(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
1/60 sec @ f/16, 24 mm Canon TS-E lens, ISO 200
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dougbluntphotos
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Really nice comp Doug. Looks like you can see the ski runs. Love the leading line and placing the reflection where you did. Looks like foot steps killed all the flowers through the middle of the “peninsula”? If so that’s a shame. Regardless a cool shot.
I agree with Patricia. This is really well done. I’m very familiar with this spot because I live within 25 miles of it. Yet I’ve never seen those red flowers when I’ve tried to make a similar image.
This is quite beautiful and an excellent near/far composition; I even like that this employs the “rule of thirds” to a good extent - ie. there is a 2/3 - 1/3 split of the composition. Not that this matters… but the compositional balance feels right to me.
You also have something a bit special, if not unusual element with the fully lit cloud so conveniently placed. The light and make of the sky/cloud cover are making quite the unique conditions on and above the mountain.
That cloud though I think has some clipped parts to it and if you’re thinking about printing I would consider toning down the brighter areas of that cloud. It’s bright enough relative to the light in the rest of the scene that if definitely draws the eye.
My last comment is nothing to do with the image itself, but the frame. It’s slightly confusing the colors and conditions in the sky. At first glance I thought the “blue” sky was too dark and the hue was off… but then I realized the conditions and we’re looking at the high cloud ceiling… etc. But to the frame, it’s so close to that of the sky, I think that confused me further. Of course this is a personal choice, but IMHO from purely a perspective of critiquing an image for all the things we critique, that any framing should be neutral. A little anecdote here… many years ago when I first started having prints made and framing them, I spent a good deal of time selecting a color that I wanted picked up in the image, as the inside layer of a double mat… (hopefully you get what I’m describing.) I could see that with a framed print of this image. A Primary white outer map, with the 1/4" inner mat of the blue frame you have here. Oh, and then I would choose a complimentary metal frame - like pewter, Metallica bronze… etc. After I few years when I framed prints for a gallery or for sale… I realized - keep it simple: Black frame, white double mat… done, no agonizing over trying to match colors in a print.
How long did you have to wait for that cloud to get into position? And sunlit no less. Its a great composition. I only think that the foreground could be dodged in a bit to brighten it so that you can see the wonderful details there. Not to much though.
I love the composition, the zig-zag shapes in the foreground are very dynamic. I agree with @Youssef_Ismail about dodging the foreground to show more of the detail…
I’m a sucker for a mountain with flowers in the foreground, so I’m loving this one. The lighting you captured on the mountain and cloud is magical. I do agree that the foreground could be tweaked a bit without drowning out the mountain and cloud. In addition to dodging, you could selectively increase the brightness and contrast of the flowers and green vegetation to give it a little “pop.”
I am so grateful I am on this site! I want to thank each of one of you commenters, for your thoughtful ideas. It’s nice to have other sets of eyes giving you their perspective, because I feel as if I get too close to a photo sometimes, having spent hours with it, and lose some of my objectivity in the process. To quote Lisa Langell, “Photography is a Journey”… and I know I’ll keep growing and learning better techniques over time. I’m just glad to be with such a skilled group, that can get to the heart of the matter quickly, and share their point of view. Thanks again!
And sunlit no less. Its a great composition. I only think that the foreground could be dodged in a bit to brighten it so that you can see the wonderful details there. Not to much though.