Photo of the Month 8/11

18 views and no comments? I love the dark and mysterious mood here, Kent. The lighting is incredible!

Ed

Dark and spooky...but awesome! Seriously...the best type of this shot I have seen. I don't care if there is some detail lost in the shadows, it fits this perfectly. Way to go Kent...beautifully moody. The illumination from the ice on the rocks below is great!

Fantastic mix of elements and emotion for me here Kent. The red lines in the middle rock give this a sinister feel. Almost like a view of hell (and I do not mean that in a negative sense). A very evocative scene to ponder and extremely artistic.

Just wonderful, Kent The curve of the ice form and water works very well for me, and the touch of warmth provides a most welcome contrast to the blues. Splendid as usual.

Man, this one is really awesome. None of your others from here are this perfect compositionally IMO. This is spectacular!

So freakin cool. Great job w/ the processing. Cant wait to see this one day

aF

Fantastic..your processing is excellent here Kent.

This is stunning. A light at the end of the tunnel, there is hope....

Thanks, everyone, for your feedback.

Eva - I guess this is what I get for leaving a "sinister" comment on Mark M's recent post. Since it's not really the message I was going for, I'll have to give some thought to neutralizing the reds to some degree.

Simply gorgeous light and color, Kent. Definately has your style. Love it!

This is awesome...and beautiful! I really enjoy looking at this Kent. The light and colors are fantastic.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

The repeating blues in the ice and water unify this and make a great progression back and forth for the eye. Just a little bit of magic.

Gorgeous, Kent. A real work of art IMO.

Fantastic Kent.

Beautiful shot Kent, love the cool tones and the hint of light coming through the tunnel of ice.

Truly incredible image Kent. The upper ice really plays with my sense of depth here, and the balance is just superb. Processing is spot on as well, wow...

OK, I have been a little "oh another glacier shot" with these similar shots popping up, but this one simply kicks ASS! All I can say is that this image makes me want to sit here (wherever this is) in awe! The shot is slightly subtle but award winning and one of the best landscapes I have seen! Mind numbing!

brilliantly composed. one of my favorites of yours from these locations.

Beautiful light. Perfectly captured and processed.

Wicked, Kent--outstanding!

Wow, everyone, I was not anticipating this response. The crazy thing is that this was a parting photo after spending almost an hour and many exposures working two entirely different compositions. I didn't really even see the symmetry until I worked to the square format early in the editing process.

I would love to be able to say I did what was necessary to make this technically perfect, but there are both noise and [background/corner] softness issues despite using the 5DII's base ISO and a focus distance relatively deep into the scene. Now I wish there were going to be an opportunity to solve those flaws, even though I believe the current file will stand up well in a moderately sized print.

Thanks again for your thoughts and kind words.

Excuse me please, for commenting so much on my own post, but here is an alternate version with some minor tweaks to the color in the reflected background light and the brightness of highlights in the stream. If anyone has the desire to state their preference, thank you.

Simply outstanding

Love the red glow. Reallyt adds to the mystery of the image. I also like the play of the rocks and ice - similar in form and shape but so different in every other way. The blue reflected light off the rocks is also just perfect!

Your image speaks of something deeper, tells a great story on how the landscapes were created. The way you managed to make all the elements compliment each other is superb and the dark mood works great. The red light doesn't take away anything, it just adds a plus of mystery. Simply amazing!

Beautifully captured. All elements united nicely. The red light added some sense of mystery.

The ying yang composition works very well. The vivid blues are just outstanding.

Kent,

Personally, this is one of the best images I've seen from you. I love the luminosity and radiant glow. Your composition and processing are both outstanding. I prefer your original post and I wouldn't change a thing until I reviewed the image via a test print. Otherwise, I think you are splitting hairs. This image is the bomb. Congratulations, Michael

Definitely the original! It's the red contrast that elevates the shot to another level. Im surprised you mention noise--is that due to too short an exposure or too long an exposure here?

Stan - The exposure was only fifteen seconds in this case. I don't know whether it's just my camera, or the 5DII in general, but I've always had trouble with noise in these cave conditions. I did not "expose to the right" because I wanted to avoid any clipping in the blue channel (the histogram doesn't always give an accurate read), but even in the unadjusted RAW file, the noise is already quite evident when viewed at 100%.

Anyone else ever noticed this problem with their 5DII?

Kent - regarding the noise - did you use live view to compose? For longer (eg. 15 sec) exposures, I have noticed that using live view for a while prior to actually shooting can lead to some unexpected noise. If you think that might be the problem, next time just leave the camera out of live view for a minute or two before actually taking your shot. An alternative is to take multiple exposures and average them in PS, that kills any and all noise (but obviously only works on static subjects.. where blurred water counts as 'static'). I have a tendency also to not shoot as far to the right as I should in darker conditions, because in live view / image review the exposure looks better when under exposed if you're in the dark So.. I try to remember to take an 'over exposed' exposure too, just in case I need it in processing the darker parts of the image.

I don't see enough of a difference in the reds of the repost vs original to comment on that (perhaps the repost is more orange than red?). Either way, I think that warmth is key. I do like the enhanced luminance of the water in the repost.

Kent - there's really not much to add so I'll simply join the many other voices in saying WOW and sharing my appreciation for a truly outstanding image. I love the way the curved, inverted triangle of blue ice is mirrored in an opposite curved triangle of flowing water, and the darkness that surrounds creates incredible balance and mood. Exquisite.

This is a STUNNER

The atmosphere of this shot is just amazing

I've never seen anything like this! The red light doesn't bother me.
It's the antithesis of the coolness in the blue. Wondeful shapes
and formations and implied movement in the stream. To say that
the colors are great is an understatement. Superb, Kent!

Hi Kent - the mystery here is incredible. The blue tones and the interesting lighting make this seem like a completely different world. This is really beautiful and quite interesting. I do not have a preference in terms of the posts - both are excellent.

Yeah, pretty impressive stuff! I think this is probably your best of the ice cave type shots so far. The comp is great, with a lot of mysterious quality to it. The light coming through the ice is awesome. This is excellent!!!

Chris

I prefer the original post. An incredible image and your best from this location.

Stunning image! The curving ice forms and the flowing river makes the comp perfect. I prefer the luminance of the foreground in the repost and the red light from the original.

On one hand, I love the darkness here...and the other, I want to see more. Great image overall...no nits about the red areas.

This is a STUNNER

The atmosphere of this shot is just amazing

I love everything about it Kent, including your write-up and the processing. Nice!

What an incredible image. I like the red light. It's a natural complementary color and provides just the right amount of relief, if you will, from the blue. It helps the "balance" in that way. Hang this with the right lighting on it, and ooooo-laa-laaaah! Wonderful mood. Beautiful comp and surreal scene. That it is real in Nature makes it that much more awesome as an image. Kudos Kent.

Love the light and dark elements, the graceful curves, and the exquisite colour.
Congrats on the WP!
Sandy

truly exquisite composition, mysterious mood and unique light.

Fantastic image Kent. I cannot see the differences between two images much, maybe it is my monitor only. It is a unique image.

This is truly stunning! The lighting on the ceiling was great.

Kent - this is a mouth open shot! Congrats on that! One of the best shots I have ever seen! Perfect in any respect!
All the best,
Christian.