Wind the Ruler

Gallery: LandscapePosted May 7, 2013648 views32 comments

Probably the most wind I experienced during my time in Patagonia back in March. Standing was nearly impossible, so I crouched down lower to the ground. While I have plenty of images with great light on the peaks near Fitz Roy, this situation really helps show the power held in this place. I was forced to don my swim goggles to prevent debris and wind from interfering with focusing. I needed to lean on my camera / tripod combo for this one to keep things somewhat stabile with a long lens. In addition, I turned on the lens stabilization despite the warnings not to when tripod mounted due to the wind bouncing things around. Got a couple of sharp images with this technique. While the color had nice separation, I thought the B&W better conveyed the mood. Hard to imagine the power these clouds had flowing over the peaks.

A simple conversion in PS5

5DII, 100-400L IS, f11 1/180 sec., ISO 100

Comments

32 comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on May 7, 2013 at 9:49 AM

Wow. Very dramatic, Harry. Really liking all the textures here that the B&W bring out.

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

Comment posted by Daniel Rappaport on May 7, 2013 at 10:28 AM

Really impressive shot. Well composed and powerful.

Registered on September 9, 2009, 294 Posts, 2006 Comments

Comment posted by Jose Fernandez on May 7, 2013 at 10:53 AM

Truly an amazing image

Registered on July 25, 2011, 77 Posts, 172 Comments

Comment posted by Jack Brauer on May 7, 2013 at 11:04 AM

Incredible shot!!!! Wow.

Registered on September 12, 2005, 40 Posts, 627 Comments

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on May 7, 2013 at 11:05 AM

Powerful image Harry with wonderful tones and contrast. Your B&W conversion really accentuates the powerful weather conditions.

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

Comment posted by Marc Adamus on May 7, 2013 at 11:40 AM

This is my favorite of your work so far down there, Harry. This really shows off that awesome weather and peak! Striking in this light and shadow play.

Registered on September 17, 2005, 780 Posts, 8091 Comments

Comment posted by Thomas Haney on May 7, 2013 at 11:45 AM

What a dramatic scene, there's so much evident power in those clouds.

Registered on April 7, 2013, 138 Posts, 537 Comments

Comment posted by Gabi Lach on May 7, 2013 at 12:00 PM

Powerful and very dramatic! Amazing capture. B&W looks perfect here.

Registered on May 1, 2007, 101 Posts, 3187 Comments

Comment posted by Enrique Vizcarra on May 7, 2013 at 12:06 PM

Amazing

Registered on September 10, 2009, 223 Posts, 393 Comments

Comment posted by John Clulow on May 7, 2013 at 12:18 PM

St. Ansel would have loved this for its tonal range. Five or six discrete layers, depending upon how one counts. I love the various contrasts in luminosity and form and how the amorphous clouds begin to mingle with the sharply defined rocks.

A truly unique image, Harry Lichtman; well executed in B&W, I think.

Registered on November 1, 2012, 155 Posts, 1079 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Gosewisch on May 7, 2013 at 3:37 PM

Great image. Did you try it with the mid ground dark mountains lightened up just a bit? Those clouds exude power.I think the black and white is exceptional for this one.Nice work.

G

Registered on June 3, 2012, 17 Posts, 59 Comments

Comment posted by Scott Fricke on May 7, 2013 at 4:21 PM

Great choice on the B&W. Fitz Roy usually looks so massive and dominates the scene, I like how the clouds simply dwarf it and change the scale of the whole scene. Nice work under bad conditions!

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

Comment posted by Harry Lichtman on May 7, 2013 at 6:00 PM

Thanks for all of the feedback.

Gary - I could easily open up the shadows a bit more in the middle section, but I liked the separation they gave to the near and far so I left them pretty dark. I will try opening them a little to see if it doesn't look too washed out in doing so. Thanks.

Scott - I completely agree! When you consider the size of these mnts,, Fitz Roy at just over 11, 200 ft., and they are dwarfed by the clouds. Much of the cloud is not visible in this shot, as I thought it would over whelm the comp. Much of the morning the cloud completely covered the peaks, so I waited and waited to see what would develop. Visibility was this clear for about 10 minutes, then it all went away into clouds again. I was leaving the park that day, and never turned around to see if the mnts re-appeared or not. I feared if they were visible, I would have had the urge to turn around which would not have made my wife very happy

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Comment posted by Jeremy Kessler on May 7, 2013 at 6:26 PM

Stunning! I like the dark shadows.

Registered on September 13, 2007, 36 Posts, 1283 Comments

Comment posted by Harley Goldman on May 7, 2013 at 6:28 PM

It is beautiful and a good story on the shooting conditions to go with it. One heck of a wind!

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

Comment posted by scott lanz on May 7, 2013 at 6:53 PM

Fabulous, Harry.

Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Schrayer on May 7, 2013 at 9:15 PM

Those are some amazing storm clouds. I really like how you have portrayed the scale here and how the storm clouds dwarf even the massive peaks.

Registered on May 28, 2004, 114 Posts, 2890 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on May 7, 2013 at 10:13 PM

Sweeeeet!

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

Comment posted by Floris van Breugel on May 7, 2013 at 10:43 PM

What a powerful moment! B&W was certainly the right choice here. Very nice through and through.

Swim goggles - did you think to bring those ahead of time for this reason? I guess I'll have to remember that!

Registered on December 19, 2008, 306 Posts, 4840 Comments

Comment posted by Zack Clothier on May 8, 2013 at 2:07 AM

The scene screams B&W, wonderful conversion and comp, Harry.

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

Comment posted by Harry Lichtman on May 8, 2013 at 7:00 AM

Floris- I started using them in NH's White Mnts during the non-winter months due to the big winds we can get. Lighter and smaller than the winter ones, though I'm sure they look equally odd on me taking photos! Luckily, no one around. Patagonian winds are legendary, so I figured it might make some situations easier. However, I did see a guy swimming in one of the well known glacial lakes, Laguna de Los Tres. Showing off for the ladies I think

Too cold to swim, goggles or not!

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

Comment posted by Ed Lowe on May 8, 2013 at 8:53 AM

Wow, this is stunning, Harry. The different layers compliment the range of tones perfectly in this scene. You captured the power of mother nature beautifully in this B&W conversion.

Registered on February 7, 2004, 414 Posts, 7115 Comments

Comment posted by John Mumaw on May 8, 2013 at 8:08 PM

One of the best b&w images I've seen in some time. Simply outstanding subject and tonal range! Thanks for posting a larger version for us to savor.

Registered on September 9, 2005, 62 Posts, 2289 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Metternich on May 9, 2013 at 10:54 PM

Powerful presence!

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Comment posted by Jimmy Gekas on May 10, 2013 at 3:08 PM

Simply stunning. I love the title, too!

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Comment posted by Paolo De Faveri on May 12, 2013 at 3:27 PM

The Power of Nature... and its beauty too, all in one picture!

Registered on August 29, 2007, 318 Posts, 1651 Comments

Comment posted by Doug Koepsel on May 12, 2013 at 4:55 PM

This is excellent Harry. Great tones and dynamics make this a visual treat.

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

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on May 15, 2013 at 12:35 PM

Textures and lines are stunning - congrats on the WP!
Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy de Flon on May 15, 2013 at 1:46 PM

Congrats on your POTW, Harry! This is absolutely amazing. If ever a photo displayed the incredibly wide range of tonalities possible without color, this is it. And to think that it was a simple PS5 conversion, no fancy plug-ins. This should be on the cover of one of those books about the 19th-century Sublime. I'm not kidding. Marjorie Hope Nicholson's classic book "Mountain Gloom and Mountain Glory" is screaming out for a new edition just so they can put this photo on the cover.

Registered on June 28, 2010, 61 Posts, 284 Comments

Comment posted by Catherine Reilly on May 16, 2013 at 8:30 PM

This also shows the effect of the mountains standing as a vertical obstacle to the force of the flow of wind and clouds. My goodness, it's almost a spiritual experience to see this. Loved reading your account of getting the shot, too.

Registered on August 16, 2006, 603 Posts, 9192 Comments

Comment posted by Catherine Reilly on May 30, 2013 at 4:36 AM

Amazing and stunning image, Harry. Congratulations!!

Registered on August 16, 2006, 603 Posts, 9192 Comments

Comment posted by Enrique Vizcarra on May 30, 2013 at 11:05 PM

Terrific image Harry!!!!

Registered on September 10, 2009, 223 Posts, 393 Comments