"Morning Combustion"

It was a busy morning. The light was changing in all directions and the clouds were dancing a rapid jig. There are so many comps to choose from when conditions are like this, yet the challenge is deciding on the best one. I have had tripod planted and comp dialed in, only to have the scene behind me transform into something magical. Flexibility combined with good peripheral vision is helpful. While it can be challenging and even perplexing to decide where to focus, it's a good dilemma to have. I was driving back to a location I had spotted earlier when the light over my shoulder erupted. Within moments, I found a healthy stand of sagebrush to accent the vivid light. The sagebrush has a minty green appearance during this time of day and is one of my favorite foreground elements. The clouds seem to compress the light against the mountain crest. Luckily, the light lasted for about 15 minutes, which gave me time to explore several comps before it quickly disappeared behind the storm. Thanks for looking!

Nice colours and lighting.

Thanks Cristian!

Great composition.  That little line of illuminated fog adds much to the photo.  With the range of light and DOF, I'd be interested to know how you processed this.

Hi Stephen. As usual, I collected several exposures, picked the best three and blended. IMO, the main challenge in digital photography is under and/or over-exposure. Without blending. part of this scene would be overexposed (the rim lighting) and much of the scene would under-exposed. One exposure ensures there will be adequate detail and color in the rim light halo. The middle exposure handles the lion's share of the tonal range (mostly mid-tones) and finally, the third exposure ensures I have detail and separation in the shadows. As far as the DOF, just a wide angle setting (around 18mm) and F16. Once again, it may appear that the foreground is overly luminous compared to the sky, but I feel that the scene has even tonal balance, similar to how our eyes perceive a wide tonal range. Thanks again!

Beautiful work; really should be viewed large to fully appreciate the beauty in this image - great depth and colors, light is perfect and really creates a very moody image! Thank you for sharing. :)

my favorite from this Sierra folder. magical tones and color combination. somehow new, original. an excellent photograph.