Another image from my trip with @John_Williams in October. Unlike our time on Mt. Rainier, we were blessed with nice clouds. We also had a near perfect reflection, though a couple grebes tried real hard to make big splashes as we pushed the shutter button.
This is the iconic view at Picture Lake.
Specific Feedback Requested:
All comments welcome, especially regarding post processing
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
Single photo, D850, 16-35 at 27mm, ISO 100, f/11, 1/20 sec, tripod
Stunning image Steve - I’ve never had luck with the weather at Rainier to get an image like this. Like the reflection in the lake and the cloud patterns. Only thing I might have tried to change was the small clump of grass in LL - I think more of it would have added to the depth of the image a little more and framed the bottom edge of the lake. But the processing is spot on. Thanks for sharing!
These are clouds to die for, you were very fortunate to have these conditions Steve. And again you have gone for a slightly non-traditional view of a well known location, good stuff.
Regarding composition, with a mountain as impressive as Shuksan, it deserves center placement like this. Given how much left / right symmetry there is in the shoreline of trees, I think a panoramic crop that eliminates the foreground might work well. The left and right sides are very balanced in this comp, except for the foreground, where the clump of grass throws the balance off a bit.
My other suggested tweak is similar to the one I gave to your prior Shuksan image, I might dial down the green saturation in the shadowed trees.
@Terrance_Alexander, @Dan_Kearl and @Ed_McGuirk, thank you for your comments! I would love the have added more foreground but unfortunately, this was taken from the edge of a wooden platform with other photographers on both sides. I have another shot with more of the grass area but it includes the side of the photographer on my left and would have been difficult to clone out. I added a new version following Ed’s excellent suggestions - reducing the green saturation and cropping as a pano to eliminate the grass.
The rework looks good Steve. I know the pano treatment is probably more of a traditional view of Shuksan, but I think it makes better use of the compositional elements you had to work with. I think placing the waterline slightly off center in the pano crop maximizes the impact of the clouds too.
