Congratulations to Gregg B. for winning Feature Thread of the Week with 7 votes - View Previous Winners
So after short but brutal hike to about 10500 feet elevation (3.2KM) I have found my composition. I didn't care I had no clouds, the place looked otherworldly anyway. This was only 1.5 miles hike but extremely steep with 1500 elevation gain on a sandy (partially rocky) trail at that. I've made 30 steps and rested 1 or 2 minutes before I continued.
I think it took me over 2 hours to hike 1.5 miles! (normally I can hike 1 mile in about 20 minutes). This wasn't a hike, it was a punishment, I just didn't know what it was for
After arriving to a flat rocky area with lots of amazing Foxtail and Bristlecone pine trees I've scouted the place, which at this elevation was not an easy task, and chosen few trees that could look good with the Moon and at sunset/sunrise.
Since I had the Moon up between 6pm and 3am I didn't have a chance to get a good shoot of the Neowise comet. Yes, it was still up and I've shot it but the light (tail's light) was very faint and almost invisible.
The last image has the Moon, Jupiter, and Saturn nicely aligned. The best part of Milky Way (I was hoping to shoot) was right behind the bright (at about 76%) Moon, so nope, no Milky Way this time.
Anyway, here are few fruits of my struggle....
erielake wrote:
nice to see a larger version of that first one as the one on 500px didn't do it justice...great set
It's the same image, so should be the same resolution but I think 500px resizes each image bases on the browser window's size, or on what type of device.
Gregg B. wrote:
It's the same image, so should be the same resolution but I think 500px resizes each image bases on the browser window's size, or on what type of device.
the resolution is the same but verticals on 500px max out at around 800px high
Fantastic work, and given the physical climb, well earned! Love the trees in the foreground.
Not to start a territorial debate, but I find the Sierras to be more beautiful than the Rockies and more colorful than the Alaskan Range. Hope I can return to all of them some day!
I can attest to your "punishment" hiking the mountains of northern Utah and in particular Lake Blanche in Big Cottonwood Canyon. But I have to say these images are so good, stunning captures of moments in time that it was worth the price of admission to be there to see it. Great work from someone who obviously knows his craft.
Awesome scenery! Nice editing on the tonal ranges.
If I have to offer any critical feedback it might be along the lines of too much moon, which feels a bit contrived. Also, the framing is a little too tight on the sides of the trees. For such an expansive area of incredible views, I feel constrained by not seeing more of it in context to the subjects. Just a couple of nitpicks of personal preference. Still great images no matter what.
Thanks for all comments. Just to clarify...
All images had the moon in. Nothing was contrived. But, almost all shots were taken at 14mm or so, so the moon came out so tiny, it was "useless" as a compositional element. So, I shot it at 50mm and replaced the small Moon with the larger one to recreate what I saw with my eyes. If I'm not mistaken human eyes see at about 43mm or 50mm when compared to a lens' focal length. The only difference is human see panoramically (unless you're missing one eye) so the angle of view is more like 22 or 25mm. Anyway, the Moon was there, and the last images shows it at its more or less original size except the starburst (or moon burst) effect and lots of light making it appear larger than it actually was...
