Silver Lake After Sunset

Gallery: LandscapePosted November 5, 2014311 views18 comments

After rushing to shoot the image I posted last night, I got my home-made pano bracket out of my pack and continued changing positions on the rocks, looking for more nice-looking clouds. (There was nothing to beat the one I got earlier with a single horizontal exposure.) When it was getting dark, I decided to try for a couple of stitches that included the moon. This was the best of that bunch. (With the bright moon, I packed up before the stars became more visible.)

Canon 5D Mark III; Canon 24-105mm.; Circ. Pol.
1 sec. @ f/16; ISO 100
Three vertical frames stitched in PS CC

P.S. 2nd try: Desaturated this about 33% for Web
Also forgot to mention an error and a "cheat."
-- Error: Forgot to remove polarizer and bump up ISO, so I got some crazy motion blur in the wind-blown pines.
-- "Cheat": The pine on the right was broken off above the highest whorl of branches, and the blank space there looked to strange and eye-catching that I repaired the tree top in Photoshop (easier than climbing up there and nailing on a log).

NOTE: OVER-SATURATION PROBLEM SOLVED. It was just a blunder I made in saving images for the Web. When I used the "Save for Web" method in Photoshop to save JPEGs, the "Embed Color Profile" box was not checked. See my recent post in the Digital Imaging Forum.

Comments

18 comments

Comment posted by Bill Chambers on November 5, 2014 at 10:53 PM

Wow, this even beats your previous post and that's real hard to do. Breathtaking Wayne!!

Registered on April 10, 2005, 753 Posts, 21216 Comments

Comment posted by Pat Sampson on November 5, 2014 at 11:05 PM

Wayne,

I can never figure out how to show a twilight landscape. I'll keep this in mind as a paradigm instance. Exceptional image even by the standards of this gallery.

pat

Registered on May 19, 2007, 953 Posts, 15989 Comments

Comment posted by gary phillips on November 5, 2014 at 11:10 PM

Really a sweet image, Wayne. Remarkable!!!!!! This is definitely my favorite. Outstanding in every way.

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

Comment posted by scott lanz on November 5, 2014 at 11:26 PM

Gorgeous, dramatic image, Wayne. Exposure is perfect for the time and conditions. I personally find that there is too much purple in the image even for a twilight image, in both the clouds and the trees, but that's my only nit, and it may be my contrasty Imac monitor. This image would make a stunning print.

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

Comment posted by Vance Gese on November 5, 2014 at 11:26 PM

An extraordinary image, Wayne. You have captured the twilight conditions perfectly in my opinion. All your efforts really paid off, with your patience, the stitching and tree work.

Registered on November 13, 2008, 298 Posts, 6629 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Jones on November 6, 2014 at 12:13 AM

Thanks everyone!

@ Scott: I know what you mean about being too purple. I noticed that myself as soon as I posted it, but I was too impatient to go back for another try to match my PSD. I think that the purple look is because I cut back on the saturation all the colors, and then went back and cut down the cyan saturation even more, since that's the color that seems to be the most oversaturated compared to the original when I post images. (See my remarks on this on my previous image, where I posted a screenshot of the image I submitted on my Photoshop screen next to the same image viewed on the Web in my browser.) If there is a standard formula to get posted images to match what I started with, I have not found it yet.

Also, it's not your Apple monitor. I looked at my last image in four different browsers on two computers, an iPad and a Samsung Android phone, and they all showed very similar color shifts.

Registered on April 18, 2007, 953 Posts, 6435 Comments

Comment posted by Jared Warren on November 6, 2014 at 12:20 AM

Very impressive, Wayne. I love the dark mood. The comp is great and the moon is the icing on the cake. A few nits since this is an amazing image and worth the time for minor refinements: I might bring the saturation down just a little more in the terrain. There's a bit of a "light glow" behind/around the left evergreen (maybe from burning around it?); if you're into luminosity masks you could maybe burn through a lights mask to fix it without further darkening the tree. Lastly, on my laptop monitor I'm seeing some unusual magenta in the upper clouds; my laptop screen is supposedly calibrated but I still don't trust it so take that with a grain of salt. Really nice work!

Registered on May 11, 2012, 84 Posts, 931 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Cross on November 6, 2014 at 2:07 AM

If I lived near here, this would be an image I'd buy and hang on the wall. Goodness gracious, what colors! Superb image in most every way. Considering what you've posted for autumn images in the years I've been here, you are definitely the guru for this sort of photo. You've a lot to be happy with the images you're producing.

Registered on April 3, 2010, 271 Posts, 1342 Comments

Comment posted by Randy Runtsch on November 6, 2014 at 7:20 AM

This is a very pretty image, Wayne. I wonder if it would be as beautiful if it were captured a bit to the left and the partial tree on the right were eliminated. Even with the tree, this tree would like nice on a living room wall.

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

Comment posted by Holger Streu on November 6, 2014 at 10:31 AM

That is a fantastic landscape photo. Feels like I am there. I have a suggestion regarding Your Circ. Pol: They work very well with clouds and sky, but for darker areas they insert a reddish-brownish tint. Maybe try to take one with and one without and blend them.
Otherwise, I love this scenery, GREAT PHOTO!

Registered on September 19, 2011, 50 Posts, 113 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on November 6, 2014 at 10:49 AM

Wow, Wayne! This is beautiful. I like this comp a lot and it is one amazing view. I love the twilight look and mood. I agree a bit heavy on the purple tint but you have already talked about that. It must have been fantastic being there for this one!

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

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

Comment posted by R.Bill Moser on November 6, 2014 at 12:09 PM

I am so glad I opened it up...it didn't look so good in the thumb...but this one beats your previous posts from this location. This is awesome. My personal favorite from your last post. Excellent

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

Comment posted by Jim Greenwood on November 6, 2014 at 12:22 PM

Certainly another glorious rendition of this scene. One minor issue ... personally I find that the tree on the right draws my eye a little too much here compared to your previous post which did not include the trunk of the tree. I commented in that post that there's enough (of the tree) to add interest without being intrusive. But with this composition I think that the tree with the trunk so near to the right edge to be just a little too intrusive and draws attention away from the rest of the spectacular image.

Registered on November 9, 2003, 229 Posts, 1523 Comments

Comment posted by Ryan Shain on November 6, 2014 at 5:19 PM

After seeing this stunning view, one has to be grateful for everyday on this beautiful planet. Thanks for sharing this image, and I think there could be some very minor adjustments, mostly about the purple, but that has been mentioned , and I am sure it will look even better printed large.

I am curious if any state parks would want to purchase this for one of their lodges in New York? This would want to make people get out to nature for sure!!!

Stunning work Wayne

Registered on February 20, 2007, 226 Posts, 4571 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Kearl on November 6, 2014 at 8:17 PM

Superb, Wayne, just a gorgeous twilight scape.
The only minor crib I have is the lake on right tilts, I think the camera correction in PS would fix it easily.
Terrific moon and sky color....

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

Comment posted by Mark Pelton on November 6, 2014 at 10:13 PM

Gorgeous, Wayne. I would go ahead and open up the foreground rocks (or actually all of the lower 1/3) just a little in PS. slightly too dark for my tastes. otherwise, really striking image.

Registered on November 25, 2003, 380 Posts, 4647 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on November 6, 2014 at 11:04 PM

I especially love that cloud in the center and the moon above it. The rest of the scene is sweet as well. I agree that this is even better than your last view and that one was terrific.

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

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on November 7, 2014 at 11:17 PM

I like the scene and the colors. It just feels about one to two stops underexposed.

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