In-the-Headlights

I almost missed this shot completely. I slept through the anemic alarm

on my wrist watch and was woken by stream of light hitting me in the

face. I bolted, got dressed and grabbed the camera gear. This little

meadow was about 1 minute from our camp... it was not what I had

planned on shooting, but it worked out pretty well. The meadow is just

across the Ingalls creek from the Enchantments and shares with it a

large population of Alpine Larch, depicted here in their fiery Autumn

color. The south face of Mt. Stuart in the distance.

It's called Headlight Basin and is a popular hiking destination.

Sweet shot, gorgeous, unusual, dramatic. Nice timing, nice capture.

I really like the lighting on the trees.  But, to me, the sun beams appear to be concocted-- too extreme and in the face.  I can imagine a coffee mug or breakfast cereal box superimposed in the lower left!.  As a landscape, though, my suggestion is to moderate the beams.

Marc,  You woke in time because this image is superb.  I really like the sun star and the way you managed the light from the sun, not to blow it out.  This looks like a most effective HDR.  The glow of the trees is also amazing.  I read that shooting at f/22 will produce sun stars.  How did you create this one?  Congratulations on a wonderful image.  Larry

Jeff: These sunbeams are in part very prominent because of the f/22 aperture. I enhanced them further in Ps. It is a mjatter of taste.

Larry: I don't use HDR, I control the lows and highs by introducing under and over exposed versions into the stack and painting in select parts of each layer using masks.

Hi Marc,

The process you described is essentially HDR, just a manual application of the technique, rather than relying on a plug-in to make your decisions.

In my opinion, the end result is independent of the process... a beautiful image is a beautiful image and I don't really care how you got there.

I personally think what you did with the aperture blades - combining your f22 exposure and your post production technique - works for this image. Yes, it's extreme, but in this context, it makes me smile.

Best,

James

The sun was just high enough to peek partly through the top edge of the hill so its light was not strong enough to overpower the exposure.  The timing was perfect.

Spectacular shot.

I don't know how you shoot these kind of situations, but I begin exposing well before sunrise and continue after the has shown itself.

I agree with Jeff, the rays of sun light are kind of distracting and overdone. But other than that it's an excellent image. The glowing quality of the yellow foliage is really nice. I think you need a better alarm, this might have been better a minute or two earlier so the sun wouldn't have been so prominent.

Amazing. Great work.

Tommy

Guys: I just went back and reviewed the Raws. I did not embellish those rays one bit, other than color and contrast. They were actually that thickness and length!!!

I personally think that this capture is Awesome!!! The rays of the sun, lighting and the whole composition is spectacular... Very well done. 

Bravo and Best Regards

Matthew