"Otro Mundo"

Alabama Hills, Sierra Nevada. Your thoughts and impressions are appreciated!!

Gorgeous B&W landscape. The composition and range of tones are excellent.

Hi Mark,

 

I find your photograph with very good tones, and interesting texture given by the rocks. The only suggestion that may improve it is to whiten a bit the clouds. A last suggestion for future compositions is to have a spot in the picture that draws your attention, because in this one the over all scene is nice but the viewer?s eye keeps wondering around the whole image.

very nice b\w landscape, congrats

A feast of textures and shapes enhanced by the toning and critical exposure.

 

Simon

Beautiful BW landscape photo. Great light, textures and tones.

I don't know how you do it with all of those filters in front of your lens. Like the contrasting shapes, textures. The long rock in the foreground draws me to midground and the brighter rocks, then to the sierras behind. Nicely done. Really, do you find all of the filters having much effect on a large print? Vignetting with a cokin "P" filter holder or similar? Hope to visit this area to be wowed.

 

Harry

Thanks Bob, Luis Edwardo, Gianluco, Simon, Joaquim and Harry for the comments. I agree with you Luis Edwardo about having a central focus or subject to anchor the viewer. The Alabama Hills is just what you see, a mass of jumbled granite boulders of immense size and dimension. There is not much beyond that, with the exception of a dry creek that displays some cottonwood trees and various other understory. As well, the occasional paintbrush or lupine can be found to add interest. When I was here, the flowers were not yet out. I found other compositions with cottonwood trees, but this composition worked well showcasing the boulders themselves. I used dodging and burning layers to create a light path that leads the eye through the landscape. Harry, I would answer by saying any filter is detrimental to the clarity of a photograph. I just can't be as creative without them. The vignetting is troublesome at the widest focal length and I plan to upgrade to the next size holder when more photo money is available. As far as the tonality and print quality from the final file: I, unlike so many purists, spend a fair amount of time post processing to achieve the look I want. My prints are exceptional up to 24 inches wide, at least from a viewable perspective. Obviously, up close scrutiny may reveal noise or grain, but I find that what can be seen at 100% on a monitor screen is mostly lost on large prints because of dot gain .

Classic Alabama Hills image, made even better with your black and white conversion. I feel as though I am standing on the boulder pile enjoying the view with you. Wonderful morning light and a great sky! I really like the tonal range and contrasts you were able to coax from this scene. As cliche as it sounds, this photograph has that Ansel Adams feeling. Well done, Mark! A 7/7 for me. Cheers! Chris

Impressive work; the composition is outstanding, and the texture you managed to obtain out of each element, is quite an attribute to the picture itself. Like Chris said, it does have that A.A. quality about it. Congratulations!

Thank you Chris and Juan Carlos! Any comparison to Mr. Adams is humbling at the very least. The obvious difference is in the details. My Pentax DSLR perhaps compares to a 35mm in resolution, Ansel's 8X10 negatives have no comparison. Imagine cutting his image into approximately 60 equal pieces; and each piece having the same resolution as this single image. It looks similar, but ain't so close in that respect. Thank you again, though, for making that comparison!!