Congratulations to Justin Grimm for winning Feature Thread of the Week with 7 votes - View Previous Winners
Prolonged temperatures of -20 and lower this winter allowed for some interesting ice crystals to grow along the shores of Lake Louise, and they took on multiple different forms. Some resembled sharp needles, others were soft feathers that waved in the slightest breeze, and there were even a few larger structures that looked like Roses. I typically avoid shooting a tourist hub such as this, but the incredibly interesting hoar frost was too much for me to pass up. Even though this lake is packed shoulder to shoulder during the day, I was the only one out here through twilight, and into the night as I captured images.Maybe normal people don't find standing out in the dark in -30 degree weather comfortable? All I know is that I felt like the only person on the planet while lying in the snow shooting this cold and silent night…..except for one tiny detail….
The MASSIVE GLOWING HOTEL behind me, which might as well be called a lighthouse! This sheer amount of orange light that gets thrown off of it at night is impressive. Not only unnaturally illuminating the near foreground, but even the mountains in the distance. To overcome this photographic obstacle, I used images from multiple different times throughout my shooting session to build the final result you see here, never once moving my camera. This is technically an impossible image to capture with a single frame because of the hotel shaped beacon, but I feel it does a much better job reflecting my experience while shooting this cold, moonless, sapphire-lined night. Thanks for looking!
***My new website is currently under construction. If you are interested in learning how I create images like this, please send me a direct email. [email protected] ***
Where the term "Ice Fields" came from... The fascinating detail with the ice shapes in the FG is as interesting as the detail in the universe above, awesome image Justin. Voted!
Wow, what a tremendous image. The ice is absolutely awesome.
Having just returned from an area where even an unoccupied dog house is illuminated like Piccadilly Circus I admire your efforts here even more.
Superb!
Justin, this is pretty wild.. The crystal frost is really off the charts and you did an amazing job to capture the image the way you did the extreme FG emphasis is absolutely beautiful . Regards Dean
Wow! Everything fits perfectly together. Those ice crystals in the foreground are brilliant. The overall composition,
brightness and toning is spot on. And I like the fact that you resisted to push the milkyway in an absurd direction
Justin, you have done it again. Beautifully done. I wonder how many shots are combined into this final image.
I am looking forward to your new webpage.
Bravo!
That's beautiful Justin. I really lice the final, very cool (well, just cold!) final color balance. But I'm not clear on how making multiple exposures over the night would eliminate the orange light from the hotel. Wouldn't that have been present any time you shot (unless they turned out the lights)? Could you elaborate on that aspect?
Thanks very much everyone. I appreciate the longer comments here, rather then the typical quick compliment. I enjoy reading what specific aspects of the image people like most, and answering questions about it.
DSC01 wrote:
Justin, this is pretty wild.. The crystal frost is really off the charts and you did an amazing job to capture the image the way you did the extreme FG emphasis is absolutely beautiful . Regards Dean
Thanks Dean. Getting extremely close to the foreground has been the theme of my winter shooting this year. I just love being able to bring out small details that can be be easily overlooked.
ElCuruba wrote:
Wow! Everything fits perfectly together. Those ice crystals in the foreground are brilliant. The overall composition,
brightness and toning is spot on. And I like the fact that you resisted to push the milkyway in an absurd direction
Thanks ElCuruba. Im honestly not a huge fan of MW images that are pushed to the extremes, although they do very well on the forum. It is very easy to shoot at high ISOs for long periods of time, and then max out the processing to get an eye catching web image. The sky in this was shot at ISO 1600 and only for 15 seconds to reduce streaking/noise. It should hold up and look great even when printed large, but I might someday replace the exact position of this sky with one that will be shot with a tracking devise. Im a bit obsessive when it comes to print quality, so I would love to experiment with a tracker one of these days.
Kee Woo Rhee wrote:
Justin, you have done it again. Beautifully done. I wonder how many shots are combined into this final image.
I am looking forward to your new webpage.
Bravo!
Thanks Kee. Over 20 were used for the focus blend during low light, as the entire focus range of my lens was used for this perspective. Then 1 image for the sky, and 1 for the mist.
mmbma wrote:
was a polarizer used on whatever lens you used to get the details of the bedrock below the water?
No polarizer. The extreme close angle here minimized the area of reflection.
dsjtecserv wrote:
That's beautiful Justin. I really like the final, very cool (well, just cold!) final color balance. But I'm not clear on how making multiple exposures over the night would eliminate the orange light from the hotel. Wouldn't that have been present any time you shot (unless they turned out the lights)? Could you elaborate on that aspect?
Dave
Thanks Dave. I was here through sunset and twilight. I kept shooting as late as possible into the blue hour, right until the hotel starting to overpower the natural light. This point was only apparent when looking at images, and not with my own eyes. Then I needed to wait about 90 minutes for the MW to come out and align with my pre-determined composition. Not only that, but mist started forming as it got colder, so I waited even longer for it to build up to my liking. The overall colour balance here was from the peak of the blue hour, and barely touched. The orange sky was adjusted to match the foreground.
I will admit, very rarely do I see a vertical image that works in the 2:3 ratio, especially an ultra-wide focal length. I dunno, there is just something about the vertical 2:3 that looks too stretched, especially on a small computer display. Often times most folks fail to fully utilize the foreground or sky in ultra-wide angle images, and are simply better off cropped to 4:5...
This image, however, is jaw-dropping from top to bottom, and I bet it would get even more beautiful if printed large and hung on a wall. Way to go!
You really did a superb job here with the blending of the images, Justin. I also am a huge fan of the cool hues throughout the image. It really conveys how cold the scene really was when you photographed it. The detail from the foreground ice crystals to the mountains and milky way in the background are just outstanding.
