Colorado and Utah Trip - Rocky Mountain National Park (Lots of Pics)

jamesl

Howdy All,

Continuing my previous thread, here are a few of my favorites from Rocky Mountain National Park, where I spent 2 days shooting.

Besides what is below, many more in my gallery at:

http://www.langfordphotography.com/C...o%20and%20Utah


"Storm is Coming" - Canon 30D w/ Canon 28mm lens + Polarizer. 8 shot pano bracketted -1/0/+1 each frame stitched with Panorama Factory. 3 resulting panos tone mapped in Photomatix and finalized in CS3.


"Infrared Mountains" - Canon 10D IR Modified w/ Canon 20mm lens + Hoya R72 IR Filter. 6 shot pano bracketted -1/0/+1 each frame stitched with Panorama Factory. 3 resulting panos tone mapped in Photomatix and finalized in CS3.


"Storm Over Sprague Lake" - Canon 10D IR Modified w/ Canon 20mm lens + Hoya R72 IR Filter. 5 shot pano bracketted -1/0/+1 each frame stitched with Panorama Factory. 3 resulting panos tone mapped in Photomatix and finalized in CS3.


"Fall Along the Stream" - Canon 30D w/ Canon 28mm lens + Polarizer. 10 shot mosaic (5 x 2) bracketted -1/0/+1 each frame stitched with Panorama Factory. 3 resulting mosaics tone mapped in Photomatix and finalized in CS3.


"Elk at Sunset" - Canon 30D w/ Canon 28mm lens + Polarizer. 1 shot bracketted -1/0/+1 (in ACR). 3 resulting images tone mapped in Photomatix and finalized in CS3.


"Top of the Pass" - Canon 10D IR Modified w/ Canon 20mm lens + Hoya R72 IR Filter. 8 shot pano bracketted -1/0/+1 each frame stitched with Panorama Factory. 3 resulting panos tone mapped in Photomatix and finalized in CS3.


"Hills of Gold" - Canon 30D w/ Canon 28mm lens + Polarizer. 8 shot pano bracketted -1/0/+1 each frame stitched with Panorama Factory. 3 resulting panos tone mapped in Photomatix and finalized in CS3.


"Smooth Flowing" - Canon 30D w/ Canon 28mm lens + Polarizer. 8 shot mosaic (4 x 2) bracketted -1/0/+1 each frame stitched with Panorama Factory. 3 resulting mosaics tone mapped in Photomatix and finalized in CS3.

Thanks for looking!

James

dlplumer

These are all outstanding James. I can't even pick a favorite. Great work

Dan

David L. Megahey

Outstanding All of them are GREAT!!!!

Abiciriderback

All are very nice I'm leaning toward #3 as my favorite just curious how big of a file are those pano's

Ray Still

The Mack

Abiciriderback wrote:

All are very nice I'm leaning toward #3 as my favorite just curious how big of a file are those pano's

Ray Still

Thanks for making me feel like crap when I look at my files

Awesome pictures, congrats!!!!!

black mamba

Hi James,

This is very nice work. My kind of stuff. Well done.

Tom

Cuong

James, these are fantastic! Do you use any kind of pano bracket?

Cuong

eoren1

Wow! Just Wow. I thought I had a favorite picked (the first) only to scroll down and find more and more incredible shots! Great compositions. The stream with a 10 shot compilation is astounding! I don't know how you managed that without seams.
E

kdog

Just super! Gorgeous images, and a great display of photographic and processing techniques.

-joel

Cato

So beautiful, I'm at a loss for words...

thumbthumbthumbthumb

CWSkopec

James,

WOW!!!

All of them are amazing!!
Great work!!!

David_S85

Super shots, James.

Looks like you were also through Vail. Now, I bet you'll tell me you were there between Sept. 27th and Oct. 4th. If so, should I have been wearing my red Smugmug hat the whole time?

cj99si

The first 2 and the first brook shot are my favorites! Looks like you have a great process going here. they look perfect!

Swartzy

BRAVO! Superb. I love those B&W panos....simply stunning!

JenGrace

More book quality shots there. Print them and put them on a wall! Or in a gallery!

jamesl

David_S85 wrote:

Super shots, James.

Looks like you were also through Vail. Now, I bet you'll tell me you were there between Sept. 27th and Oct. 4th. If so, should I have been wearing my red Smugmug hat the whole time?

Thanks David! I appreciate it.

Here's how my trip played out:

Oct 3 & 4 - Rocky Mountain National Park
Oct 5 - Vail, Aspen and Maroon Bells
Oct 6 - Maroon Bells, Aspen, and drive from Carbondale to Grand Junction
Oct 7 - Colorado Monument, Arches, Canyonlands
Oct 8 - Arches, Canyonlands in the morning, Maroon Bells that night
Oct 9 - Maroon Bells sunrise, back to Denver and home to Dallas

So, it looks like I just missed you. :cry I didn't really do much planning for this trip. I just went where I felt like going, and stayed until I was ready to leave. It was a ton of fun.

My Vail stay was kind of interesting. A snowstorm had rolled in that evening, and the whole valley was socked in with clouds. I was pretty depressed, and got a hotel for the night ($150!!!!). I wasn't expecting much the next morning, but the clouds broke from around 10 am till 1 pm, allowing for some amazing pictures of the town. I may not have noticed you even with the red smugmug hat on. ;-)

James

jamesl

dlplumer wrote:

These are all outstanding James. I can't even pick a favorite. Great work

Dan

Thank you Dan. I'm glad you enjoyed them, and I also had a hard time picking my favorite.


James

jamesl

David L. Megahey wrote:

Outstanding All of them are GREAT!!!!

Thanks David!

jamesl

Abiciriderback wrote:

All are very nice I'm leaning toward #3 as my favorite just curious how big of a file are those pano's

Ray Still

Hi Ray. Thanks! I just went back and checked, and the files are between 10 and 20 Mbs for the final JPG version. Size wise, they range between 7500x4000 and on down.

James

ront

Very nice James!! I enjoyed every one of them.

Ron

kdog

James, a question if I may. You mention using a polarizer in many of your pano shots. I've always thought a circular polarizer would cause gradient problems across the pano, especially using a wide-angle lens. Are you using a non-circular polarizer in your shots?

Thanks!
-joel

jamesl

kdog wrote:

James, a question if I may. You mention using a polarizer in many of your pano shots. I've always thought a circular polarizer would cause gradient problems across the pano, especially using a wide-angle lens. Are you using a non-circular polarizer in your shots?

Thanks!
-joel

Hi Joel. Yes, I do use a polarizer almost exclusively, regardless of the time of day. And yes, it can create gradient problems. Here's an example of one I had where I wasn't too happy with the result:



I've found that overall, I prefer to have a polarizer on to deepen the colors. Sometimes I like the gradient in the sky if it is not too pronounced.

James

kdog

jamesl wrote:

Hi Joel. Yes, I do use a polarizer almost exclusively, regardless of the time of day. And yes, it can create gradient problems. Here's an example of one I had where I wasn't too happy with the result:

Another gorgeous shot, James.

My question was specifically in using a CP for panos. Doesn't having a gradient in each frame cause problems in stitching?

Cheers,
-joel

jamesl

kdog wrote:

Another gorgeous shot, James.

My question was specifically in using a CP for panos. Doesn't having a gradient in each frame cause problems in stitching?

Cheers,
-joel

Ahh, ok. Sorry for misunderstanding.

I haven't seen a problem in each individual pano frame, no. So long as you don't move the polarizer as you turn the camera, the polarization of the light should remain constant. You could have an overall gradient, like in the image above, but each of the individual frames should be fine. I will mention, though, that as with any pano, you need to use Manual mode and lock the shutter and aperature.

James

kdog

Thanks, James! I appreciate you sharing your wisdom, and the results are spectacular.

Cheers,
-joel

schmoo

That's all I really have to say! We can always count on such stunning landscapes from you and the rough west. These are definitely up to our expectations!

JohnC

Amazing work!

jamesl

The Mack wrote:

Thanks for making me feel like crap when I look at my files

Awesome pictures, congrats!!!!!

Thanks! I'm glad that you enjoyed checking them out, and I am certain that your shots are not crap.

James

jamesl

black mamba wrote:

Hi James,

This is very nice work. My kind of stuff. Well done.

Tom

Thank you Tom. My kind of stuff too. I could live, eat, and breath 24x7 out there in the mountains.

James

jamesl

Cuong wrote:

James, these are fantastic! Do you use any kind of pano bracket?

Cuong

Hi Cuong,

No, I don't use a bracket at all. I generally shoot my panos vertically, and use a tripod as often as possible. I will occassionally shoot handheld as well. I normally don't have too much trouble stitching them.

Thanks for your comments!

James

jamesl

eoren1 wrote:

Wow! Just Wow. I thought I had a favorite picked (the first) only to scroll down and find more and more incredible shots! Great compositions. The stream with a 10 shot compilation is astounding! I don't know how you managed that without seams.
E

Thank you! The stream shot was kind of complicated in both shooting, and in stitching, but the end result made it all worth it. The biggest challenges in a shot like that is ensuring consistant camera settings over the whole scene, and also making sure you get enough overlap for the stitching software to work it's magic.

James