Top of Volcano Sunrise- Haleakala

As I am finding the ratings realm rather weird and not very helpful, I'll

crawl back and ask for helpful and insightful criticism... whimper,

whimper.

So this is the penultimate moment before sunrise 10,000 + on

Haleakala looking down onto clouds about 3000 feet down licking

at volcanic ridges and cinder cones. Amazed at how wavelike they

act. BTW Sunrise Actually is tougher to shoot successfully due to

the amazing brilliance of raw direct sunlight at 10k .

3 Bracketed exposures which are then merged - HDR w/o HDR

color craziness.

A moment in time that I almost wished I didn't have a camera and

would let myself suck in all the sweet zen majesty of what was

unfolding without attempting to capture it like some bezerk game

hunter. Alas I am weak and have my trophy ....

Comments and criticisms that go with those

anemic rating numbers ?

Hi Michael, I'll give it a try. I do like the mood and the overall composition with the horizon taking approx 30% of the picture. The big rock is very well placed. The clouds appear very soft, that looks great. But, unfortunately, there are some blown-out highlights in the foreground.

For me, the biggest minus is that there is not much going on in the picture. There's the sky, the soft clouds and the rock. After some seconds I have the impression of having seen everything. That's why I would be tempted to rate it 5(+). Hope this helps a little.

Kind regards, Alex

Michael...  Some good points from Alex.  I think this is an exciting shot, from the rock monolith to the turbulent clouds spilling over the crest.  The highlights are repairable and I think a little more detail could be coaxed from the mountain.... uh, and the horizon must be leveled.  Overall an eye catching image and as with most grand views, wish I were there.

As for the ratings, don't get your BVD's in a wad, they're so random as to be useless.  However, if you want comments then it's best to have more "comments" than "requests" on your page.... Mike

Interesting image.  I have been there and understand the challenge at sunrise.  This is a nice capture of the moment but lacks the ingredients to be a great image.  There is nothing in the image to capture your eye and move it around the frame.  Not sure what you could have done, maybe try to include something close in the foreground to add some more depth?  Anyway I wish I had been there at the same time as this is an amazing place.