Epic Patagonia

A crazy sunrise at the start of a 3 week adventure in Chilean

Patagonia. A crazy sunrise over the peaks at the eastern end of

Torres del Paine National Park. While the colors may seem a bit un-

natural and over saturated, they were indeed this vibrant. Must be

seen to be believed. Comments welcome.

I find the colors completely believable, Harry, and I've found that it's often hard to control those intense reds and yellows.

I'd guess though that the brightest cloud in the reflection is a more accurate rendition than the yellower version up above. 

Nice work as always and a fantastic location.

Very nice colors, balance, and reflection.  You might want to consider erasing what appear to be grasses in the lower right because they look like scratches. 

Thanks for the comments.  I agree, the intense colors appeared in check on my camera's histogram but needed some adjustment during RAW conversion.  I can see how the grasses may look like scratches or sensor debris in the small web versions.  I'm thinking for larger prints it may appear as grasses and not be confusing to a viewer.  I'll rethink cloning them out for sure if they cause more confusion than just a part of the water scene.

Thanks guys, Harry

Very nice image, TFS!

If truth be told, when looking at the thumbnail, I said too myself that this is too saturated and i remembered some info when Carsten Ranke took me under his technical wing for a small period of time and how sensors tend to overload when it encounters red. This brings to mind an extremely red sunset I encountered in Maine at a lighthouse but fortunately there was another member of PN who verified that it really was that red.

A beautiful image indeed!

Tony - When the ground around you starts turning the color of the sky, you know you have some special light.  I remember having that happen in the Sierras 1X, it was yellow instead of the red here.  I wish I could adjust just the red channel when processing the RAW in ACR, but I haven't figured if it is possible.  Maybe it is.  Wilds light down there, and I doubt it is that unusual for the area.

Another splendid shot!  I've been on the receiving end of comments about over-saturation of scenes that were so vivid as to be almost unbelievable.  This looks accurate to me, and it must have been a sight to behold in person.  The blue sky peeking through looks spot on, so you were just lucky to get this amazing light of every color in the rainbow (and have the skill to capture it!).  I'm wondering.....did you have a preference between Chile and Argentina? 

Christal - Chile is a bit of a drive if you land in El Calafate, Argentina (which many do or take a bus).  I visited Torres del Paine National Park and Los Glaciers National Park.  There are many other areas to visit, but I tend to like the Argentina portion better.  I liked the town of El Chelten in Argentina.  Great base for hiking around Fitz Roy.  Nothing like that available in Torres del Paine.  Some good parks north of Fitz Roy too.  If your are going that far, spend some extra time and see both, I say!