The first Sun Rays in Chitral Gol National Park

Yes, I know, the foreground is dark. It is against the rules. But

what more do we need to appreciate the beauty of this place? And if

you think the foreground should not be that dark, what do you

suggest for the next time I wait for the sunrise up there? Thanks

for your feedback. Karl

Nope, I think I prefer the foreground to be dark, as you have done. This way, I appreciate the background more. It's so contrast and it really shows the beauty of the blue & snowy mountain. And the dark foreground is actually compensated by the foregound exposed to the sunlight, which balance the picture.

 

Beautiful work to me. Congrats.

A breathtaking scenery, for sure. No of course - no high noon shot, the lighting is absolutely amazing. The small lane on the right makes kind of lead-in. Maybe I would try to pull out a bit shadow detail, that is not visible in this scan (my eyes just want to see something in the foreground...). I am quite sure there is some shadow detail in the original, and I would composite two scans then (analogue to your earlier Buni Zom Range shot, but from a single template this time)

Funny, at first sight I tried to imagine where in Switzerland this might have been... Thought of the Gastlosen for the ridge, but there was too much stuff missing around it.

 

I have of course nothing against the dark background, since that's exactly what you'd naturally encounter in such situations.

 

A thing I've been considering a lot, lately, is that shots with heavily ND-graded filter, sometimes, end up looking almost innatural. What I mean is that it is true that our eyes, after all, can record more dynamic range than film, let alone digital, but it is also true that if there are big highlights, like in the mountains, we have some small time-lapse to pass from brightness to dark and focus well enough.

 

In summary, even though you could have used ND's here, this looks very natural to me as is!

Hi Salvatore, thanks for your helpful comment. I am also thinking about graduated ND filters, for the 5D, not for the Hasselblad, because there it would be very difficult to control. With the Hasselblad I think the best would be two shots with different exposures. I would need more information about the right ND filter(s). In generl I do not like to carry too much stuff with me. The cedar with the horizontal branches would not fit into the Gastlosen. Karl

I used to carry some plastic cokin, but they get terribly scratched very easily, and -being not coated, it's plastic after all- are even more flare-prone.

 

I am toying with the idea of getting some Galen Rowell's Singh Ray things... but then I know I will not have the time to use them while mountaineering anyhow.

 

I tried digital ND, and it always looked far to innatural. Or most likely I was far too little patient to do it decently right (or maybe my PSE2 is simply not enough).

 

Hope everything is fine w/ you in Peshawar: one reads bad things in the news these days.

Karl, I'm looking at them one by one now... Light is delicate and beautiful on the diagonal slope. The warm/cold hue works so well here.