"Another Turn"

While visiting Santa Barbara over the 4th, I had planned to shoot the downtown pier, Stearns Wharf, at sunrise with the Coast Range as the backdrop. Problem was, the fog was heavy, almost a spitting rain. With a little searching, I realized the fog layer was below the mountain tops. I saw on the map a road called Camino Cielo. With the little spanish I know, this meant to me "heaven's path" or "sky road". I must be close to right, because this winding paved road transported me to the crest of the very mountains I hoped to photograph from sea level. I rate this as one of the top scenic drives in California, yet not well known. I shot from here the previous morning, but this comp was discovered well after sunrise. So what does a "driven by passion" photographer do? Come back the next morning and frame this up before the sun eclipses the horizon. As luck would have it, there were no clouds, but at least I was blessed with absolutely no wind. Well, since the sky was cloudless, I decided to crank down my aperture ring to produce some 4th of July fireworks of my own! The Larger preview is the way to go.

The days seem to run into one another, becoming weeks and then months. A one year

old baby girl is suddenly 5 and experimenting with makeup. From time to time, I need

to find a perch and actually watch the day turning. It helps ground me and slows things

down. Seems, at times, like the days just become another turn of the earth and not

much more. But everyday should be celebrated. It's easier to rejoice when you witness

that defining moment, the moment where it's turning is most evident. Better than a

bowl of corn flakes I say. Thanks for your observations and I hope you will enjoy the

Larger preview!

Thanks Walter, good to hear from you. I usually know that I have something good when you visit. I used four exposures to punch this one out. In fact, I used the darkest exposure twice processed in Raw to get the detail around the sun, so you could say five exposures. All told, about 90 minutes processing, not including wife and kids interruptions. Something about backlit grasses that captures me and my creativity!

wonderful image especially the lit up foreground vegitation

Well done Mark. This is of the better multiple exposure/HDR photos i;ve seen for sure - seamlessly done. excellent composition as well.

Thanks Robert and Dan! Dan, I am not a big fan of typical HDR images that have pronounced haloes and look cartoonish. My intent with bracketed exposure fusing (BEF) is to create an image file that contains all of the tones of a very contrasty scene in one image. This, I believe, is very similar to how our own eyes record a scene of this nature. It just looks natural, but it is a chore to get right. Perhaps more like a labor of love I guess! BTW, BEF was off the cuff. Maybe I have a new acronym!

absolutely perfect photo.  congrats. 

Thanks Robert, I appreciate the favorable comment!

A beautiful capture. Froze that moment in time...Lefty

Excelente contraluz, saludos.

Thanks Ray and Gallego! I appreciate the kind words.

Very well said and very well photographed.  I really like the foreground elements that go across and extend nearly halfway up into the photo.

Mark, i believe this is only HDR by definition - had you not said anything i wouldnt have thought it was. ie: you used the tool properly.

Mark!

Very much I got to like your photographic look at meadows and fields which you are photographing.

It is very characteristic, in the special way is standing out in amongst really wonderful photographs, presented on this forum.

This the oat so beautifully is lighted, and the tonality and colours are bewitching wholes. I am expecting that in the 16x24 format of the inch, on the wall, it would be delightful!

Thanks for the aesthetic feast. Artur.

Thanks Stephen, Dan and Artur! Thanks again Dan. As you said, by definition only. This is truly HDR by definition, that definition being a tonality range that exceeds the capability of the camera's image sensor. Many times I will shoot an extreme bracketed exposure only to render detail in one area of the image, in this case, the sun. I prefer the sun to be a tight ball of light as opposed to a blown out white/yellow area that it often becomes when not rendered from a bracketed exposure. The other exposures are used to better blend "seamlessly" as you put it. I appreciate the compliment. Artur, I also appreciate your colorful praises. While I am not sure what "bewitching wholes" means, "aesthetic feast" is quite understandable! 

Mark...  You know me, the techno stuff is great, but I tend to judge photographs on the essence of "being there" and to that end this is magnificent, an image to be savored, studied and enjoyed...  a "Get Well Card for the Soul".  Thanks for sharing... Mike

the technical perfection already makes it impressive, but there is much more in it. you caught the essence of summer mood.

Thanks Mike and Zsolt! Mike, I have never been more pleased with a photograph of mine that didn't have clouds. The understory along these ridges had me spellbound, especially those teardrop looking grasses. Zsolt, this is a summer photo, yet my eyes tell me it is a fall picture. I guess it is the red flowers, which look more like red autumn foliage. There were so many comp choices, yet this one had the most to offer with the receding layers. Thanks again!

From a few days I am testing my new electronic translator, which is supposed to assist me at precise transferring from Polish to English, so that I am very well understood on the forum beyond the ocean, when I am trying a little play a wise guy myself, about outstanding here presented photographs.

My last post under your photograph, is the best example of the imperfection of electronic inventions. I tried to correct him with the help of the big, paper dictionary what more low I am presenting:

This the oat is so beautifully illuminated, and the tonality and coloration are fascinating (captivating) in whole.

Now everything will already certainly be so bright, as your solar composition!

If you are writing correctly grammatically, rather than with American photographic slang, using mental shortcuts additionally, it is easier for us to establish the dialogue with you, and yes it you are really far, farther than beyond the ocean!

I am greeting you everyone, of enthusiasts of the landscape photography, Artur.

Mark, you've got a cracker here. HDR as it should be. Your ability to incorporate the sun amazes me. I avoid it like the plague. The FG plants sing but the hazy detail out into the distance adds depth. I feel lifted by this image, and that doesn't happen too often.

Nice work Mark, it snows up there occasionally.

Thanks Jeff and Steve and again to you Artur! Artur, I appreciate your efforts to communicate your response in English. Good luck learning perhaps the most complicated language in the world. Jeff, glad this one lifted you. It was uplifting for me for sure. This comp presented itself the previous day, but the sun had risen long before I came across this spot. When I came back the next morning, I looked at other possibilities first, but I knew this was the right arrangement. Steve, I am sure this area would be awesome graced with a fresh snow, but I am wondering if you could get up here. Meanwhile, I saw some homes on the way up, so perhaps they plow part way up. I would love to try this again in the spring!

Simply perfect HDR picture!! the sunlight and the colors are great. Very well done!

I won't try to add to what others have so eloquently said about this photograph. What a wonderful exchange of comments! Mark, your willingness to spend some time describing the circumstances leading to the taking of the photograph, the techniques you use, with, in this case, the addition of some philosophical musing, helps to make you one of the more interesting photographers to follow on photo.net.

One comment on the BEF technique (or sometimes Extended Dynamic Range):  Although totally different from true HDR, the two are often confused in discussions (but not in this one).  I sometimes blend files by using luminosity masks and by hand, but seldom manage to do it as impeccably as you do.