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Image Description
Early Fall afternoon along the Kulshan Ridge trail to Huntoon Point in North Cascades NP. The low-angle sunlight casts long, dark shadows as well as making the ferns, heathers and bearberry on the flanks of Table Mountain and along the trail resplendent in fiery reds, oranges and yellows.
A gentle wind with brief periods of calm compelled multiple exposures to ensure the taller leaves and grasses would be rendered motionless. In order to compensate for the high contrast in the view and to maintain sharpness throughout the depth of the image, multiple exposures at varying focal distances and f-stop were necessary. Ultimately, select images were combined into an HDR/focus stack.
Technical Details
Canon EOS 5D II; Canon EF 28-70mm @ 28mm; f/16 @ 1/8 sec, ISO 100; Gitzo tripod, RRS BH 55; Canon RS-80N3
Thank you @Jaded62 for your comment. I walked past that position twice aa day for a week, hiking up to Huntoon Point and back, before the conditions presented this well. I took advantage of the conditions and made this shot.
Wow, what a gorgeous view! I love how the oranges lead my eye down the boulder field, then back up the valley in front of the timber, then along that ridge. As @Jaded62 said, a LOT to take in, but all of it amazing! My only quibbles are the partially cut-off dead stump at the far right edge (not the stump that’s complete, but the one to the right of it), and the cut-off evergreen at the far left edge. I’d be inclined to see if the Photoshop Remove tool would clean them up. But otherwise, Magnifique!
Thank you @Denise_Dethlefsen for your remarks, observations and suggestions. You are pretty much spot on with what I did before printing. I cropped to eliminate the evergreen on the left and the snag on the right. Content-aware cloning resulted in a less-than-acceptable result.
What a wonderful view! I’ve never been there - but my impression is it is a bit too saturated, at least those plants in the FG. I’d also like to see a bit more sky. Everything else, excellent!
OK, having read the Image Description, I see how you achieved the HDR effect. I still would prefer more sky and perhaps a bit off the bottom to keep the aspect ratio.
Thank you @Mike_Friel and @Ed_Williams for your comments. Fall colors at high, cold environments are intense and triggered by the first frost. Temperatures drop and days get shorter. Trees get less direct sunlight and the chlorophyll in the leaves breaks down. The lack of chlorophyll reveals the yellow and orange pigments (carotenoids and anthocyanins) that were always present but masked during the warmer months. The sidelight of the semi-translucent leaves make them glow, exaggerating the intensity of the colors.
