Repost 2: Starlit Lakeshore

Gallery: LandscapePosted January 16, 2014145 views12 comments

This past weekend I took a winter camping trip to Tettegouche State Park on the North Shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota. The mild weather and beautiful moonlit evenings made for a great little snowshoeing, cross country skiing, camping, and photography adventure.

This image was captured about 1/4 mile south of the inlet of the Baptism River into the big lake. The clouds moved rapidly.

Please comment and critique.

Location: Tettegouche State Park, Minnesota, USA

Date and Time: January 11, 2014, at 17:46

Equipment: Pentax K-5, Pentax DA 18-55mm WR at 28mm, tripod

Exposure: 8s, f/5.6, iso 200

Crop: About 10% of left to remove partial deciduous tree.

Post processing in Lightroom 5: Dodged the snow. Increased exposure significantly, since photo was grossly underexposed. Increased the luminance of the blue sky.

Comments

12 comments

Comment posted by Dan Kearl on January 16, 2014 at 9:13 PM

The sky and trees/snow are really nice.
If you can bring up the exposure on the FG some more, It will improve it for me.

Registered on September 2, 2013, 209 Posts, 1514 Comments

Comment posted by John Williams on January 17, 2014 at 12:54 AM

In some areas it looks like snow on the ground, and in other areas like ice. Is it a mix of both? It gives interesting texture, almost like someone poured melted marshmallows on it

. My personal preference is for these night shots to retain a feel of darkness, rather than mimicking a daytime exposure, but it does create interesting atmosphere.

Registered on September 6, 2007, 221 Posts, 5985 Comments

Comment posted by R.Bill Moser on January 17, 2014 at 12:23 PM

I love the atmoshere you were creating here. I also like the stars in the sky and the clouds.....I would go for a darker look here since it just feels like daylight here.....but that's maybe just personal preferences

Registered on January 29, 2010, 285 Posts, 4281 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on January 17, 2014 at 2:32 PM

I agree with John and Bill. If it's night, there should be a good reason to make it look like day. Id rather it look like night here. I like the comp and there is good potential here.

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

Comment posted by Randy Runtsch on January 17, 2014 at 6:59 PM

Thanks for the comments and fair suggestions, Dan, John, Bill, and Stan. This new version is more as I observed the scene. Yes, the white nearest the water is a combination of snow and ice from the splash of waves. I had camped on a cliff about 40 feet above the lake about 1/4 mile north of here, and even trees atop the cliff were clothed in ice.

The waxing gibbous moon provided significant light. The clouds in the upper-right corner were illuminated by the moon, which was almost directly overhead, but somewhat to the south (right side).

In this version, the exposure has been reduced, the luminance of the blue sky reduced, and the snow and water have been dodged a bit.

Registered on October 30, 2013, 50 Posts, 445 Comments

Comment posted by Angela Classen on January 18, 2014 at 12:32 AM

I agree with the others - I prefer a night scene to look like a night scene. That being said, I think the repost is a little too dark. Have you tried adjusting levels a bit? I do really like the motion of the clouds and the sparkly stars. You are brave to camp on a northern lakeshore in the winter. I'm a wimp and wouldn't last 5 min.

Registered on June 13, 2007, 434 Posts, 2742 Comments

Comment posted by gary phillips on January 18, 2014 at 3:03 PM

I like the repost better. I agree with John that the snow looked like marshmallow sauce poured all over those rocks. I like the dreamy feel here. Winter camping is definitely in my past.

Registered on October 24, 2013, 185 Posts, 4136 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on January 18, 2014 at 4:58 PM

I prefer the repost, but i dont think you need to sacrifice drama for the sake of 'realism'. You can have it all, man!

I think Angela has the right idea--a curves adjustment to bring ot a bit more of the contrast and color ought to make this pop a bit more.

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

Comment posted by Randy Runtsch on January 18, 2014 at 6:40 PM

This last version of the image has all dodges removed and is the result of playing with the tone curve. I need to start playing with it more. Of the three posts, this one is my favorite.

Thanks again for the suggestions.

Registered on October 30, 2013, 50 Posts, 445 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on January 18, 2014 at 9:28 PM

There's a lot to like in this view, Randy. The trees and the spit of snow covered land are a fine foil for the sky and clouds. The sky is too bright for a night shot and the darkness in the foreground is makes that less inviting. Since you said that you've already lightened considerably, it seems likely that this is a situation where two exposures, one for the foreground and a second one for the sky may be what was needed. I don't think those can be combined in Lightroom, I use PS6, but I think that Photoshop Elements will allow that as well and there is non-Adobe that's probably worth looking into for complex situations like this. The sky looks good in the reposts, but the foreground is even more "opaque", which doesn't help overall.

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

Comment posted by Stan Rose on January 19, 2014 at 11:46 AM

yeah i think the latest is getting pretty close. nice work.

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

Comment posted by Mark Metternich on January 19, 2014 at 11:53 PM

"If it's night, there should be a good reason to make it look like day"

I dont agree. I think night shots should look however one wants or likes them to look. I like surreal, so night shots looking like day appeal to me. Nice shot here.

The snow on the landmass does have a sort of plastic look. I am wondering if it was caused by Luminance noise reduction.

Registered on June 19, 2009, 276 Posts, 6240 Comments