Mather Sunrise

Gallery: LandscapePosted April 11, 2011409 views16 comments

As the April snowstorm was leaving northern Arizona Saturday afternoon, I headed to the Grand Canyon to catch the breaking storm. Construction at Mather point is complete and it has reopened, so I concentrated in this area.
I tried to capture the rays of morning sunlight streaming into the canyon and the lit icicles hanging from the snow-capped rock. Cloned out some flare.
Nikon D90, Nikon 16-35 @ 28mm, f/22(for potential sunstar), ISO 200, single exposure processed with ViewNX and PSE9.

Tips and critique welcome.

Comments

16 comments

Comment posted by Balakumar Kaushik on April 11, 2011 at 12:11 PM

Amazing light Doug. The back-lit icicles stand out prominent. Nice sun beams across the frame. You've also exposed the shadow part of the cliff (i.e. towards viewer) really well.

Registered on January 4, 2008, 98 Posts, 1403 Comments

Comment posted by Bob&Charly Nelson on April 11, 2011 at 1:36 PM

I like the PO and light that shows the subject well.
Bob

Registered on October 27, 2005, 289 Posts, 4202 Comments

Comment posted by Craig Myers on April 11, 2011 at 2:11 PM

Very nice comp. Really like how the warm light flattens out the background to give your foreground added dimension. Those backlit icicles are a neat bonus.

Registered on September 1, 2008, 85 Posts, 757 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on April 11, 2011 at 3:55 PM

the light, exposure control and perspective here is superb!
I would have preferred a slightly less "square" crop though

Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments

Comment posted by Joel Hazelton on April 11, 2011 at 5:22 PM

Great shot! Veruy majestic view.

Registered on August 6, 2008, 194 Posts, 1315 Comments

Comment posted by John Mumaw on April 11, 2011 at 7:17 PM

Majestic view indeed! Superb light, and the lit icicles really add something to the scene.
Wish there was a way to scrabble a bit more detail out of the canyon depths, but it's probably impossible to do.
Right place, right time...congratulations, Doug! This belongs on your wall.

Registered on September 9, 2005, 62 Posts, 2289 Comments

Comment posted by Jason Risinger on April 11, 2011 at 8:53 PM

Gorgeous work Doug, I love it.

Registered on July 13, 2010, 13 Posts, 91 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Schrayer on April 11, 2011 at 9:35 PM

Dramatic lighting and composition. The foreground detail brings me into the scene. I like the detail in the foreground snow visible in the larger photograph. The Icicles hanging from the foreground rock are also a strong element of the scene. You have done an excellent job with the bright sunlight. Although it is a dominant feature in the composition it is not overpowering. The low clouds hovering over the rim of the canyon are also a nice element.

Edit: I just saw the shots you posted over on RMNP. Looks like it was a very productive trip!!

Registered on May 28, 2004, 114 Posts, 2890 Comments

Comment posted by Erik Stensland on April 11, 2011 at 10:16 PM

The warm and cold contrasts here are great. The icicles send this over the top for me!

Registered on September 27, 2004, 121 Posts, 718 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on April 11, 2011 at 10:26 PM

This is really nice, Doug. Wonderful capture of the weather this weekend.

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

Comment posted by Gary Crabbe on April 11, 2011 at 10:29 PM

Wow, that's sweet, but I really want to know if you got any real good tele shots of just the icicles?

Registered on November 1, 2003, 182 Posts, 1840 Comments

Comment posted by Doug Koepsel on April 11, 2011 at 11:28 PM

Thank you for the kind comments.
Morkel, there is about an inch to add back on the left side, but I felt having more nothingland on the left made the image a little right-side heavy. I too generally like a longer frame.
John, i tried and retried to bring as much detail out of the background as I could.
Gary, unfortunately no tele shots were taken of the icicles.

Registered on April 1, 2010, 196 Posts, 1592 Comments

Comment posted by Daniel Ewert on April 12, 2011 at 8:59 PM

I love your perspective here. Really beautiful!

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

Comment posted by Anil Rao on April 15, 2011 at 11:07 AM

Very striking. I love how you have made the light an integral part of the picture.

Registered on November 15, 2003, 234 Posts, 4923 Comments

Comment posted by Ian Cameron on April 16, 2011 at 10:17 AM

Some how I missed this one it really is truly magnificent and looks incredibly natural. A really fantastic effort in difficult but stunning light. Superb effort.

Registered on August 6, 2004, 1125 Posts, 3318 Comments

Comment posted by Rick Goldwasser on April 17, 2011 at 12:57 AM

Those glowing icicles really do it for me - pretty cool stuff!

Registered on May 10, 2009, 127 Posts, 970 Comments