Inspiration Point Yosemite Valley

It was my first trip to Yosemite and it just took my breathe away. As

I'm driving around I come up on Inspiration Point and I'm

flabbergasted that this vista that I've seen so many times is in a

pullover view point. I was sure that I would be hiking miles to get to

this view. It was a bad time of day for dramatic photos but I was in

Yosemite and I was going to photograph Inspiration Point. I jocked for

position among the tourist buses and tourists and was finally able to

set up my tripoded 4x5. Among a barrage of questions concerning my

"old time camera" I managed to take this image. I knew then that it

was no match for anything that Ansel had taken but I was in Yosemite

and I got my first photograph.I have attached the original scan of

this negative so that you could see what I was dealing with. Take into

consideration that a scan will also look very flat as the goal is to

obtain all the information that the negative holds. Well the straight

print of this was not all that inspiring. What to do? The first thing

was to get the overall contrast set and then attack each area

individually. That helped a lot but the overall image still looked to

bright, which it was. I next added four different gradient layers; one

for each of the sides. I controlled the amount of each by using the

opacity sliders. What this did was direct the eye toward the center

and diminished the overall brightness effect. Now I won't be winning

any prizes with this photograph but it has special meaning to me

because it was my first trip to Yosemite and I have made as good as it

can get. I finished it off with both a selenium and Ektalure Cream

tone. Your comments and questions are always appreciated.

Attached is the original scan of the negative. I did forget one thing: When I added the gradient layer to the sky it darken the clouds and the top of El Capitan which I didn't want. So I took the eraser tool with a soft edged brush and low opacity and removed the darkening from these areas.

Hi Leo: Thanks a lot for your explanation about the technical details. Your final picture is much, much better than the original. I do not know where Yosemite is ( I am from Venezuela) but it is really an inspiration. I am goint to see your portfolio right now :-)

Leo,I love you B&W pictures - some of them are absolutely magical.But this one works a little less for me. It's a little over done and the forest has lost something,looks somehow muddy - may be if you cropped it out a bit...

Leo, terrific Photoshop work. You have dramatized a flat photo into an exciting picture. One can just feel the power of those mountains. You are overly modest. Regards, Bernie

Your recent posts are not only beautiful, inspiring images, they are tutorials in superb post processing. And, as usual, you've been more than generous in sharing your technical expertise. Many thanks.

Another excellent rendition of a landscape in B&W...

My God, Leo, looking at the original scan it almost defies imagination to realize that this is the end product. As has been said, I cannot begin to tell you how grateful I am for the detailed explanation of the work and techniques that you have brought to this image. A really superb piece of work, my friend. Your post-processing is completely analogous to the work formerly done in the darkroom. A 7/6 anonymously. Cheers! Chris

Leo,

 

Great job on retouching this image. I also made my first visit to Yosemite this past July and it is indeed breath taking. We were there for two days shooting and also wondering where this vantage point was before stumbleing on it on our way to Glacier Point. I hope to return in the near future...