Arise - Part 2

I like the light in this one, but prefer the clarity of the reflection in the first one. I also think that there could be even more movement to the clouds, maybe even a 20 sec exposure.Both are great photos.

I prefer everything about the first one, except the cloud movement. I think if you're going to stretch clouds with a long exposure, it needs to be loooonger! Really stretch them out. Format and everything else is very strong. But because of the clouds, I would prefer the second version. Absolutely beautiful light in both versions!

Chris

Ilike the first one for the light and the reflection, but to me the cloud movement is distracting, I like the clouds in the second one better.

Very enjoyable image to look at Scott. I don't know which image I prefer but I do like the smoothness of the water in the first. Nice work.

Both are very nice, but I prefer the smoother water in #1, along with the slightly reduced saturation.

How about a compromise? Blend the sky from #2 with the water from #1?

Beautiful scene Scott, looks like some killer light and great comp. The clouds look a little hot, but that could be this monitor. Nice capture.

Both very enjoyable Scott! I prefer the first for the water and the second for the sky, not very helpfull I know Both are great images!

Hey Scott- I prefer Arise overall to this post. The reflection is a bit more colorful and a bigger draw for me. The cloud movement was a bit distracting, as it seemed to make me look at the sky more than the rock or reflection. But as the reflection is better, I think the image on the whole works better. You handled the lighting well, and the rock glow is just a knock out. Photographers live for that kind of glow.

Harry

Killer light and I love the contrasting blue sky with the puffy clouds.

Both are great Scott, but I prefer this version, I think the clouds wre a bit too small to create an attractive blur.
Wonderful shot.

I prefer the water in the ND version, but I prefer the sky in this one. Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of the streaky cloud look that seems to be in vogue right now. I would much rather view a photo that shows how the scene actually looks to the eye. To me, the streaking cloud effect seems like something photographers do because they feel the scene isn't interesting enough.

I think i like this one slightly more, im a sucker for clarity, but theyre both nice!

First ... HOLY COW, this is SPECTACULAR!
(Just had to get that out before answering the question.)

I like the second one (shorter exposure). The reflection here is great without muddying it up. In a way, the reflection here shows the movement of the water combinded with the light from the rocks better than the articially fuzzy long exposure. And the clouds just didn't seem to work out that well in the long exposure, anyway. Hey, when you have a scene and light as great as this, my thought is to capture the scene so viewers can enjoy it as you did, rather than distracting them with "camera tricks."

I love how the mountain/rock is illuminated, it stands out so beautifully. I much prefer the clouds in this one, but the bluer cast and clearer reflection in the first one. If you used a tripod and the same camera position, focal length, aperture, and focus for the two, I would do a simple blend to get the best of both (and a little tweaking of color balances to fix the difference in quality of light).

I like this one more Scott just because I find the clouds distracting in the first one. Great color and nice job trying different approaches!

Very nice, and better than the long exposure I think...

Great light and perfect composition.

Congrats

D&L

Both stunning shots but give me that water clarity in the first one every time.

Definitely agree about the clouds though, its either a lot or not at all IMO.

Nice work on both shots and the foreground composition is wonderful also.

I'm on the side of those that like the 1st version except the clouds. I like everything about the 1st version but the blurring clouds are kind of annoying. Blend in the sky from the 2nd version and you've got a winner.

Spectacular lighting on this fine composition.

Thanks to everyone for the comments. As suggested by Floris and Barry, I'm going to work on a blended version with the sky from the photo above and the water/rock from the original. I'll post it here in the next few days and we can decide again which version is the best. Thanks again for everyone taking the time to comment. Getting feedback like this is why NPN rocks!

I like this one best. What an incredible light display. Is this seasonal where the glow is just isolated to one face and nothing else?

Yes Tony its definitely seasonal since this face points to the north east. Only during the middle of summer does the face receive the direct lighting. I was actually amazed at how well this turned out with the sun only hitting the large rock face. There is a gap valley to the east of the face and luckily the sun rose right in the middle of the gap, allowing the face to be the only part of the landscape illuminated just after sunrise.

Wow...I like how the clouds fit well around the mountain. That's some intense color. Looks like there may be some haloing around the mountain(??). Also, maybe cropping a little bit in from the lower left corner to get rid of the rocks but I don't think that's a really big deal.

killer light. I like the longer exposure on the water, but am not a fan of blurred clouds, unless it's really extreme and they are going in the right direction - so, I pick the sky of this one and the water of the other!

Hmm. I like the sky best in the one without ND, but the reflection and water is best in the first one. :-) Both are excellent pictures though.

Love the way that last light is isolated on that bg rock. Beautiful image top to bottom.