Hey David thanks for taking a look at this. I saw on your website that you have shot Whitney. I’m especially intrigued that much, if not most, of your compositions lean toward the tighter crop. I can really identify with that vision, probably because I used to work as a newspaper editor and also shot news photos. Really enjoy your work.
I’m submitting this shot, taken in October at dawn from the wonderful Alabama Hills.
Specific Feedback Requested
I like the photo. I was there on a fine, crisp morning. But I’m requesting your thoughts and ideas on this rather expansive treatment of Whitney at first light, including an opinion that it doesn’t work, if that’s your view. I have left it mostly unedited because I’m wondering whether the subtle lighting makes a great photo, or is it in need to contrast and saturation to make the peak pop more. We all see contemporaries making great photo art with low light, low contrast, expressing mood, etc. I have cranked the contrast and bumped the pale pink on the mountain, testing my options, but I get a sense of betraying Mother Nature. As you know I’m sure, Whitney is a photographer’s treat, being wonderfully visible and easily framed by great foreground. But it is also a pale grey, and on most mornings, that means pale gray with a bit of pastel color against what is usually a pale grey sky. Should I go back and try again, or create a finished image celebrating a moment captured in “real” but unexciting light and color?
Technical Details
Nikon Z6II with 24-70 on tripod, 1/15th, F11, ISO250, 35MM.