Mount Moran in Morning Light

This is taken at Oxbow Bend in the Tetons NP. I know, this scene has been photographed a million times. However, there not all the same. In particular l like the light from this morning’s shoot.

I got to the sight early in the morning and was able to setup at spot I had scouted the day before. I captured this scene using different settings, including a ND filter to smooth the water out. I like smooth water, but in this case the water looked artificial. The slight ripples on the water is more realistic to what was seen that morning.

Specific Feedback Requested

I welcome all CC, but I’m most interested in feed back on the composition and the post processing.

The RAW file is flat with no real contrast. After adjusting for contrast, the mid-ground trees were too dark. I applied a fair amount of selective dodging to bring the trees up to what it looked like that morning. The sunlit trees on the mountain side to had to be burned to bring them in. There is some light dodging and burning in the clouds to improve the contrast. Does this photo look realistic?

Technical Details

Canon 5D IV | EF70-200 Lens | Breakthrough CPL Filter | f11 | 1/13 | ISO 100 | 89mm
PP using ACR and Photoshop

3 Likes

Hey David,
looks pretty realistic to me. Some slight haloing on the trees probably from pulling highlights and shadows too much.
The composition is what it is - a very classic scene here.
The upper right cloud is a bit bright - you might considering burning it down a notch.

HI David,

Yes, it is an iconic shot that has been done, but like you said, no two shots are the same with the ever changing conditions.

I agree with what Matt says. And, my first reaction when I opened it to view large was a distinct separation between the trees along the river and the hazy mountains in the distance. It felt like almost two separate images as one part was crystal clear and one was hazy. I might work some contrast or dehaze a bit on the mountains to smooth the transition between near and far. Otherwise you did a great job capturing this classic scene.

Thank you for your valuable input. You pointed out areas of improvements I hadn’t seen.

I looked at my settings in ACR and decided that I need to take the time to reprocess this photo. While I still have a lot to learn about PP. I know more now than when I processed the photo posted. I guess that’s part of the learning curve.

David, the light and the reflection look great. Having your own version of an Icon is always a treat. (That was the weekly challenge a few weeks back for exactly that reason. :grin:) I notice two things; first, the bluish halo along the far tree line and second the bright cloud and it’s reflection on the right. Bluish halos often arise when you’ve pushed the clarity too hard, you can reduce the effect by burning-in that halo using a luminosity mask that selects the halo area but not the trees or the mountains. Burning-in the bright clouds is pretty standard.