Sonora Pass Country
Another image from my recent foray to the Sonora Pass country with Lon. We stopped at a pullout on the Sonora Pass Highway and were greeted with this late afternoon scene. The wind was gusting to about 30 mph, and blew my tripod over (after I removed the camera, fortunately). Tripod survived.
I liked the sunlit areas contrasted with the cloud shadows as they raced up the walls.
Nikon D-7100
Nikkor DX 16-85
Cropped some from the top.
Your thoughts are always appreciated. 
–P
1 Like
Really nice, Preston. I think you left just the right amount of sky. The main draw here is the mountainside.
Looks like you had some pretty dynamic light and weather. Glad to hear you camera didn’t buy the farm too. I agree with @Michael_Lowe, I like the relative proportion of sky to mountain, the light and texture on the mountain is the star of the show here. It would be interesting to see this in B&W too, it looks like a good candidate for that.
Preston,
Hey, this turned out great! Better than anything I shot from here. I think you have a great balance between the clouds/sky and the rugged mountains. The boldly dappled light definitely reflects the summer clouds that were passing by that afternoon.
No nits or suggestions. I am wondering if you have any more room to include more at the bottom. I really like the added greenery of the lower slopes. Alas, I do know there are likely lodgepole tree tops, more rock and even the highway beneath the frame, so perhaps this was as much as you could include at the bottom.
Processing excellent given that hot afternoon light. Beautifully captured, processed and presented.
Lon
Wonderful detail and contrast Preston. I feel like I am standing there taking in the view. I agree with Ed, I think this would make a wonderful B&W.
Nice look at a big old pile o’ rock. I was also thinking B&W, so I pulled it into PS and tried it. I prefer the color version. Not an earth shaker image, but a very enjoyable one. Well seen and done.
I echo the other comments. The contrast between the crisp light on the rock and the soft sky is lovely. My only issue is with a lack of scale of the mountainside. I can’t tell if it’s far and huge or close and not-so-huge. I often have this problem with my mountain shots, but don’t have a good suggestion to correct it. Does anyone else see this?
Thanks for your comments, everyone. It was a glorious afternoon despite the wind.
@Harley_Goldman I may try B&W just for fun
@Matt_Gordon The tallest part of this series of cliffs rises almost 1,500’ from the canyon floor to the summit, so the section in the image is about 1,000 feet high. There’s some pretty good climbing in the area.
-P
