Alpine Glory w/Repost

Gallery: LandscapePosted August 15, 2012375 views21 comments

I spent the weekend camping, photographing, and fly fishing at Cottonwood Lake in the Crazy Mountains in Montana, hoping to catch the Perseid meteor shower. This was taken just before sunset the first night I was there. The wildflowers were magnificent.

There was a bear hanging out about 100 yards from my campsite that night, overturning rocks on the talus slopes rising above the lake. That night I counted over 60 meteors in about 3 hours, about 10 of those were WOW meteors, leaving long dust trails in the pitch black skies above the peaks. It was one of the best showers I've witnessed in years.

While I was there I also climbed up to Grasshopper Glacier, named for the hundreds of grasshoppers entombed in the ice. The next night the meteor shower wasn't as good, and the wind was blowing so hard I turned in early. The next morning I awoke and opened my tent to find a Mountain Goat grazing not 50ft from my tent, what a great experience! Definitely a weekend to remember..

This was probably one of the most difficult blends I've done. It is 5 images blended for DOF, and one more exposure to control the highlights on the mountains and the sky.

Thanks for looking and don't forget to view LARGE. Your comments and critiques are welcome!

Comments

21 comments

Comment posted by Mark Hopgood on August 15, 2012 at 5:44 AM

Good depth in the shot and a real contrast between the colourful flowers and monochrome BG. I might be tempted to darken the BG mountains a little. Looks a great location.

Registered on May 23, 2012, 5 Posts, 30 Comments

Comment posted by Harry Lichtman on August 15, 2012 at 9:16 AM

Excellent floral display. The problem I see is that there is a very flat feel to the image for me, possibly due to the flowers against the rock walls without much midground in between. Not knowing the location, not sure what other comp options you had. Clearly you were using the nicely lit wall as a backdrop, but at the expense of expanse. Looks like a great location.

Registered on September 17, 2010, 304 Posts, 3507 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on August 15, 2012 at 10:11 AM

Wonderful color and a great job on the blend. Sounds like a fantastic experience.

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

Comment posted by Navin Sarma on August 15, 2012 at 10:57 AM

hi zack!! looks like a pretty awesome scene -- like a breath of fresh air. i would have loved to be there. the blend looks great.

on my crappy work computer, i would like to see a little more texture in the bg mountains, and a little more contrast. Perhaps a darkening of the darks.

Registered on July 17, 2011, 233 Posts, 1373 Comments

Comment posted by Marco Crupi on August 15, 2012 at 11:00 AM

Beautiful. Lovely vibrant colors produced by all of the flowers in the foreground. Great shot and well captured!

Registered on April 22, 2012, 14 Posts, 69 Comments

Comment posted by Bunn Martin on August 15, 2012 at 11:02 AM

On my Retina Display Mac Book Pro this looks great. Great blend, great colors.

Registered on September 17, 2011, 38 Posts, 167 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on August 15, 2012 at 2:04 PM

A tough blend. My gut says a little darker on the wall and sky, but I also sense a divergence of opinion based on what the image is being viewed on. I say print it large and hang it. If you like it there, forget whatever is said about it here.

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on August 15, 2012 at 2:13 PM

Lovely overall scene with a spectacular collection of flowers. I too feel that dodging the center of the mountains would improve the balance.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Dean Sauskojus on August 15, 2012 at 2:36 PM

I see you found some great wildflowers at Cottonwood Lake. Real Nice. I've been up there several years ago and seen goats but no bears on this side. What a wonderful experience. Really like the night shot you got to Zack.

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

Comment posted by Wick Smith on August 15, 2012 at 3:36 PM

Zack,
This is a great capture & you did a super job with the blend. My only thoughts on possible improvements might be for more contrast in the rocks & also the sky looks a bit too saturated. I'm on a calibrated monitor using Firefox, so it should be represented accurately. It's a really nice shot & sounds like a great place to camp!

Registered on June 12, 2009, 91 Posts, 379 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Teller on August 15, 2012 at 6:33 PM

Nice composition and color in the flowers. I too think I would darken the bright mountain some. The contrast between the shadow and the bright add a bit of disconnect.

Registered on August 23, 2010, 1162 Posts, 6692 Comments

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on August 15, 2012 at 6:51 PM

Beautiful color here Zack. As a few others have mentioned, I might be tempted to burn down the lighter center peak.

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

Comment posted by Zack Clothier on August 15, 2012 at 9:14 PM

Hey everyone, thanks for the suggestions! I was up late last night processing this one. Here's a repost with the mountains and sky toned down a bit, how does this look?

Harry: I have other comps but thought this one showcased the wildflowers the best. I would have hoped that those boulders weren't in the way but that's nature for you

Wick: Thanks, I don't remember adding to much saturation to the sky but I've backed off a bit in the repost, does this look better?

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

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on August 15, 2012 at 11:11 PM

Zack, I'm really enjoying this scene, and the repost looks even better! Sounds like you had a wonderful adventure to remember! This is nice work!

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

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

Comment posted by David Edwards on August 16, 2012 at 3:29 AM

Sounds like you had an awesome weekend Zack. I think your dof blending definitely paid off... the fg flowers are just beautiful and very sharp. The repost with the darker mountain tops and sky is just perfect.

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

Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on August 16, 2012 at 9:26 AM

Sounds like a wonderful trip. The repost is wonderful. Nice capture

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

Comment posted by Wick Smith on August 16, 2012 at 10:40 AM

Yes, the repost is much better - especially with the contrast on the rocks. Great job! You have a keeper.

Registered on June 12, 2009, 91 Posts, 379 Comments

Comment posted by Hamed Musharbak on August 16, 2012 at 7:11 PM

very nice view Zack, i like the light & the colors as well

good job

Hamed

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

Comment posted by Nicolaus Wegner on August 16, 2012 at 8:19 PM

Interesting blend Zack. Looks like a few spots could use some work, but it's a very nice display of wildflowers regardless.

Great story by the way. Wishing you could live in this neck of the woods yet? ;]

Registered on February 21, 2010, 133 Posts, 1509 Comments

Comment posted by Zack Clothier on August 16, 2012 at 11:41 PM

Hey Nic thanks for the comments, could you elaborate on the spots that need work? I'm looking at the full res file and I can't find any spots that I missed. It's certainly different out here..have been dreaming of moving here since I first visited 7 years ago.

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

Comment posted by Stan Rose on August 17, 2012 at 7:15 PM

Sweet! Love the repost. Id clone out the one red flower on the bottom edge.

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