Of Mountains and Mirrors

Critique Style Requested: Standard

The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.

Description

Of Mountains and Mirrors

Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled across the landscape, echoing off the peaks that surrounded us on this early July evening. The ominous clouds that had produced the storm were still visible far off to the east. Overhead, clouds still streaked in from the west, promising a glorious sunset. Our campsite was positioned at the base of a small hill. There was a lake in the meadow below us and a dramatic peak a mile or so to our west. After the wind had calmed and the rain had stopped, I went on a stroll with my camera.

When I am on walk-about, I take a few steps, then stop and observe. I listen. I look. I watch. I hear. Then, I proceed as my senses direct. I took the easy way around the hill, mostly because I could see Glacier Lilies blooming at the foot of a snow bank. Here at 8,000 ft above sea level, while Summer is in the thoughts of the lowlanders, Spring has just begun. These Lilies were not quite open, so I sauntered off in search of whatever the evening would offer.

Farther up on the sunny side of the hill, I stumbled into a sloped meadow of unfathomable beauty. The blues of Sky Pilot, Forget-Me-Nots, and Harebells got my attention first. Then there were the pink blooms of Prairie Smoke. A color swatch of purple was presented in the form of pale Pasque Flowers, slightly darker Wyoming Kittentails, and the occasional regal purple of Silky Phacelia. There were red Paintbrushes, yellow Old Man on the Mountain, and other wildflowers. I could not decide where to start! I had been so entranced by the flowers, that I had failed to notice something stunning behind me. There was a giant mirror behind me, reflecting a mind blowing scene in its perfectly calm surface.The higher up the hill I climbed, more of the pond behind me was brought into view.

I just stood there for a minute in utter disbelief. How could my normally observant eyes have missed this! A seasonal pond that collects snowmelt was nestled in the gentle bend between two knolls. Perfectly curving drifts of last Winter’s precipitation lay just above the pond to the south. Tussocks of brilliant green grass protruded from the water’s edge. They were still covered in the glistening evidence of the storm that had passed this way. In the cool of the evening, fog began to rise up and dance across the surface of the water. One of my favorite mountains, Black Butte stood in all its rugged grandeur. If that wasn’t enough, it was perfectly reflected on the surface of the soul-enriching water.

A soft warmth filled the atmosphere as the Sun began to drift behind the mountains to the northwest. I knelt in rapt attention as I quickly set up my tripod in order to capture this moment. Scenes of mountains and mirrors like this are just too grand and expansive to capture in one image, so I did a panorama. The image you see here was created by merging 16 images into one large panorama! It is two rows of 8 vertical images. I think that black and white created a sense of elegance that this scene deserved, so that is how I processed it!

Specific Feedback

I couldn’t change the aspect enough to straighten the trees without loosing too much of the land around the edges of the pond. Some of the trees already lean because of prevailing winds, but they are certainly affected by lens distortion too. I intentionally processed this pretty dark. It was after sunset, but still pretty light. In the interest of full disclosure, I processed this as a B&W because I over-exposed the sky on the right side and the color version really accentuated that!

Technical Details

Nikon D850
Nikon 18-35 f/3.5-4.5
ISO 64, f/10, 3 seconds, 18mm
This is a pano of 16 vertical images (2 rows of 8) Probably 50% overlap vertically and about the same horizontally. It is cropped to a standard 2:3 ratio

2 Likes

You, Paul, have nailed it in ways you might not even be aware of. There are things in this photograph that shouldn’t work, but they do. I think this is because there is quite a lot of feeling in this image and technicalities take a back seat.
I first looked at the image without reading the text to be less biased by anything you might say about the process of photographing and editing. I like the extra layer of depth seeing the bottom of the pond through the surface of the water. I like how everything bright the eye goes for points to the dark mountain at the center. I like how I don’t understand what the thing between the mountain and the trees on the left is though I keep coming back to it. I like how even though I don’t like wide shots with distortion, the bent trees absolutely work for me. I like how this handful of grass in the water at the bottom center is another point of interest I keep coming back to.
And when I read what you had to say about the photograph, I was delighted to find that the colors you removed from the photo where all there in your words. I like how the text completes the image and together they show an abundance of emotion which probably is what you felt the moment that photograph took you. I believe that if you can write, you absolutely should as the meaning of your photographs can be amplified by your writing.
Your image sure isn’t capturing the reality of what you saw, but it sure captured the reality of what you felt and so do your words. I keep looking at it feeling something being triggered inside. That’s really all you can ask to achieve with a photograph (and words). I wouldn’t change a thing and I am looking forward to seeing and reading more from you.

Oh wow, those are very kind words Holger. The things you felt while viewing are reading are exactly what I hope to convey to folks. Thank you, not just for your kind words, but for really taking the time to absorb all of this.

This is absolutely amazing!! And a wonderful narrative to accompany it! My eye dances around between the gorgeous and unusual clouds and then to the water, with the clump of grass and the bottom visible, to the reflection of the clouds and the mountain, and back again. And that’s not a bad thing because the mountain is a perfect anchor that lets me explore.

This is a heroic pano!! I love the IQ of a gigapixel image!

But after all that, and the wonderful text, I’m greedy. I want to see it in color!! I wonder if the overexposed area can be salvaged?

Amazing shot Paul! Just love the way the composition swoops you around the image. Feels like riding a rollercoaster.

Beautiful Black and White photo…I love the foreground and the background …The clouds all leading to the mountain really works. and the reflection is really nice.