Simple Gifts [+edit]

For those who like more than somewhat inept philosophical wanderings, here is a bit more shooting info. I camped at Takhlakh Lake for two nights earlier this month, and photographed this composition four separate times, two at sunset and two at sunrise. This was the final image, sunrise the day I left. The image is a blend of four photos:

1. Most of the image is from early dawn, when the overall color was best.
2. The halo-like lenticular clouds that cap Mt. Adams formed and changed rapidly during the time I was photographing, and I used my favorite of them (which also happened to have the best color at that lower elevation) from a little later than the rest of the image.
3. In addition I used two (for depth of field) photographs taken even later, when the light was bright just before sunrise, to maximize detail and minimize noise in the foreground. The color was very different by that time, so I pulled a trick I’ve occasionally done in the past and blended this portion in using luminosity detail only (keeping the color from the above photographs).

[edit] Just to clarify, although I photographed this comp four separate times all the photos used in the blend were from the final morning, but spread in time by 20-30 minutes.

Beautiful shot....
Great capture(s) and processing...

Final result looks great. I really like it. And thanks for disclosing the processing.

Beautifully done, conception to finish. The dark foregound works well here.

Such wonderful words to go along with this beauty, John! We may never go some places indeed, but I'm pretty sure I may never reach your level of expertise when it comes to processing images.

The halo like cloud and reflection is heavenly John. The delicate light and colors are also delightful.

Absolutely beautiful John, the end result of your efforts was well worth it! Love that small lenticular.

And you should be grateful for the beauty close around us. Those "simple views that are easy to visit" here in the Pacific Northwest are among the best on this planet! We are very privileged to live here!

John, This is really beautiful. Comp, light and color are all fantastic. Wonderful work with your processing and presentation too. I also enjoyed your thoughts very much.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Fantastic image John but I especially like the composition. The mountain is beautifully framed and there's an interesting element every step of the way from front to back. I'm envious of your procesing skills too. Awesome.

Its a beautifully framed image indeed. Great foreground detail leading in into that wonderful background. Not that there is much you can do about it, but the trees seem to give the feeling that the shot in not level. Not sure if you could correct that at al. Lovely capture

I feel ya' Baby! A photographer has to do what a photographer has to do. Just keep makin' art like this close to home.

Beautiful image.

A wonderful scene John and processed to perfection as you usually do. I do feel like the trees are "leaning" a little in the URC. Based on the reflection I am guessing it's from the wide angle lens. And I know you can only do so much to correct that. It's a minor nit. I still very much like the image.

Thanks for the comments everyone!

Joe- Amen!

Tim and Adrian- I struggled with those trees. The effect is partly due to the lens, and partly due to the way the reflection point was at an angle (something I noted when taking the photo). I applied lens correction to partially correct the issue, but in the end decided it wasn't worth sacrificing other parts of the image to straighten the trees. (I think lens distortion irritates me less than some, so that is part of the decision.)

I know where you are coming from John on correcting distortion. It's not something that is always worth it in the end. Personally some images I have I am more okay with it than others. It's for sure a personal preference. One I struggle with myself from time to time on how much is too much or too little correction. Definitely not a deal breaker here. Your choice to not work them straight is probably the right one.

Very clever processing, John....you've preserved that f/g detail perfectly...and the color is coherent, and beautifully tinged with pink, throughout.....I really love the sense of still and quiet dawn beauty you have portrayed here.

Magnificent scene here John, your fore thought and processing skills are second to none and that shows in this wonderful shot. Flawless composition, it makes me imagine standing there looking at this. Beautiful colour and light.

Gary.

Beautiful John, with your typical attention to detail. No nits at all from me.

The final photograph looks fantastic. Thanks for sharing your processing infos with us.

Here's an attempt to further correct the leaning trees in the upper right. Although it is still not perfect, it is an improvement.

The problem I wrestled with was that when I would correct trees, using the vertical transform feature of either Adobe RAW or Photoshop's Lens Correction filter, the bottom of the image would expand to the point that I lost much of what made the composition so attractive to me.

This is probably something everyone else knows and is doing, but the way I compensated was to use Photoshop's Warp option in Photoshop's Transforms to inwardly warp the bottom prior to applying the Lens Correction Filter. In other words, I shrank the bottom inward and upward prior to having the lens correction expand it down and outward. That way, when I performed the lens correction it expanded the bottom back to near where it started from.

Interestingly, this also shortens Mt. Adams some, which I think is more correct.

Great shot/processing. Framing looks great!

aF

The lighting and comp are spectacular. The lenticular clouds are a great addition. Maybe someday I'll be capable of half of your processing effort.

Wonderful work

The repost looks excellent, John. That cloud adds a lot to the scene. I enjoyed reading your tech specs behind the making of this image, very creative..

Beautiful work, John. Love the magenta sky and the warmth and darkness of the surrounding vegetation. I prefer the original as the repost seems a little squashed with less room on the left, plus I quite the like the lean of the trees... it adds interest for me.

Awesome--great fg/bg combo, love the lenticular, the dark feel--just sweet! Clone out the one branch in extreme ulhc, and call it perfect.
Oh, and after reading the comments, get a tilt-shift, man--best investment youll ever make

Gorgeous, John! The mood is one of serenity and tranquility for me.
Lovely soft colors. The reflection is impressive, and the lenticular
cloud on the mountain top is a real plus.

Absolutely magical! I love it! The light, the colors, the compositions all perfect!

About a perfect scene here John!

This is a beautiful image John. The glowing lenticular above Adams is stunning. Great job with the blend and processing.

Very nice John! You always come up with some nice locations...

Beautiful delicate light. I like this delicate cloud in delicate light just above the peak of the mountain. The opening grasses in the foreground invite you deeper into the image. Very well found in my opinion.

Beautiful and nice composed image !