It was the last weekend of summer (September 2021) and my girlfriend Kate and I just finished a day hike along Lower Kananaskis Lake in the Rocky Mountains. I wanted to do some landscape photography, so on our way home we stopped here at a lake named Spillway Lake. The lake is small and right beside a road but it’s still a favourite of mine and I always enjoy stopping here to enjoy the incredible views and to fill my soul with the calm and serenity.
I can’t imagine anything better than watching the last warm rays of the sun hitting the tops of the mountains while listening to the calls of loons in the distance. If you’ve never heard them, loons make the most awesome and haunting calls and are a perfect accompaniment to the landscape and to the wild.
Specific Feedback Requested
Anything goes.
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Camera: Canon 5Dmk4
Lens: Canon 24mm – 105mm STM at 90mm
Exposure: 1/40 sec at f/11
Love your image. On the surface it seems like a common lake-mountain-cloud image but it is so well done. I think this is about as well as you could possibly have rendered this composition. The colors and details look great.The only suggestion would be to darken the highlights in the cloud on the far left.
I too Love this image! Aside from Igor’s suggestion of the brighter cloud, the only other suggestion/comment would be the forested slope of the mountain-side - perhaps take out a little of the blue? Not a big deal and rather nitpicky.
My first thought and impression was that this image reminded me of an Indian arrowhead; mostly due to the outline when combining the upper and the reflection. Of course to each our own… that’s what the scene reminded me of.
Also really like the small ripples in the water which bring some texture and definition - and not just a mirror reflection.
Majestic fall scene Tom. Gotta love the Rockies in the fall. I think I would personally push the tint a tiny bit more magenta in the highlights and crop off a tiny bit of the left side but I think both of those are just personal taste and it’s lovely as it.
Beautiful light and mood in this scene, Tom. This is so peaceful and serene and looks like the perfect spot to stop and end the day. I have been fortunate enough to catch the call of the loon a few times when visiting Maine and you are right about the haunting quality of the sound! My only suggestion would mirror @Igor_Doncov about the cloud, but that is minor stuff as this is beautifully done.
Oh so majestic. Overall it has nice balance an a lot of appeal. The mountainside looks a bit blue to me. You might be able to reduce that with some zone and/or color masking in Photoshop. If you select the mountain and not the sky or the trees, I bet you can isolate this really well. Have you played with cropping just to the left of the lightest small tree on the left? I bet that would strengthen the composition. A really wonderful scene with some terrific light.
Oh and the loons should be back here in about 6 weeks. We usually get a few resident adults and I never tire of hearing them.
@Igor_Doncov , @Lon_Overacker , @Blake_Randall , @Ed_Lowe , @Kris_Smith - Thank you all for the kind comments and for the great suggestions.
I had another look at the image and agree with the cloud and the overly blue mountains. I’ve uploaded are-post that addresses these concerns - It’s a subtle change but I like the image better so thank you again!
A nice improvement. Definitely more natural looking in the sense that our eyes process the blue out. I remember film being the same way - it was often too blue for me, especially Fuji films.
