"Fury of the Sierra"

I have seen photos of intense alpenglow and I have also witnessed it a few times, never getting the shot however. When conditions are right, it is a rare phenomenon. While alpenglow may occur in a subtle fashion on a cloudless morning, it is amplified when the clouds are low, but at the same time allowing the rising sun to break through just at the point of the horizon. Everything seemed to work on this morning. Not only were we greeted with outstanding alpenglow, but in the opposite direction, we were witnessing quite a light show. For the short period of time that the light lasted, I wasn't sure which way to direct my camera. Somewhat of a conundrum, it's a good one to have!

Thanks for your observations, suggestions and opinions! As always, I suggest viewing

the Larger preview.

great colours and composition!

Mark,

Wow.....you just keep coming with these magicial shots. I love the colors & composition. Great capture Patsy

Strong image, great lighting. Nailed it!

Nice image!

Very nice, Mark. This is one of my favorite spots in the Eastern Sierra. I've skied Basin Mountain many times and have never seen a light show like this before. Well done.

Thanks Chris, Patsy, Douglas, Dr. Didi and Ronald for your comments. The ratings aren't being kind to the image and I think I know why. The level of saturation in the peaks and sky look unbelievable to a degree. I wanted to retain the detail in the peaks without blowing a channel, yet I wanted to reveal the composition of the foreground boulders. The result looks bizarre perhaps, but it satisfies my best recollection of the scene. This was for me a redemption. The previous evening, my sister and I were hot on the trail of a Sierra wave cloud formation showing sunset colors. We were driving to this location, took a wrong turn, only to see the light fade before the first click. Meanwhile, a pair of large barking dogs ran right up to my sister and scared us both half to death. We were dejected for sure, but set out before dawn to try and make things right. It was an epic morning to say the least!

One of the best photos here of late! As to the marks - often I've seen really artificially looking images getting high ratings here, so I dont know if the colours are the reason.

This is precisely why we SoCal photogs haunt the length and breadth of U.S. 395 along the eastern Sierras. One of the very best I've ever seen taken by anyone, pro or amateur; truly some high quality work here, Mark! Well done! ...and to my Faves it goes. Cheers! Chris

I second Chris' comment!

lovely - love the color light and composition 6/6A

Thanks Sandris, Chris, Leo and Tony. My instinct would be to add a meaningful white point to the alpenglow along the Sierra Crest, but that simply blows the detail away. Your comments affirm my decision!

Una maravillosa luz.

Saludos.

This gets the word "stunning" from me. The tones and color are incredible and the experience story adds to the image. I also have one comment on the foreground rocks, to me, if possible a slightly higher POV might have improved this shot.

Thanks Rueda, Hans-Peter and Craig. I appreciate your observations. Craig, a higher vantage was not possible. I was actually shooting upward and there was nothing for me to climb up onto and no way to compose this from a higher vantage. Hans-Peter, I believe you are saying to reduce the DOF so the boulders are in focus and the mountains are soft or slightly OOF. I really wanted those peaks to be tack sharp. Post-processing for separation is probably my only recourse. I have uploaded a new version, slightly darkening behind the boulders and lightening the boulders. I think the change is a marked improvement!

Mark - You captured some amazing light in your recent Sierra series. And the mountains compositions aren't bad either! So often one is good, but the other lacks. You put it all together here. Outstanding. The high big boulder interrupts the view a little for me, I wonder if placing yourself in front of the boulder would have yielded a more pleasing composiion?

 

Regards, Harry

Thanks Harry. Possibly so! I had so many choices during this exciting morning. I am always looking for foreground interest, even when it is not necessarily needed. I could have had a winner without the boulders, yet I am still more satisfied with something other than sage brush in the foreground. My purpose for being at this location was to capture the boulders of the Buttermilk Hills, so I didn't even think about excluding them. I realized I had a problem when I began processing this. The boulders were dealing me some grief trying to get some separation from the midground. I think the final version achieved that, but I won't go any further. These boulders would play heck trying to clone them out.

A truly Beautiful image with a capital "B" the sage and FG boulders add a very visual depth to this wonderful image, this must be nice in print, I hope to shoot the Sierras soon. Well done on your post work with this also, the color looks nice, this type of glow doesn't come around often and you have caught it well.

Ross

Hey Ross, thanks for your kind remarks. This image is one of those that benefits greatly with the larger version. The opportunity to photograph this was very memorable. You know, I haven't printed this one yet, but I should do so soon. Thx again!

Very nice.  Thanks for the description of how you felt and how you did it.  Best Regards,