Abraham Lake w/repost

Gallery: LandscapePosted January 9, 2011347 views29 comments

Here is a shot from Saturday at Abraham Lake, Alberta. I've seen many shots from here since Darwin brought this place to peoples attention. The most amazing thing about this location is the amazing cracks and colour of the ice, however I don't think I have seen any shots which focus on the fact that it gets crazy windy here (come to think of it, I think Darwin has a couple)! I deliberately looked for a nice dark area of ice to compose a shot with the snow blowing across the ice. I blended two shots together to get just the right amount of streaking snow to balance the composition. Thanks for any comments.

By the way, I should give credit to both Darwin and Marc A for the inspiration for this one. Thanks for looking

5d II
17-40
0.3 sec
f/16
iso 250
polarizer, 3 stop nd, 2 stop hard grad

Comments

29 comments

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on January 9, 2011 at 9:51 PM

Magnificent B&W image Wayne. The sky is epic, and mid ground wonderful. The streaks of blowing snow work well. Only minor nit is my want for more detail in the white foreground areas. but overall a fantastic image.

Registered on January 4, 2009, 1015 Posts, 13229 Comments

Comment posted by Daniel Ewert on January 9, 2011 at 10:10 PM

I love how you were able to catch that blowing snow streaking across the foreground. Really nice mountain landscape image.

Registered on June 2, 2009, 103 Posts, 1500 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Simpson on January 9, 2011 at 10:22 PM

Thanks Eva. I have blended a little more detail into the fg snow. Very subtle, but shows a tiny bit more detail.

Registered on December 11, 2006, 303 Posts, 924 Comments

Comment posted by Zack Clothier on January 9, 2011 at 11:27 PM

Fantastic image Wayne, love the blowing snow you captured. This works very well in black and white. Prefer the second post with more detail in the snow.

Registered on January 28, 2010, 343 Posts, 2257 Comments

Comment posted by Kyle L. Krause on January 9, 2011 at 11:34 PM

Fantastic scene Wayne, The clouds,patterns and b&w are amazing. I'm glad you mention the wind, I was there with Darwin a few years ago and they were blowing about 50 mph. If you had any loose grear or with out crampons you would fly across the lake.One of the best I've seen from Abraham Lake. Nice work!

Registered on June 15, 2010, 29 Posts, 605 Comments

Comment posted by James Fougère on January 10, 2011 at 12:17 AM

Very Cool Wayne! Great B&W

You mentioned the wind was blistering! I see you only had a 0.3 sec exposure. It looks like you got a bit of cloud and snow streaks. With everything you were using, could you have gotten a longer exposure for more cloud streaks and snow streaks? I guess you could have used ISO100. Either way, the effect you got is very good!!

Registered on October 25, 2010, 41 Posts, 831 Comments

Comment posted by Jason Kim on January 10, 2011 at 12:25 AM

Love the composition and the subtle detail in the ice!

Registered on July 1, 2006, 60 Posts, 1233 Comments

Comment posted by Jeremy Kessler on January 10, 2011 at 12:45 AM

Beautiful image Wayne!

Registered on September 13, 2007, 36 Posts, 1283 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Simpson on January 10, 2011 at 1:48 AM

James,
I actually messed around for a while to get just the right shutter speed to show the movement in the snow. Any longer than about 0.5 sec and the snow seemed to blur too much and start to get lost. The combination of nd, iso and shutter speed are a little out of whack because the sun kept poking in and out and and messing with me. There really is little or no movement in the clouds, just very soft looking due to blowing snow and atmosphere I guess.

Registered on December 11, 2006, 303 Posts, 924 Comments

Comment posted by Kent Mearig on January 10, 2011 at 1:59 AM

So stark, desolate, and almost threatening; yet it's alluring. I love this, and I prefer the brighter white snow by just a little.

Registered on September 4, 2006, 237 Posts, 4748 Comments

Comment posted by Abdullaziz Bin Ali on January 10, 2011 at 3:11 AM

Wow
this is amazing
the B&W works excellent with this subject

Registered on May 31, 2009, 112 Posts, 1590 Comments

Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on January 10, 2011 at 4:04 AM

Funny how this location was almost unknown before Darwin's shots. Now I can immediately recognize the place from the thumbnails. That said I think this is one of the most dramatic interpretations of Lake Abraham I've seen. Awesome work!

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

Comment posted by David Edwards on January 10, 2011 at 4:59 AM

An excellent b/w, Wayne. Beautiful tones throughout, and a stunning sky. What came to mind immediately on viewing the image was how the fg snow shapes look like the continents of Africa and Europe! Just an observation. A brilliant shot and beautifully processed.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 142 Posts, 2623 Comments

Comment posted by Jorne de Bruin on January 10, 2011 at 6:00 AM

A very dramatic image, love the b&w conversion here and the sky is amazing as well. Really gives a sense of foreboding.

Registered on June 26, 2008, 178 Posts, 2136 Comments

Comment posted by Anthony Vincent on January 10, 2011 at 8:17 AM

Spectacular Wayne. My favorite of your recently. What I think is cool here is the continent shaped snow drift in the fg, particularly africa and such.

Great drama

Registered on February 5, 2009, 199 Posts, 2775 Comments

Comment posted by Luis Argerich on January 10, 2011 at 10:24 AM

Hi Wayne,
Inmense view and very nice foreground, I really like it.

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

Comment posted by Edward Nunez on January 10, 2011 at 11:59 AM

Really interesting, and your black and white processing is spot on, Love the sky, and the shape of the snow in the foreground. Great Job!!!

Registered on April 19, 2007, 65 Posts, 711 Comments

Comment posted by Justin Reznick on January 10, 2011 at 12:57 PM

I love the drama Wayne, especially the peaks & clouds. I'm not totally sold on the snow in the foreground, it feels a little disjointed. Maybe just ice streaks would have resonated more.

Registered on November 24, 2009, 79 Posts, 515 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Simpson on January 10, 2011 at 1:13 PM

Justin,
Thanks for your comment. I guess the fg may be subject to personal taste... I totally understand that it might not work for some. My thought process was that the snow was coming from the side and led the eye out of frame, so I went looking for snow formations I liked to try and compose something a little more dynamic. I liked the way this particular bunch of snow formed a meandering line which leads the eye directly to the mountain.

Registered on December 11, 2006, 303 Posts, 924 Comments

Comment posted by Raymond D Smith on January 10, 2011 at 2:29 PM

This is off the hook amazing Wayne. Love everything about this photo. I know in a large print you would be able to see all the details in that foreground snow. The snow coming off the peak is just the icing on the cake for me. One day I will get out there to get some photo's my brother lives in Calgary so no problem with a place to stay just got to get away from the family, not so easy. Cheers

Registered on January 22, 2009, 12 Posts, 479 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Metternich on January 10, 2011 at 2:49 PM

A W E S O M E!!!!

This definitely looks like a Darwin/Marc shot. If it had been posted by Marc I would have certainly believed it from him.

No nits at all!

Sweet totally epic shot! The snow in the foreground look like the continent of Africa.

Registered on June 19, 2009, 276 Posts, 6240 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on January 10, 2011 at 4:45 PM

Awesome! I definitely see the influence, but you made this shot all your own.

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments

Comment posted by Eric Good on January 10, 2011 at 7:39 PM

Striking image! That fg snow looks like one of the global maps where a three dimensional representation of the earth has been separated and peeled back into a two dimensional print.

Nice work, start to finish!

Registered on March 17, 2007, 116 Posts, 4764 Comments

Comment posted by James Fougère on January 10, 2011 at 7:45 PM

I get it it!! I really like this image! I have been on several of Marc's tours, and his work is awesome! I agree with Mark M, I would have thought this image was one of Marc A's.. It is a MAJOR KEEPER . I need to get on some of these lakes, in high wind areas !!

Registered on October 25, 2010, 41 Posts, 831 Comments

Comment posted by Jared Atencio on January 10, 2011 at 9:46 PM

Awesome shot Wayne! Definitely see the influence, but not to the point where you've lost control of the image, which is a good thing. I'm curious what the color version of this looks like, I've always loved that bright blue ice from this lake. Either way, great conditions and a fantastic shot from here.

Registered on June 23, 2009, 21 Posts, 422 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on January 10, 2011 at 10:31 PM

Excellent! Reminds of an Adamus-quality image. You really nailed this.

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

Comment posted by Lorna Taylor on January 10, 2011 at 10:41 PM

Absolutely stunning image, love #2 that little extra detail adds so much! Beautiful work!

Registered on November 12, 2010, 254 Posts, 3083 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on January 11, 2011 at 2:21 PM

Wonderfuf B&W composition, I like how the foreground snow leads you into the image and the clouds above the mts really add to the image, well done.

Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments

Comment posted by dean hebert on January 11, 2011 at 2:40 PM

Wow! I love the moodyness to the sky and the comp.

Registered on August 4, 2010, 70 Posts, 1132 Comments