p.1 #1 · The American West...in Color *Icon Warning*
Here are some of the best images I made while in and around Colorado. It was a really tough week due to the weather but even so there were glimpses of good weather, just enough that if you were in the right place great images could be made.
p.1 #2 · The American West...in Color *Icon Warning*
Great images, and they are icons for a reason. They are classics and I cannot get tired viewing them. You did great with the images. No. 2 is my favorite.
p.1 #4 · The American West...in Color *Icon Warning*
AMaji wrote:
Great images, and they are icons for a reason. They are classics and I cannot get tired viewing them. You did great with the images. No. 2 is my favorite.
Thx!
I agree. Even though the icons have been photographed ad nauseam they are still awesome. The weather is always changing so the images look a bit different each time.
Also, the gear and techniques vary quite a bit.
I just printed these 20x30's and oh my gosh. I feel they could go up to 40x60 easy or even larger. The detail is just unreal. I used the 40mm 2.8 on both the Crystal Mill and the Maroon Bells images. I only took my 24mm TSE II, the Canon 40 pancake and the 70-200mm f2.8L IS I along with my 5D3 for the trip. Didnt feel the need for anything else.
I used as good a technique as it was possible. I really took great care when making these and it showed in the prints. Its tough to look at images on the web and really tell apart the really good files. I used LR4 and really did not need to do much to the files. I did use a grad filter on location.
All are single image, single exposure captures except the on of Emerald Lake in which I had to stitch about 8 images using the RRS horizontal panorama rig with the 5D3/24 TSE II mounted vertically since its a very confined space. The detail on that one is even greater.
p.1 #5 · The American West...in Color *Icon Warning*
The weather was extremely stormy in fact in #2 it was raining. I think it really adds to the mood of the place. It was both amazing and spooky. We were the last ones there and its really into 5 miles of a horrendous rocky road. (just sold 2 prints of that scene)
On #3 it had been in the 40's and raining when the weather just cleared for about 90 minutes and then the clouds rolled in again. It was nasty for 3-4 days. (also, sold 2 20x30's)
I took some images with the perfect blue skies and did not like them. I preferred some clouds in the image.
p.1 #8 · The American West...in Color *Icon Warning*
Asrale wrote:
^ That one is very nice, and I love your angle on the Bells from a spot that's not Maroon Lake.
thx!
Its ironic but I spent a great deal of time for the shot from Maroon Lake, waking up at 4am and driving over there and standing in the cold and wet weather for hours. And while I got a few good shots from Maroon lake including some very nice reflections I think my favorites were from a bit further back on the meadows.
This last shot I posted is my favorite, the 20x30 print I had made is just stunning. The detail is just about the best I have ever gotten with a Canon dslr.
p.1 #10 · The American West...in Color *Icon Warning*
tived wrote:
Great series of images - very envy of you to have such great settings to shoot
all the best
Henrik
Thx! Well, I had to travel 3,000 miles to get there! Thx to this forum and other web sources I timed it perfectly. We got lucky with a little snow which helped the images immensely. The first day I got there it was bone dry and the mountains looked a little dull without any snow at all.
p.1 #13 · The American West...in Color *Icon Warning*
Thx!
Also Ironic, when we got to the Crystal mill we were all bummed. It was raining the skies were nasty and there was a storm approaching with no end in sight. I almost did not take one image. I walked around, even down to the stream, and decided on this spot. I wanted a horizontal and composed this shot while my other two friends did verticals. Actually one of them had a MFDB and did not take out his rig in the rain. I said what the heck and snapped three images total I think. We packed up and went on our way down the very wet and nasty road.
p.1 #20 · The American West...in Color *Icon Warning*
JimFox wrote:
#1 and 3 are my favorites. You did a super job here. I recall those hay bales in #1 very well.
Jim
Thx Jim!
Very tough days in regards to weather. Here is an iPhone shot of me at Maroon Lake after a wet and freezing morning (woke up to a frozen tent since it had rained the day prior then the temp went down to about 29F). This is after the sun melted all the frost (even my bag had frost, shoes, everything)
