High Contrast Mountainside

Taken near Bishop and Lone Pine California, where many a movie has been shot because of the scenic mountains and contrasty skies. I purposely darkened this a bit in PP, aiming for a slightly moody feeling. Comments? It's Kodak 160 NC 120mm film, shot on a Mamiya 645.

G

For me I only have one problem with this, and that is the foreground.
those big rock distract from the whole background

I like the progression from boulders to low hills and on to the high rugged hills/mountains in the background . Was the power poll left in the shot on purpose ?

Very nice GB although I do see some kind of artifact in the sky on the right. Easily fixed to be sure.

I, too, like the progression and also the not overwhelming sun rays in the sky.
I like the mood you set by darkening.
I don't see a power pole.....are my eyes that bad?

Power pole is at the extreme left of the frame where the foreground meets the background, Frog.

I like the interplay between the foreground & background, the browns & the blues a lot. I also like the sunbeams and the fact that they don't dominate the scene. It would be nice to see a little more clarity in the background mountains, but that's a nit pick and likely something you had no control over. Not much of a *WOW* factor here, but a good solid shot none the less. Nice work!

I too like how the boulders lead into the shot and somewhat mimic the mountains and hills beyond. I think that given the contrasts, this would benefit from a graduated ND at shot time, but you may be able to do something in post. I like it.

PC

Good feedback on this one.

Icicle - Yeah, I see what you mean about the big rocks. If they were largest in the very closest part and gradually shrinking in size as the distance increased, I think it would probably work better. That space in the lower left foreground w/o rocks doesn't help either IMO.

Hminx - Thks on the progression. I didn't even notice that pole. Good catch!

Greg - Shoot,.. I thought I had removed that! It is a development stain, but I think it may be my fault and not the E-6 processor's. I believe the color I used titled over and got the film wet (the film sits in a webbed pouch on the lid. It's fine unless something like this happens). I can fix it with a smart blur or something else.

Frog - Thanks too. I actually have at least two shots of this scene, the other having even better sun rays, but for whatever reason I shot one with a very wide open lens and it blurred part of the foreground .. which looks like doo-doo. I guess the darkening was a success then. I estimate that I darkened it by ~ 1/2 to 2/3 of an f stop.

Jet - Yes, the background mtns are not super defined, but I think that may help one to focus on the other areas - foreground, and sun rays. I agree on the WOW factor... No particular super aspect in the image, but not any real weaknesses either. Another 7/10, which I shoot a lot of. I seem to have a hard time getting shots that are better; but then again, maybe most photographers do.

PC - Thks. Actually I believe I did use a graduated ND filter here. I say "believe" because there was definitely a few shots that I did not on this shoot, due to some rushing to get shots before the light changed. What's funny is I used a Galen Rowell grad. ND filter and his studio was physically located less than 10 miles from here :)

Maybe another foreground subject would have been best? I guess I was happy with the lighting out there, which you can't control, and if you think about it you have a very low chance of catching on a random 4-day trip. The best way to capture great lighting is to live there and shoot it year round.

G

Overall I like it. As for those rocks and the foreground, maybe cropping out the lower right trio so you don't have the empty space on the left/middle?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by flyinion

Overall I like it. As for those rocks and the foreground, maybe cropping out the lower right trio so you don't have the empty space on the left/middle?

---

Flyinion - Couldn't crop much off the left w/o clipping that middle ground hill, so mostly got the bottom. Not as wide an angle, but not too bad either

G