Yosemite...

shniks

Hi guys,


I just got back from a 4 day trip (woohoo) to Yosemite. I made the mistake of arriving there on Memorial Day (around 12 noon). I was stuck for 2 whole hours just trying to get into the park. :cry I don't think I have seen so many cars at one time. Jeez Louise. Anyhow below are some shots I have processed so far. Thought I would share these. Thanks for looking...






















Cheers,

philipw

Beautiful photography.

Philip

CWSkopec

Awesome set, Nikhil!!! :jawdrop

#1 is absolutely gorgeous!! HDR pano?

astockwell

1, 3, and 4 do it for me. Great star trail shot. And 4 is great. Great set!

schmoo

WOW!!! Wonderful tree shot! Are those giant sequoias?

And of course no thread is complete without the shniks trademarked fantabulous star trails (tm).

coscorrosa

Excellent comps on all shots. The star trails are probably my favorite, love that green sky. Someday I might have to attempt one myself (especially now that I have some spare batteries!). Yosemite is a magical place, I need to get down there. Might just do it this winter.

scottV

I really like #3 because it looks like the sky rotation is flattened and parallel to the ground... but I wish the foreground were lighter or missing completely.

astockwell

scottV wrote:

I really like #3 because it looks like the sky rotation is flattened and parallel to the ground... but I wish the foreground were lighter or missing completely.

I think the foreground anchors the shot though. Nikhil could probably bring it up a little, but it looks like all ambient light, and no painting with light. I actually like the low light of the foreground, but not sure how well it would come out printed though.

shniks

Thanks for all the feedback guys.

Chris- Yeah buddy, it was an HDR pano with the 14-24/2.8. I wanted to check out how it works in PTGui and liked the weird perspective that I acheived. I also have a regular pano, that I will process sometime later.

Schmoo- yeah those are Giant Sequoias in the Mariposa grove. I almost did not go there thinking I had seen these trees in Sequoia National Park. But on the way back to LA, I decided to stop by there as it was on the way. It would have been a big mistake to not have stopped there. Wonderful place.

It was a fun trip and I can't wait to process all the other images that I had taken while there. BTW I highly recommend hiking up to Upper Yosemite Falls. It's a 4.2 mile hike (till Yosemite Point) and a 3000 feet elevation gain. My friend chickened out at the base (looking up at how high we would have to go) and so I trudged along with 45 pounds of weight on my back (D700, with four lenses, pano gear, tripod, water and food). The last few switchbacks were the worst- but once I got to the top, it was totally worth lugging all that stuff up the hill...

Cheers,

shniks

astockwell wrote:

I think the foreground anchors the shot though. Nikhil could probably bring it up a little, but it looks like all ambient light, and no painting with light. I actually like the low light of the foreground, but not sure how well it would come out printed though.

Thanks for the feedback Scott and Andrew. Andrew, I too like the low light in the foreground. Infact that was my intention to not take away too much from the star trails and just leave a slight hint of the Jeffrey Pine atop Sentinel Dome.

Scott, I hear you though! I can see how you might want a slight bump up in the brightness. I will play a bit more with this over the weekend to see, how best to compromise.



Cheers,

Hikin' Mike

Seems to be "something in the water"...I went up for the day a few days ago, specifically going along the Tioga Road.

I think the first one is over-done for my tastes.

I like the second one, but I would have cropped the sky.

I really like the star trails!

I also like the last one too, but IMO, it's a bit over saturated for my tastes.

Doug Solis

Two, 3 and 4 are fabulous! The star trails is a stand out. What was your exposure time etc on this shot?

shniks

Frag Master wrote:

Two, 3 and 4 are fabulous! The star trails is a stand out. What was your exposure time etc on this shot?

I sort of will have to rework the first one- I think others are right that the HDR is overdone (I just calibrated my monitor and see the difference)...


Thanks for the feedback. The data is as follows:

ISO 250, 46 minutes, F7.1, focal length 14mm (D700 with Nikon 14-24/2.8)


Cheers,

Tee Why

They look very nice.

Picture North Carolina

All great shots!

dlplumer

Great series Nik. Love those trees in a huddle shot in particular, but they are all great clap

Dan

astockwell

Congrats on making in EarthShots Nikhil!

http://www.earthshots.org/2009/05/lookin-up-by-nikhil/

shniks

astockwell wrote:

Congrats on making in EarthShots Nikhil!

http://www.earthshots.org/2009/05/lookin-up-by-nikhil/

WOW- thanks so much for letting me know about that....



Cheers,

CWSkopec

shniks wrote:

WOW- thanks so much for letting me know about that....



Cheers,

Very cool, Nikhil!! Congrats!!

shniks

CWSkopec wrote:

Very cool, Nikhil!! Congrats!!

Thanks Chris- my first time on that site.


BTW are you planning on going to Yosemite anytime soon? You should definitely make the trip. I am really looking to going to that volcano park- it's just sooooooo far away from LA... *sigh*


Cheers,

CWSkopec

shniks wrote:

Thanks Chris- my first time on that site.


BTW are you planning on going to Yosemite anytime soon? You should definitely make the trip. I am really looking to going to that volcano park- it's just sooooooo far away from LA... *sigh*


Cheers,

I need to get back there, that's for sure. I was there in September, and while it was a truly magnificent trip, I missed out on seeing most of the falls in action. And with summer haze still hanging in the air, it was tough to get usable shots from Glacier or Washburn points... Plus I've learned so much more about using my camera and what "good light" means...

I wish I could be up there right around now, but like Lassen for you, Yosemite's quite the drive from here... *sigh* To be one of those lucky folks living/working in the park...

dseidman

Really nice set of images! I'm dying to get down to Yosemite.
They're all good but the second one is probably my favorite. It's too bad about the blown out sky. Is there any way that you could bring it back a bit, perhaps?

grimace

Beautiful looking series. I really like the star trail shot the best.

shniks

dseidman wrote:

Really nice set of images! I'm dying to get down to Yosemite.
They're all good but the second one is probably my favorite. It's too bad about the blown out sky. Is there any way that you could bring it back a bit, perhaps?

Hi Danny- Yeah I hear you and I have been meaning to correct that for the past couple of days, but got busy with the other images. I do have an image from that set, with the blue sky. It will need a little bit of work

Thanks for the feedback... btw I loved your (and Ron's) images of the hills...


Cheers,

shniks

CWSkopec wrote:

I wish I could be up there right around now, but like Lassen for you, Yosemite's quite the drive from here... *sigh* To be one of those lucky folks living/working in the park...

I know- during my last day there, I met this wonderful elderly lady, who had gotten a job at the park (for a year). She was so thrilled that she was getting paid to stay there for a year. I almost felt like putting on a few dentures and a wig and applying too (but realized that I might look like Norman Bates's mother)....


Cheers,

CWSkopec

shniks wrote:

I know- during my last day there, I met this wonderful elderly lady, who had gotten a job at the park (for a year). She was so thrilled that she was getting paid to stay there for a year. I almost felt like putting on a few dentures and a wig and applying too (but realized that I might look like Norman Bates's mother)....


Cheers,

Not quite a pretty site, but Hey!! If it works let me know, I'll join ya!!!

schmoo

shniks wrote:

I almost felt like putting on a few dentures and a wig and applying too (but realized that I might look like Norman Bates's mother)....

:lol4