Windy Dream

Gallery: LandscapePosted January 30, 2012521 views28 comments

Snowshoed up to Dream Lake in Rocky Mt Nat Park the other day. I figured the strong winds would bring some interesting squalls to the peaks at sunrise, and this time i got it right (ive had a string of blue sky failures at Dream). The lake is always windy, but this time it was howling, probably gusting in the 60-70 mph range, almost knocked me over. The snow was blowing horizontally down across the lake. I had to stay close to the trees on the side so that i could take extended breaks from the wind and occasionally dash out with my tripod for a flurry of photos whenever the light changed. I didn't have any ice screws handy, so i had to just hold down my tripod and use the remote for the shutter. The clouds went from pink to yellow and it was quite a show, albeit a bitter cold one. Trees were moving so fast i couldn't use multiple exposures here--just got the exposure centered and did some multiple RAW processing for this 2 exposure shift stitch.
5Dmkii; 24mm TS-E; 1/4s at f/11 ISO 200
Thanks to the RMNP gang for some helpful suggestions.

Comments

28 comments

Comment posted by Dean Sauskojus on January 30, 2012 at 2:37 AM

Beautiful mountain image Stan. The blues with the yellows of the swirling clouds are very complimentary. I also like the patterns in the ice. From your description and the image itself, this is a very cold place but with a warm pallet. Nice work.

Registered on September 29, 2009, 137 Posts, 2659 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on January 30, 2012 at 10:14 AM

Pictures of wind, not an easy feat to capture the invisible but you seem to have done just that. I can almost hear it screaming through the trees. I would like to see the emphasis on the cloud of wind-whipped snow so there's a little too much fg for me but it's not a real issue. I would also like to see a shot featuring just the fg ice, there's some incredible texture and patterns there. All in all, there's a lot to enjoy here, (did I mention the glow on the ice is pretty sweet?) Presented as it is with your signature clarity, this is a captivating image.

Registered on January 24, 2011, 576 Posts, 6942 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on January 30, 2012 at 11:24 AM

This is fantastic, Stan. I love how you captured the conditions here. The colors are beautiful and a perfect comp to my eye. Great light and I love the texture and glow of the foreground ice. Beautiful work under hard conditions!

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Simpson on January 30, 2012 at 11:45 AM

Very nice Stan! I love the texture of the ice... and the glow around the mountains is great!

Registered on December 11, 2006, 303 Posts, 924 Comments

Comment posted by Michael J Greene, on January 30, 2012 at 12:34 PM

Feels a little over processed with an HDR type look to the foreground as the rocks and snow divots have very little contrast. I am not sure what to suggest though...you did a great job on the sky and background.

Registered on June 18, 2009, 86 Posts, 2317 Comments

Comment posted by R.Bill Moser on January 30, 2012 at 12:36 PM

Stan, you did a good job with this one. Love the colors, mood and the shapes in the foreground. Processing looks spot on.

Registered on January 29, 2010, 285 Posts, 4281 Comments

Comment posted by Hamed Musharbak on January 30, 2012 at 12:46 PM

Very nice Stan

i like the colors & the reflected light

Hamed

Registered on June 1, 2009, 372 Posts, 2282 Comments

Comment posted by Anil Rao on January 30, 2012 at 1:17 PM

What an amazing scene. I love the drama in the sky as well as the striking patterns on the ground. Your composition is unforced and really allows me to take in this scene in a natural way, which is something that I really enjoy.

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

Comment posted by Gary McGhee on January 30, 2012 at 3:10 PM

Really nice view down this valley Stan. I like the shapes and colour in the foreground ice.

Gary.

Registered on April 15, 2010, 142 Posts, 2416 Comments

Comment posted by Doug Koepsel on January 30, 2012 at 3:45 PM

I like the changes you have made with a left side crop and mountain details in the clouds. The ice looks much wetter/bluer now and makes a nice color contrast to the clouds.. One wish may be to make the rocks in the ice lighter to show some detail in them.
60-70mph = nasty!

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

Comment posted by Mark Metternich on January 30, 2012 at 4:42 PM

Especially like the blue on red color balance here!

Registered on June 19, 2009, 276 Posts, 6240 Comments

Comment posted by Harley Goldman on January 30, 2012 at 6:28 PM

I really like the scene, but my first reaction to it was "HDR". I would have to agree with Michael's comment that it looks to me to be a little over-processed.

Registered on November 19, 2003, 586 Posts, 11271 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on January 30, 2012 at 7:23 PM

Thanks guys!
Harley, that's an interesting comment to me, since there wasnt much range here so the only blending was done to bring out the shadow detail in the trees--the ice is virtually untouched, it looks pretty much like the default RAW (except a bit more contrast and saturation!) When i played with the rocks to see if making them lighter as Doug suggested, it did look too HDR to me, which is why i backed off that idea. Can you be more specific on what looks 'over-processed'?

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on January 30, 2012 at 8:28 PM

Nice mix of cool and warm colors Stan. Like how the diagonal crack is a great lead in.

Registered on January 4, 2009, 1015 Posts, 13229 Comments

Comment posted by Yiming Hu on January 30, 2012 at 8:49 PM

Beautiful contrast between warm and cold colors, Stan.

It does look a little bit "flat". However I don't feel it is over processed. It seems that the sunlight was filtered by clouds so I expect the contrast to be soft.

Registered on April 28, 2011, 38 Posts, 733 Comments

Comment posted by John Fan on January 30, 2012 at 10:56 PM

Hard work paid off. No wonder you need an AED in the camera bag :))

Registered on August 24, 2010, 135 Posts, 489 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on January 30, 2012 at 11:31 PM

Lol, it's a small AED, John!

Yiming--good catch, it's not just clouds though; it's hard to tell in the photo cause it looks clear across the lake, but there's actually a lot of snowflakes flying (horizontally) through the air here.

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments

Comment posted by Stuart Williams on January 31, 2012 at 12:12 AM

exquisite stan - nicely done. the web version seems a touch oversharp to me but trust that any print or other such production would be perfect

Registered on December 7, 2007, 247 Posts, 4792 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on January 31, 2012 at 9:11 AM

That's some really neat light, Stan. I like the way the snow ripple pick up the reflected glow from the clouds.

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

Comment posted by Joseph Campisi on January 31, 2012 at 3:29 PM

Beautiful capture of some dynamic conditions Stan. I can almost feel the wind! Maybe you can ask Marc to lend you some ice screws for your next trip...

Registered on November 24, 2008, 304 Posts, 3211 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on January 31, 2012 at 10:09 PM

Awesome Stan! I don't get the impression of biting fierce winds, but that really doesn't matter to me as the viewer. This is a beautiful winter landscape. The blues and pinks on the lake are wonderful.

Lon

Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments

Comment posted by David Edwards on February 1, 2012 at 4:23 AM

Wonderful light here Stan. The image doesn't give the impression of howling winds, but it sure does look pretty cold! The warm light on the cloud complements the blue snow very well. Love the fg textures like paint that's bubbled. Nice job with the processing and blend.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 142 Posts, 2623 Comments

Comment posted by Zack Clothier on February 1, 2012 at 10:51 AM

This is incredible Stan, love that FG! I don't feel that this is over-processed at all, looks very natural and it's what I would expect to see if I was there. I did notice one tiny dust speck above Hallett Peak, just in case you ever decide to print this

Did you happen to shoot any ice abstracts while you were there? Again, superb work!

Registered on January 28, 2010, 343 Posts, 2257 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on February 1, 2012 at 4:15 PM

Yeah, the best of the bunch for me. The textured foreground sets this one apart from most shots from there, and the warm/cool contrast is excellent. What a fine large print this must make!

Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments

Comment posted by Anthony Vincent on February 1, 2012 at 5:30 PM

I dont see what all the fuss is about Stan. I love it

Great shot

Registered on February 5, 2009, 199 Posts, 2775 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on February 1, 2012 at 7:56 PM

Thanks, folks!
Zack--no, i really wanted to get out of the 60 mph winds as quickly as possible

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Hespenheide on February 2, 2012 at 11:26 PM

Stan,

I like the changes, coming from the version on RMNP. I can possibly see Michael's point about overprocessing, although it looks good to me. Perhaps if you were working in layers, drop the opacity down somewhere around 65-80%? Again, sorry if that's too specific.

Still jealous.

Registered on August 14, 2010, 3 Posts, 61 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Fach on February 5, 2012 at 10:28 PM

Stan: One of my favorite places on the planet. I've only been once in the winter but it left an indelible impression. Thanks for bringing back some fond memories. >=))>

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1805 Posts, 26981 Comments