80 Posts, 354 Comments

Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on August 26, 2010 at 9:03 PM

A beautiful blue sky image. You've nailed the exposure with the grads perfectly and the shutter speed makes the water flow look really cool.

Registered on September 27, 2006, 636 Posts, 10682 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Teller on August 26, 2010 at 9:48 PM

I think you did a very good job of capturing the scene under what is usually a very harsh light situation. I like the depth of the scene.

Registered on August 23, 2010, 1162 Posts, 6692 Comments

Comment posted by Jeremy Cram on August 27, 2010 at 12:35 PM

Pretty cool Scott. Great color and feeling to it.

Registered on June 4, 2006, 204 Posts, 818 Comments

Comment posted by Luis Argerich on August 27, 2010 at 3:34 PM

This is terrific Scott, I might want to keep this in my disk to show people that say "you can't take a good landscape at mid day"

Registered on December 22, 2009, 91 Posts, 1349 Comments

Comment posted by Scott Smorra on August 30, 2010 at 8:52 PM

Thanks to everyone for the comments. This was a challenging shot, but I'm really happy with how it turned out. In my eyes this one helps prove that there really is no "bad light".

Registered on November 2, 2009, 161 Posts, 2143 Comments