Wild Light on Mammoth

Here is a version where the shadows are brighter but I'm favoring the first version. Thanks for any feedback.

Steve, great shot from a great vantage point. I'm liking the brighter version more (could be my monitor) as it allows my eye to enjoy the whole scene more. In the darker version, my attention is held by the clouds and the lit up mountain top in the back. In either case, I love the position of the tree as it appears to be "propping" up that great sky. The clouds seem to have a weight to them, great volume and drama. Wonderfully complex comp, layered and excellent processing.

I'd go for the dark side myself, Steve. It's a dramatic shot either way but there's nothing much in the foreground that you'd want to highlight and the flatter tone curve takes away from that wild sky.

Jared, thanks your feedback it's appreciated. I agree with you on wanting to see all the details and the reason why I like the first version is part of what you said in your reply. You said you look at the main subjects. There are 3 of them in a simple triangle shape and I want the viewer focus more on these subjects rather then the scene as a whole with it's minor details. I'm no one to decide who likes what so it's nice to see how the group thinks here. Thanks again for the feedback Jared.

I was hoping to keep the colors more subtle as in the second version but with the curves adjustment they turned out a little stronger in the first version.

No worries Steve. I'm a "wonderer" when viewing photos. Both you and Robert have a great point about giving what's most important more attention. Cheers.

Wonderful shot with great colors and a magnificent sky. I also prefer the first version as it lets the trunks "shine" a bit better.

Steve, I love mammatus clouds

The sky and distinctive, withered tree really carry the image and all balance nicely with Mammoth. You did a good job unglobbing the trees and the foreground, but I do wish the foreground was a bit less busy. Not an easy task below the treeline of course. I prefer the darker version.

What amazing color in the clouds. I like the first version best. I don't mind "working" to see into the shadows and it emphasizes the snag.

I'm still a kid and everything is still "wow"!

Nice shot Steve.

I'm fascinated with your ability to always find such good comps with good light is happening, Steve. You make it look so easy. My preference is for the second version.

Mark, it's the only way to see!

Tony, it was a pain in the ass composition. Tree move left, mountain move right!

Steve,,,,at first glance its hard to get past the intense color but the more I look the better the comp gets. My vote is for the darker version.

I like the second version Steve. The first seems to have a touch too much of red/magenta. Spectacular scene,

Eva, I know how you feel, I don't like magenta casts that much if they aren't really there but Floris can vouch for this one.

Lovely powerful image Steve - I wonder if you could get the best of both worlds (ref colour/subject isolation) if you layered these two together and just brought out the elements that you like best from each?
We went skiing in Mammoth for a few days about 12 years ago - I can remember the most amazing views from the top - particularly for those of us used to skiing in Europe it was really strange being able to see desert down below!

I usually prefer dark, moody scenes as opposed to brighter ones but in this case I think I like the second version slightly more. In the 1st, the snow seems a litttle strong/distracting. A nice image though, love the gnarly tree.

Hey Steve,
I'm really liking the 2nd version. I'm actually finding the deep shadows a little distracting on the first one. Incredible sky and good comp. If you find a curves adjustment alters your color too much, you can change the blending mode of the layer to 'luminosity', and that will help alot.

very strange mood here Steve

i really like your vision in this

Hamed