Groundhog Day

Gallery: LandscapePosted February 6, 2012395 views23 comments

Well, he did predict more Winter...
I've been waiting for a good blizzard to go shoot the Paint Mines near Calhan, CO, and the snow that hit Thu-Fri was the perfect opportunity. As soon as the highway reopened, fellow NPN'er Morris McClung and I met up in Calhan, and since we didnt have 4WD, walked the un-plowed road to the trailhead, then snowshoed out to the park. Snow was 2-4 feet deep in spots. On the way out, I stopped to shoot the prairie in twilight--nothing quite like the pristine prairie after a blizzard! The original was mostly very blue, so i decided to go monochrome with this, but B&W looked too warm, so while i rarely tone images i thought a slight blue tone (that i sampled from the predominant original color) was appropriately cool. Id love to hear your thoughts
5Dmkii; 24mm TS-E; 2s at f/11
C&C Welcome!

Comments

23 comments

Comment posted by Matt Anderson on February 6, 2012 at 10:49 AM

Nice.
A scroll crop omitting the sky is working for me as well big guy!

Registered on September 6, 2007, 346 Posts, 2696 Comments

Comment posted by Hamed Musharbak on February 6, 2012 at 10:56 AM

love the tone & the light just awesome

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

Comment posted by Paul Marcellini on February 6, 2012 at 11:42 AM

Nice textures! Sky is a little distracting for me. Not sure I would crop it all out but try to tame that sucker.

Registered on November 27, 2007, 250 Posts, 2468 Comments

Comment posted by Stuart Williams on February 6, 2012 at 1:09 PM

love the light on your textured snow there stan. that's where all the interest is. i'm happy with the toning too. sky seems a little blah to me but there's nothing i can see that you might be able to do?!?

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

Comment posted by David Chauvin on February 6, 2012 at 1:32 PM

This is sweet, Stan. I like the comp as is and the blue toning works.

Registered on August 5, 2004, 1007 Posts, 5595 Comments

Comment posted by Michael J Greene, on February 6, 2012 at 1:44 PM

I like the mood, textures, and originality. The upper left side seems a little dark. Maybe a selective use of a contrast mask to even it out? Solid work Stan.

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

Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on February 6, 2012 at 4:51 PM

Looks like some pretty strong winds with that storm. we only got 3 inches out of it, but that's the breaks. Toning is nice and the sculpted snow is wild. Crop straight across at the top of the long flat cloud and this would be perfect IMO. Nice job

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

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on February 6, 2012 at 4:59 PM

Stan, I like this alot. The blue tone looks great to me and I love the snow patterns. I might have to head that way if I want to find any new snow!

Nice work!

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

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

Comment posted by Scott Fricke on February 6, 2012 at 6:05 PM

Toning is perfect Stan. Great comp showing the expanse of the plains and really nice light and shadow in the wind-sculpted show. The left half of the sky looks a little off, but that's the only imperfection I see. Excellent work, as usual!

Registered on January 19, 2007, 133 Posts, 1448 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on February 6, 2012 at 7:10 PM

Hey Stan, I enjoyed the conditions and the company!

But, I am so sore even today that I'm not moving too well. And that with you breaking trail in front of me.

I really like your take on the twilight and the sculpted snow! Well done, my friend!

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

Comment posted by Stan Rose on February 6, 2012 at 7:26 PM

Thanks, Morris--it was great to get out with you! Im about to post a series in RMNP.

Guys--thanks, i dont want to crop cause i like the grass detail in the lhc too much, and the aspect ratio. The brightness of the sky is intentional, i was hoping to convey the vast open space and emptiness, but ill play a bit with the contrast there and see what i can come up with...

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

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on February 6, 2012 at 7:35 PM

The foreground drifts are beautifully abstract Stan. At first I though maybe cropping the sky would be best but I think it takes the whole scene out of context and like it as is. The slight blue tone here emphasize the cold IMO.

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

Comment posted by Hillary Younger on February 6, 2012 at 8:42 PM

Wonderful textures and flow....a small crop of the sky would work for me also.

Registered on October 2, 2011, 17 Posts, 167 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Pelton on February 6, 2012 at 10:06 PM

great image, Stan, you succeeded with the comp and the toning.

Registered on November 25, 2003, 380 Posts, 4647 Comments

Comment posted by Vance Gese on February 7, 2012 at 12:07 AM

That wind sculpted snow is incredible. The blue toning you chose works quite well. Love the vast, lonely feel that your image evokes. Excellent.

Registered on November 13, 2008, 298 Posts, 6629 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Boland on February 7, 2012 at 9:42 AM

The gritty texture and shadows in the snow really makes this shot for me.

Registered on December 29, 2011, 5 Posts, 12 Comments

Comment posted by Gary McGhee on February 7, 2012 at 9:49 AM

Beautiful snow sculptures captured here Stan, nice and sharp and detailed.

Gary.

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

Comment posted by Harley Goldman on February 7, 2012 at 11:29 AM

Great pattern and love the sense of the wide open spaces. The blue tone works well.

What, guys in CO who don't have 4WD? Isn't that against CO state laws?

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

Comment posted by Peter Richter on February 7, 2012 at 2:56 PM

Stan, there is a stunning dynamics in your image for me, drawing me straight into the depth. Your processing reflects this inhospitable wintry scene impressively to me.

Peter

Registered on November 10, 2010, 218 Posts, 2723 Comments

Comment posted by Zack Clothier on February 8, 2012 at 12:48 AM

Those textures are extreme! The blue tone works well, nicely done, Stan.

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

Comment posted by Debbie Yarra on February 8, 2012 at 1:15 AM

Stan I like the toning very much and I absolutely love the sculpted snow on the right side of the image going out to infinity. IMO I think the left side of the image could be cropped out entirely. I think the sky is too bright and the shadow area is not interesting like the rest of the image. I think it would make an awesome square crop! Your efforts in the snow paid off. I like 3-7 of your other images. Blessings, Deb

Registered on January 1, 2012, 5 Posts, 91 Comments

Comment posted by Scott Miller on February 8, 2012 at 2:10 AM

Looking at this I think the more brightly lit awesome textures on the right should be the focal point. They just rock and I want to keep staring at them. I wish there was more breathing room to the right of them though to bring them away from the edge of the frame. As with the others I could go with less sky as well.

Registered on May 9, 2011, 23 Posts, 322 Comments

Comment posted by Dietrich Gloger on February 9, 2012 at 5:36 AM

Man, this looks cold. The blue cast works great for me. I don't mind the white sky. Fits perfectly and creates a cold atmosphere.

Registered on January 26, 2007, 360 Posts, 9876 Comments