Ampersand Mountain

Gallery: LandscapePosted February 23, 2011204 views9 comments

Not a very original title I know, I'll probably come up with something different before it goes to print. This is a sunset from Ampersand Mountain in the High Peaks Wilderness of the Adirondacks. It was so cold I went through 3 batteries in my camera while on the summit and by the time I was done shooting the whole back of my camera was frozen from my breath. I left the flare around the sun, does it bother anyone?

Nikon D300s
2 exposures blended, with one more exposure used to remove lens flare in the FG

Comments

9 comments

Comment posted by Andreas Resch on February 23, 2011 at 12:01 PM

That's a great view and I like the pattern formed by snow and rocks in the foreground. The colors could maybe use a little more power and I might crop that little snow corner in the lower left away to simplify. Other that that - very nice shot, Zack.

Registered on November 14, 2007, 322 Posts, 6101 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Jones on February 23, 2011 at 12:25 PM

Wow Zack, the Sun looks great -- I think the flare adds to the drama of this image. That view to the west is a little unusual, probably because most people are not up on Ampersand at sunset. But winter is a great time for hiking down in the dark. You caugth a nice sky for sunset, too. That swirl of snow on the right really makes this a special view.

Nice processing! If you decide to boost the sky saturation, I think you need to guard against oversaturating the warm colors on the snow.

Registered on April 18, 2007, 953 Posts, 6435 Comments

Comment posted by Scott Smorra on February 23, 2011 at 2:22 PM

You did a good job with the blending Zack. I really like the patterns in the foreground snow. I'm not sure about including the sun in the frame here. I would prefer to see more of a "sunstar" effect. This is one I might consider cropping just below the brightest part of the sun. Cropping here would include those nice sun rays shining down and would strengthen the composition IMO.

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

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on February 23, 2011 at 9:06 PM

While I like having the sun in the picture, if I take Scott's suggestion and scroll the image up to hide the sun it adds more drama to an already great image.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on February 23, 2011 at 10:04 PM

Nicely handled light and wonderful foreground textures. The Adirondacks just have an ancient beauty that never fails to impress me.

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

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on February 23, 2011 at 10:18 PM

Brilliant light Zack. The foreground is fantastic.

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

Comment posted by Michael J Greene, on February 24, 2011 at 1:03 AM

Great work Zack. I agree with the crop suggestion. It adds to the intensity.

Michael

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

Comment posted by Stan Rose on February 24, 2011 at 4:46 AM

Sweet! I did a few of the 4K fters in Winter (its required!) when i was attempting to do the whole bunch in my 2 year stint at Albany (only made it to #28...) but unfortunately i wasnt much of a photog back then--this really makes me want to make a return trip! I think id keep the sun here--flare doesnt bother me at least at this size. Theres so much DR here that i think it could handle just a bit more contrast. Very nice!

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

Comment posted by Chris Chamberlain on February 24, 2011 at 7:29 PM

This is working very nicely for me, Zack, everything, flare and all.

Chris

Registered on March 13, 2007, 500 Posts, 8365 Comments