Going to the Sun

Awesome light and atmosphere around the mountains and I like the way the water leads into the scene. I must say, the middle doesn't do much for me, but that certainly does not detract from the beauty of the image. It may just be the way the landscape tilts, but my eye just wants to see more of that mountain in all its glory and more of the water. I am planning on going here next summer for an extended period of time and when I start to see images like this I want that time to come sooner.

I agree about the middle - I was actually all set up shooting Mt Reynolds the whole evening, until the sky blew up behind me and I realized Reynolds was a lost cause (totally socked in by that point). I only had a couple minutes to scramble up the rocks and compose this before the light/color was gone. It is level, however - that's the natural slope of the 'scape there. I highly recommend Glacier - I spent 6 days there, and I wish I hadn't had to leave. Thanks for the critique, Peter!

Well, for a backup plan, you did pretty damn good. I figured the tilt was the natural landscape. How were the wildflowers while you were up there? I was in rainier for a few days two weeks ago and they were pretty scarce. I'm planning on at least 10 days staying in the park (possibly 2 weeks). This place seems to be a priority for me now.

Nice shot Alex. the comp is good considering you were scrambling to execute plan B. The rest of the image......top-notch. I'll be spending a week in Glacier mid-September. This really wets my appetite.

I think you did quite well considering this wasn't your intended comp. Looks like you had some awesome conditions! I am thinking of heading up to Glacier soon, how were the wildflowers? Any wildlife while you were there?

I pretty much agree with Peter's assessment. Killer conditions though, its a great shot all things considered!

nice view and colors

good job

Nice work Alex. Interesting foreground comp, works for me.

Pretty great clouds/light! Nice!

aF

Beautiful color and light, and great atmospheric conditions to lend drama and mood. But, too much foreground and not enough of that sensational mountain draped in clouds in that light. Did you shoot any teles of just the mountain?

Thanks for the critique, everyone. I'm not the biggest fan of the compositional balance myself either, I just had to find this in a matter of 2-3 minutes before the light disappeared. As far as more of the mountain vs foreground - the midground ridge was a half-hour-plus hike away, and behind that is Going To The Sun road. To see more of the mountain without vehicles/roads in the frame, I'd have had to be in a different location entirely. I would have whipped out the telephoto, but I felt that the foreground added enough to justify leaving on the wide for the short-lived light/color. Thanks again!

Lovely view and really nice light, the sky looks terrific Alex.

Gary.

The touch of white water in the foreground and the winding stream do a fine job of leading into the image and the light and clouds on the distant mountain are great. Nice job of working with what nature handed you.

Alex,

That's a good shot, and a great one coming on short notice. I think you could help the image by bringing up the immediate foreground and perhaps even darkening the middle and decreasing the contrast a touch. That will help de-emphasize the middle, and help draw the eye to the bottom of the frame. I suspect you've done something like that already, and encourage you to push it a little bit more.

Excellent spur of the moment image. It's always interesting to see the light Nature has in store for us.