Lake Abert Sunset

Gallery: LandscapePosted July 28, 2011277 views6 comments

Here's another shot from my recent three week Western US photo tour. This was pure serendipity that I found this location in this light. If my car hadn't been breaking down, I would not have diverted my route from Crater Lake to head to Southern Oregon via US-395, passing this incredible landscape. Of course, it was all dependent origination, for which I am very grateful.

Lake Abert is a large lake in the middle of nowhere at the edges of the Eastern Oregon high desert. It's solitude and the unique characteristics of it's shoreline made it one of my favorite spots on my whole 9 state tour. There are black sand beaches and amazing orange lichens on the rocks. I took many compositions as the light changed from great to amazing to "holy $&#@".

Seriously, it was one of the most peaceful and beautiful sunsets I've ever seen, despite the 20-30mph gusts.

Nikon D700
Nikon 16-35mm
3 stop hard step grad ND filter
2 image blend for dynamic range
Tony Kuyper luminosity masks applied for contrast and tonal control

Comments

6 comments

Comment posted by Phil Pogledich on July 28, 2011 at 2:49 PM

A great "middle of nowhere" find! The foreground rocks are wonderful . . . I really like the way you used them in the scene. Very nice overall.

Registered on August 24, 2009, 123 Posts, 3099 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on July 28, 2011 at 5:58 PM

Nice scene and light here Aaron, I especially like how the FG rock colours and patterns complement those in the sky!

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

Comment posted by Brian Schrayer on July 28, 2011 at 8:38 PM

I like the foreground here with the lichen (?) colored rock. The color in the foreground compliments that in the sky very nicely. Nice work!!

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

Comment posted by Jorne de Bruin on July 29, 2011 at 10:15 AM

Lovely sunset colours in the sky and the lich covered rocks make for a great foreground!

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

Comment posted by Aaron Burdick on July 29, 2011 at 11:45 AM

Thanks for the comments!

FYI Brian - Lichens are a symbiotic relationship between fungi and photosynthetic bacteria that grow together on many surfaces, including rocks such as these. The contrast between the black sand and the dark rocks and the orange lichens provided a great point of color contrast.

Registered on May 1, 2009, 31 Posts, 197 Comments

Comment posted by Tyson Fisher on July 29, 2011 at 1:15 PM

I thought I recognized this scene. Abert Lake is a very special place. You did an excellent job capturing it's beauty. This image has a lot of depth to it. Great job!

Registered on September 17, 2008, 44 Posts, 623 Comments