I drive by this scene every day to work…its just off a pretty busy road, but is elevated and allows me to see Mt. Pisgah about 20miles away from an elevated part of the road. In the winter, the morning light strikes Mt Pisgah from the South and illuminates it in such a beautiful way. Add some snow or hoarfrost, and to me the scene is just smokin’ hot (pun intended). Yet, my moments to have access to this is rare as I work full time and often I just drive by the scene and weep that I can’t take the 20-30 minutes necessary to compose and wait for just the right light. 7 years ago, I took this shot, and it turned out pretty good. I was off for Thanksgiving, and had this scene without the clouds. This time, I’m much happier with the outcome. Any thoughts/comments/recommendations welcome!
What technical feedback would you like if any?
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
D850, Sigma 150-600 Sport @400mm; ISO50; f/10, 1/4sec
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Gosh, I wished I lived someplace where I could drive past this scene every day. Of course I would be late for work more often than it sounds like you are 
The light and the pastel colors are just exquisite, these conditions were quite magical. I like the composition, the inclusion of the line of trees at the bottom helps, and the arrangement of the ridge-lines is very pleasing. Overall this image has a lovely mood, nicely done Jim.
This image looks slightly too bright to me, but I am not looking at it on my desktop monitor like I normally would, so take that comment with a grain of salt. The tones and colors here are very delicate, I would not reduce luminosity much, maybe just a small bit.
I love this as presented, but I also think there is an alternate panoramic image lurking here that excludes the sky. This would be for more of an abstract shot.
Jim, if it were me, I would call in sick for work any day lights are good . There is so much to like about this image and I agree with Ed that an alternative composition on the bottom has a lot of potential, too. Especially those lit areas on the mountain. As for the brightness, I think it looks quite good on my monitor except I would add contrast just a tad. Maybe one or two points on the Dehaze slider.
The image does not appear too bright if you change the background to light.
I like the lightness of the image and the low saturation of the colors, the high toned look. There is an overall light magenta cast to the image which is very appealing together with the light blue. There’s a morning feel to this image.
This works really well. I like the kind of high key, understated palette look to it. You need to leave earlier or show up late to work more often!
Gorgeoous pastel hues, Jim, and a very satisfying composition. Including the fg tree tops which add depth nicely, and the variations in the light encourage the eye to wander over the frame picking up on details as it goes.
Thanks @Ed_McGuirk, @Adhika_Lie, @Igor_Doncov, @Harley_Goldman and @Ian_Wolfenden for your comments. I have to say, I’d be struggling a little bit with the panorama/excluding sky image as the better part of the light (to my eye anyway) is on the top layer of mountains which would include sky. Anyway, thanks again everyone for your comments. I may play a little with DeHaze, but did intend for a lower contrast scene, especially since I increased texture & clarity a bit.
A wonderful delicate image. Beautiful hues and curves.
I can understand the suggestion of a panorama crop, but I like it a lot as presented now.
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@Jim_McGovern in my earlier comments, I mentioned that I thought this image looked slightly too bright.
I normally view NPN images on a calibrated desktop monitor, but about 2 weeks ago my desktop died, and I viewed your post on my un-calibrated laptop. I just got a replacement desktop with calibrated monitor up and running today. I went back to look at it again, and the luminosity looks great to me, I wouldn’t change a thing. The delicate tones and colors are just wonderful.
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I’m amazed you ever make it to work! I love the layers in this Jim; very nice “commute” shot.
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