"Solar Energy"

It's winter and I am catching up with some unfinished processing work. That's what winter is for if you are a bored photographer. The Rankin Ranch just west of Bakersfield in the Walker Basin of the Southern Sierra is, for me, one of the most enchanting western settings I have come across. This is a modern day dude ranch with old world structures. The Rankin family has been a fixture here since the mid 1800's. 147 years later and the Rankin family is still in the cattle ranching business, while the guest ranch will be celebrating 45 years of business in 2010. The preferred activity is horseback riding, but the guest ranch also features trout fishing, hiking, bicycling, swimming, tennis and of course, relaxation. Indeed, if you are big city dweller, the Walker Basin will provide you with good dose of pure country. If you are a photographer, your world will rock with opportunities. That's my preferred activity at the Rankin Ranch! Please click for a Larger preview and I would be glad to hear your assessments!

Thanks for your impressions. The Larger preview will enhance your viewing!

ohhhh. Fantastic!!!

7/7

Mark... You've outdone yourself with this one. I thought "Closest Star" sublime, but the shadow/light details in the grass, the sun burst, and exposure throughout are fantastic here. Surely a place where you could spend days... and then pick up your camera... Mike

 

 

I think I like this location as much as you do and I have never been there. Through your eyes I have enjoyed this ranch and see it not as a modern day working ranch but as a ranch of "yesteryear." It just adds so much more to the image to see it that way. In any case, it's a real beauty and a credit to your photographic and processing skills.Well done, Mark.

It looks very good but somehow i feel a problem with the sky, it seems unrealistic to my taste.

Love the sunbeams.. Would crop a bit from the bottom for a better balance.

Nevertheless fine scenery. Regards, Wim

You definitely have a gift. This shot is magical.

Do you have a secret editing skill in your workflow to achieve the incredible luminescence and crispness I see here?? It's breathtaking!

Thanks Alexandr, Mike, Leo, Uzay, Wim, Mark H and Kim. Yes Mike, there are lots of reasons not to pick up a camera while here, but I start twitching when I see scenes like this and don't have a camera covering one eye. Leo, I am pleased to know how much you have enjoyed this series. Spring is just around the corner and I will be working this area once again. Uzay, not sure what doesn't look right to you but this sky is for real. Wim, thanks for the crop suggestion but I like the location of the horizon for this and for me, the grasses in the foreground almost makes the scene. Kim, the answer to that is yes and no. I do have some secret moves to get this look but they really aren't secrets. I share my techniques freely. The primary reason this scene works visually is that I have exposed the scene twice, once for the foreground and then the second time for the sky. Then the two exposures are blended to create the appearance of a very wide dynamic range of light. Yes, it is a bit of a trick to control a scene like this; shooting directly into the sun while managing to preserve the detail in the remaining parts of the scene would be impossible if not for exposure blending (although you could attempt this by stacking a couple of grad filters, it would never look as natural).

That's what I wanted to know, Mark; thanks! I want to walk right in to this.

perfect Sun rays and a super composition, what I like about this image is it captures that perfect moment when teh sun pops over the horizon and another perfect day starts.

Great Work.

Rich.