I was very fortunate to make my second trip to Patagonia recently. A wonderful, beautiful, mesmerizing, awesome place. It is easy to understand the fascination with the region. A few thoughts (sorry for those that don't want the back story)......
Is it over-run? Not in the slightest. Are there (too)-large tour groups - yes, a few. Is it something that needs to be addressed? - most likely. I was there with a buddy - and we were able to easily make our way around the place. Ran into a couple of groups - but in no way did they interfere, obstruct, impinge, etc. in our path or shots. I can recall two specific times when a group was "in our area". Neither time did it effect us - and everyone got along. I think the simple fact is that the leaders know better than to bring a group of 8 to an area that can't support 8 tripods. Sure-fire way to p**s off the client! And, I understand the economics of the place. Hard to run a workshop with only 3 paying clients. Logistics / economics would dictate a larger group structure.
My point is this - do not worry too much about large groups ruining the place. It's huge - there are opportunities all over the place - it ain't easy to get to - GO!
As for my contribution to the plethora of shots from the area - I am starting with a few from the Argentinian side. I'll add Chile later on. Hope you enjoy.
Todd
#1 - love the clouds. I guess this was a pre-dawn shot? Would have love to see the tips of mountains with sun. However, I think the biggest distraction is the choppy water. I wish the water had 30 seconds or so to make it all silky smooth.
#2 - nice! Love how you placed the stream in this.
#3 - Definitely my favorite! Love the comp, symmetry, light, colors and moodiness of this pic.
#4 - Love what you captured, light and PP but I personally think its too much sky for a 2x3 portrait. I think it would make an awesome 8x10 or 1x1.
Thanks for your thoughts on Patagonia. The way it was being made to sound it seemed to have been discouraging other people to go. I am glad to hear there are still wide open spaces there and plenty of room to photograph without standing on top of other photographers. Maybe I will head there next year after all.
What a wonderful set of photos. Very well composed and very natural looking in feel.
Love the lenticular clouds in #1. And I am guessing the faster shutter speed would be needed to keep the iceberg sharp.
In #2 the meandering water leads perfectly to the rainbow.
#3 with that tree above standing guard over the river below makes for a great watchman. Add the wonderful colors, and this is a winner too.
#4 I love it. The composition is spot on with just the perfect balance of sky and water. I like the look of the water. Night shots like this are not easy, but you nailed it.
Michael - Can't recommend it any higher - should definitely be on the list!
Dave - Yes, Laguna Torre was pre-dawn into sunrise. By the time the sun hit the tips - the iceberg was gone (well, blown closer to the right hand shore) - The wind was intense! Truth be known - I was hoping for the lake to be frozen over like last year - and even though it was cold enough - the wind broke up all the ice.
Jim - You are correct - with the wind and the drifting 'berg - had to go a bit faster than I really wanted.
In #1 did you have a grad filter in use? The right hand mountain looks very dark; as if a grad had been pushed down over it. Amazing to see how little ice there was in the laguna for you though; I was there recently also and had tons of ice in the lake.
Aztatlan - No, didn't use a grad filter. The darkness on the right side is from the sun starting to rise (well, about to) from the right. While the mountain (and snow) were the first to pick up the initial rays of light - the left hand side - and the lake - started to pick up the reflected light. The right side took awhile to balance out - after the sun had begun to rise.
Very nice set! I have had that part of the world on my bucket list for a long time. Well done. I keep looking back at #2. Really like the feel of this image.
Bart - I will update the specific settings tomorrow. My hard drive is in the office - but my laptop is at home -
It is a 2 shot blend - one for the foreground and one for the stars/mountain - but both taken within a minute of each other and from the same spot.
Had a chance to check the settings on the last image. Two shots...
Foreground - iso 1600, f7.1 & 120secs @ 18mm
stars/mountain - iso 1600, f7.1 & 20 secs @ 18mm.
Nikon D810A
14-24mm 2.8
It also helped that there was a soon to be setting near-full moon just to the right.
