Mount Tom Sunrise

Mat, that is some sweet light on Mount Tom The clouds and mist really add to this image. Some fresh snow on those foreground trees would have been the "icing on the cake" ! Great job on the processing!

gorgeous mountain scape - light is perfect. i find the FG a little underwhelming - but that's only in comparison with the spectacular BG.

A stunning image Mat! The processing works just fine for me, the light on the mountain is fantastic!

Wow! What a magnificent scene you've captured here! Well 'developed', too.
The wind blasted peaks add some real drama to the scene. Although the foreground is more understated, it is what it is and it frames the background very nicely.

Awesome sweet light. Agree with others about the foreground, but we all have to accept the reality.

Mat, Not much more you can do with that..The foreground may have had a little more pop with an hdr job...but who cares...the light in the BG is what makes the shot...

Great capture Matt. I agree that foreground is the only weakness and it is trivial.

You guys are right about the foreground. Going back to this place the morning after a winter storm is pretty high up on my list of places to revisit in eastern California.

Sweet light on those peaks Mat! Kind of reminds me of Marc's shot from here.

I agree about the foreground. If you could make it pop a little more, great. As others have mentioned though, it's the mountain and the light that really makes the shot!

Great light on Mt Tom, really striking with the mist and clouds. You did well with a less than striking foreground, and with a backdrop like that it works fine.

The mass and warm tones of the mountain really stand out against the dark cool foreground. Love the glow.

Mat,

Great light and well processed. Not oversaturated or unreallistically vibrant in hue. The foreground may be the most understated part of the image, but having been there myself it matches my memory. Although I never was there with such great conditions for the background . I think it deserves better than banishment to the bathroom.

Paul

I love the light on the peak, and the plume blowing off of the top. My only real nit is that the sky seems somewhat dull and lifeless. I'd work on that a little.

The lighting makes this, and it's very well composed with an adequate FG.

As great as the light is here is the foreground really that important? I don't think so. Well done Mat.

Paul, actually I kind of have respect for pictures in the bathroom. I bet guests I have over spend more time looking in detail at those images than other prints in the living room.

Regarding the conditions in the BG. I actually started the morning at Convict Lake. But the wind was blowing so damn hard I could barely stand let alone make an image with the snow and ice blowing off the lake. I was freezing my butt off in long johns and a thick down parka. I think the temp was about 2 degrees F -- I can't imagine what it was with the wind chill. And it was snowing in Mammoth when I left my motel in the dark. Anyway, this was my backup spot and the conditions were actually relatively pleasant. I have to assume you'd get similar conditions in winter with 100mph+ ridge gusts.

Great atmosphere. You captured some awesome light here. A lot of drama in the sky. I think the foreground is not as strong as the rest of the image. but it is as it is and you made a great comp of this scene. Wonderful image

Killer moment of atmosphere here Mat. Nothing to critique. I think I might consider a grad of a cooler white balance (or Color Balance) for the bottom, to contrast the top a little.

Great idea, Mark. Thanks!

Wow is that some great light if I've ever seen it. The tones are perfect on the mountain, as others have noted, the foreground is somewhat lacking, but I think if you boosted the contrast just a bit the foreground would look a bit better. I'm mostly interested in the great light on the mountain anyways.

I love the quality of light in this! This is a very nice image!

This place just talks
beautiful light

Gorgeous, Mat. Just love this light and the way the snow adds brightness to the foreground.

I think you did a great job here Mat. I have been wanting to visit the area here, and would have been very happy to come away with this image for my own collection.

As beautiful conditions and light as I've seen captured from here, Mat! Really nice.

Chris

Great shot. The light really makes this photo