Through a friend of a friend of a friend and to the unavailability of a couple more friends... whew... I was able to go shoot Fly Geyser not long ago. It's one of those geysers that has been on my list for years now, so literally the moment I was given the chance I packed up and drove 11 hours the next day (while stopping for sunset at Mono Lake) to get there.
What a unique and cool land this geyser is in. It's almost like a miniature Yellowstone it has so much thermal activity going on all over that area. I got to this with a friend of mine in the afternoon, and we were allowed to stay and shoot for as long as we wanted, which in this case ended up being until about 1:30am.
My friend wanted to play with light painting some of the geyser pools as seen in a shot here. I will offer both versions, with some of the pools light up and the other shot with just natural light. A quarter moon was up and to our back to provide some lighting, though we also used a dimmed headlamp to shed some light on the main part of the geyser.
I have been a bit up in the air about how much I liked the green colored pools, but I will admit the colored pools version has been growing on me the more I look at it. I am interested to hear what others think though.
Jim,
Both version look pretty much identical except for the 'green pool'. The lighting effect is interesting but I would go with the one lit by natural light.
Post your Mono Lake photo!
Fred
Fred Miranda wrote:
Jim,
Both version look pretty much identical except for the 'green pool'. The lighting effect is interesting but I would go with the one lit by natural light.
Post your Mono Lake photo!
Fred
Hey Fred, thanks so much! I processed both shots identically so that in the end when I figure out which version I like best, my decision won't be influenced from a difference in look from processing.
Yikes... I almost forgot about my Mono Lake shots... I am working on a few more from Fly geyser and then I think I will look at Mono Lake. I did get some cool colors in the clouds, but there is one huge drag with Mono Lake... the water level is very low... I would say about 70% of the compositions that we have been used to shooting over the last few years are gone. The water level is too low, so those area's are high and dry now. It really made for some limited choices in shooting, and it also made it hard to avoid getting other people in the shot. I sure hope we get some more moisture here in California.
camboman wrote:
I like the second one better, it seems to have a deeper blue in the sky.
I know it's an artificially made geyser, but this photo looks like something being born!
Thanks for your choice. So far Sunny is losing out...
As for the geyser, while the fact that water and steam are spewing out of the ground is from a human accident, the geyser itself has built itself due to natural processes. And when you are in that area, with the tons of thermal activity there, this geyser could easily have been the result totally of natural processes. Well, or at least that is what I am telling myself...
JimFox wrote:
Thanks for your choice. So far Sunny is losing out...
As for the geyser, while the fact that water and steam are spewing out of the ground is from a human accident, the geyser itself has built itself due to natural processes. And when you are in that area, with the tons of thermal activity there, this geyser could easily have been the result totally of natural processes. Well, or at least that is what I am telling myself...
wow man those are awesome I like the 2nd one - the coma in the stars and clarity looks spot on. Looks like maybe you adjusted exposure slightly? it works makes it look just that much sharper. The green... it works but looks slightly odd... but still pretty awesome. I'd hang it on my wall
Wow!
That shot is psychedelic!!!!
I like the green pool emphatically. It puts the shot over the top in color without looking 'unnatural'. I'd say Sunny has good taste. lol. Color balance of an astro landscape, I have come to believe in my very limited experience, needs to be whatever works with the foreground - blue to grey, dark to light.
The second one is, as said, is virtually identical to the former except for the green pool and very very good as well. I suppose it comes down to a matter of taste. I haven't checked your blog in a while, but I expect to see your light painting technique described in detail for my next trip. I tried some light painting of mesa arch and it looked silly. Good thing the sun rose.
Great shot.
Great shot with beautiful colours and sky! Both images work really well, tough to choose between them. If anything, maybe a bit darker foreground to highlight the rocks emerging from the middle and the sky. But the foreground does have nice colour and shine, so...
Pretty cool Jim! That first one is glowing on me too. I also prefer the first for the clouds on that one so if you want to do without the green slime, maybe you can blend the more natural looking pool of the second into the first.
