Winter in the Sierra Nevada foothills, CA

A brief sunny spell between winter rains.

Nice shot! I still feel the edge of the ND grad filter could've been a bit higher up. You could achieve it by playing it with shadow contrast. Nevertheless a good 6/6!

I like the way the small trickle of water draws the eye to the clump of trees. Good colour - it was a good choice to take this when the sun was lower.

Actually I used a polarizer instead of an ND grad when I found that the latter killed that nice light on the top of the tree. To control the tonal range, and especially to avoid blowing out the cloud, I combined two conversions of the same raw capture - one without exposure compensation, and one at -5/6 stop. I agree that the gradation at the top of the meadow, which is controlled by a layer mask, could use some work. Thanks for the nice comments.

Love composition, color tones and light. Regards.

If you rework this image to make the transition smoother, I would suggest making the foreground a bit darker. To me it is a bit unrealistic in relationship to the trees and sky.

WOW! Same scene as the Fog Bow and yet again a SUPERB photo! Perfect colors and great composition!