Toroweap Dozen

NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
edited July 23, 2009 in Landscapes
#1: Sunset from the West Point:

597299141_6k8aJ-XL.jpg

#2: Last rays:

597299430_DCoF5-L.jpg

#3: When Earth, Sun, Moon and stars meet...:

597299455_TsY4e-XL.jpg

#4: Who said one can't take a picture of a crescent moon? :wink

597298884_LBch2-XL.jpg

#5: Sunday Sunrise HP5 pano

597299521_FtGPs-L.jpg

#6: Orange:

597298971_eSYM7-L.jpg

#7: Memories of Montana:

597333184_93P55-XL.jpg

#8: Sunrise:

597333496_fFLRZ-L.jpg

#9: Toroweap during the day:

597298930_yXpPu-XL.jpg

#10: Group Portrait (it does get crowded:-):

597355972_72oZd-L-1.jpg

#11: Colorado:

597299015_LwoTc-XL.jpg

#12: Tree Star:

597299088_gxSb3-L.jpg

These and a few more also can be found here: http://nik.smugmug.com/gallery/8985986_TKfgq

Enjoy! C&C welcome!
This post was made with the assistance of Star*Explorer
"May the f/stop be with you!"
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Comments

  • dlplumerdlplumer Registered Users Posts: 8,081 Major grins
    edited July 21, 2009
    Wonderful set Nik. Sorry we missed the group shot.
    Dan
    http://danielplumer.com/
    Facebook Fan Page
  • hawkeye978hawkeye978 Registered Users Posts: 1,218 Major grins
    edited July 21, 2009
    Beautiful set, Nik. Absolutely love #1.
    Tom Price

    Website: Tom Price Photography
     Blog: Capturing Photons
    Facebook: Tom Price Photography
  • kdogkdog Administrators Posts: 11,681 moderator
    edited July 21, 2009
    Very nice, Nik. You always have an eye for composition, and got some really great colors in there. As far as the crescent moon though, yours shows exactly the lack of detail problems I was talking about. It is really hard to capture significant details on a crescent moon.

    Cheers,
    -joel
    Moderator of Landscapes forum
    Link to my Smugmug site
  • EiaEia Registered Users Posts: 3,627 Major grins
    edited July 21, 2009
    My favorites are 3, and 9! 9 is excellent and it is during the day? Looks fun!
    ~AnnaMaria~ My little life in God's big universe
  • ZanottiZanotti Registered Users Posts: 1,411 Major grins
    edited July 21, 2009
    Cool shots - the group one is fantastic!

    The rest are (of course) great also - I didnt know you took shots without people in the foreground!

    All the best,

    Z
    It is the purpose of life that each of us strives to become actually what he is potentially. We should be obsessed with stretching towards that goal through the world we inhabit.
  • sgonensgonen Registered Users Posts: 178 Major grins
    edited July 21, 2009
    Nik, great set, you do have a good eye for composition - I love #7 ... and all the others also of course.
    Shimon
    http://sgonen.smugmug.com/
  • NeilLNeilL Registered Users Posts: 4,201 Major grins
    edited July 21, 2009
    Yo still got that thang goin' with horange, fella! :D:D:D

    Cool shots!

    N
    "Snow. Ice. Slow!" "Half-winter. Half-moon. Half-asleep!"

    http://www.behance.net/brosepix
  • CWSkopecCWSkopec Registered Users Posts: 1,325 Major grins
    edited July 21, 2009
    More excellent shots, Nik!! Nice work! clap.gif

    With all you guys getting around to processing/posting already I'm going to have to wait 3-4 months before posting any of mine, otherwise all my comments will be "Well, that's nice, but Nik did one that's better." Or Dan, or Joel, or Gary... eek7.gif
    Chris
    SmugMug QA
    My Photos
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited July 21, 2009
    dlplumer wrote:
    Wonderful set Nik. Sorry we missed the group shot.
    Thanks, Dan!
    Yeah, we were wondering where did you guys go. Gary even tried to catch you and tell you to come back, but you're were far gone... ne_nau.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited July 21, 2009
    hawkeye978 wrote:
    Beautiful set, Nik. Absolutely love #1.
    Tom, thank you!
    I think #1 is one of my very first frames in that "session" (sunset Friday). Usually those don't work, but I guess there are always exceptions... mwink.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • dlplumerdlplumer Registered Users Posts: 8,081 Major grins
    edited July 21, 2009
    Nikolai wrote:
    Thanks, Dan!
    Yeah, we were wondering where did you guys go. Gary even tried to catch you and tell you to come back, but you're were far gone... ne_nau.gif

    We were in a hurry to get to our hotel in Mesquite. Best shower and steak dinner ever rolleyes1.gif
    Dan
    http://danielplumer.com/
    Facebook Fan Page
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited July 21, 2009
    kdog wrote:
    Very nice, Nik. You always have an eye for composition, and got some really great colors in there. As far as the crescent moon though, yours shows exactly the lack of detail problems I was talking about. It is really hard to capture significant details on a crescent moon.

    Cheers,
    -joel
    Hey Joel, thanks, but I can only imagine what ISO would come out with if he were there. I'm sure *that* would be something totally out of this world...rolleyes1.gif
    And yeah, crescent moon is hard indeed. I mean, it's nothing magical, simply a very steep gradient from a blazingly hot white to a pitch dark black over a relatively smal percentage of a scarcely featured surface, so not many details are visible... ne_nau.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited July 21, 2009
    Eia wrote:
    My favorites are 3, and 9! 9 is excellent and it is during the day? Looks fun!
    Thanks, Eia!
    Yeah #9 is a dayshot, I think around 4..5pm. Me and Chris almost got a heatstroke during our little quarter mile walk during which this one was taken.
    BTW, this image is an example of the "HDR" done right in my book, i.e. not in any automated way, but with a careful application of various PS features, in this case channels-based BlendIf sliders and masks.
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited July 21, 2009
    Zanotti wrote:
    Cool shots - the group one is fantastic!

    The rest are (of course) great also - I didnt know you took shots without people in the foreground!

    All the best,

    Z
    Laughing.gif, now I'm never allowed to take a picture without a person (preferably scantily clad lady:-) on the foreground, am I?

    We were joking about it while hiding from the sun. I don't think any model would agree to endure what we did without a fairly large compensation.

    But stay tuned, I have at least one outdoor shoot in the pipes, so I shall be redeemed in your eyes in a week or two:-) mwink.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited July 21, 2009
    sgonen wrote:
    Nik, great set, you do have a good eye for composition - I love #7 ... and all the others also of course.
    Thanks Shimon, appreciate it! thumb.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited July 21, 2009
    NeilL wrote:
    Yo still got that thang goin' with horange, fella! :D:D:D

    Cool shots!

    N
    Well, it was the only thang goin' on during da durned sunrise...mwink.gif
    Thanks! thumb.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • NeilLNeilL Registered Users Posts: 4,201 Major grins
    edited July 21, 2009
    Nikolai wrote:
    Well, it was the only thang goin' on during da durned sunrise...mwink.gif
    Thanks! thumb.gif

    Gotcha!
    "Snow. Ice. Slow!" "Half-winter. Half-moon. Half-asleep!"

    http://www.behance.net/brosepix
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited July 21, 2009
    CWSkopec wrote:
    More excellent shots, Nik!! Nice work! clap.gif

    With all you guys getting around to processing/posting already I'm going to have to wait 3-4 months before posting any of mine, otherwise all my comments will be "Well, that's nice, but Nik did one that's better." Or Dan, or Joel, or Gary... eek7.gif
    Thanks man! thumb.gif
    You know, while this is always a concern with a group shoots, my experience with Smugmug shootouts (when you have not just 9, but 50..60 people shooting the same feature from the same spot at the same time) tells me you can always come out with something unique. You just gotta follow your guts. deal.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited July 21, 2009
    dlplumer wrote:
    We were in a hurry to get to our hotel in Mesquite. Best shower and steak dinner ever rolleyes1.gif
    You got steak??? eek7.gif Damn, I was in a wrong car.... :cry
    rolleyes1.gif
    When we came back four of us (Quick Silver and White Knight teams) went out for lunch. It was Sunday 2pm, so naturally ALL the steak places Aaron could think of were closed. We did end up having very nice burgers at Iggy's, though. thumb.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • bryanj87bryanj87 Registered Users Posts: 859 Major grins
    edited July 21, 2009
    Very nicely done, hard to pick a favorite. It looks like you all had a great time.
    bjbphotos.com | nepg
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited July 21, 2009
    bryanj87 wrote:
    Very nicely done, hard to pick a favorite. It looks like you all had a great time.
    Thanks! thumb.gif
    Yeah, it was fun... one hour starting 5am in the morning and an hour or so around sunset. The rest was 110 in a shade eek7.gif
    J/K, the fact we were all packed under the tiny shade of our two gazebos kept us all compact so we simply had to communicate - which was absolutely awesome! clap.gif You won't hear those kind of stories any other way... mwink.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • schmooschmoo Registered Users Posts: 8,468 Major grins
    edited July 21, 2009
    Nikolai, I know you're the model man but it's always great to see landscapes from you again! :D

    This looks like it was a really great weekend with beautiful skies. The group photo is hilarious -- who is the one pushing the cart? rolleyes1.gif
    SmugMug Editor / News Flash!
    Photos that don't suck / 365 / Film & Lomography
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited July 21, 2009
    schmoo wrote:
    Nikolai, I know you're the model man but it's always great to see landscapes from you again! :D

    This looks like it was a really great weekend with beautiful skies. The group photo is hilarious -- who is the one pushing the cart? rolleyes1.gif
    Thanks, Steph! :-)

    The group portrait layout:

    On the grader, left to right:
    Nikolai, Gary, Chris, Jim, Joel, Aaron, Aaron

    On the ground, left to right:
    Chris, Joel, Gary, Nikolai
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • kdogkdog Administrators Posts: 11,681 moderator
    edited July 21, 2009
    Nikolai wrote:
    Yeah #9 is a dayshot, I think around 4..5pm. ...
    BTW, this image is an example of the "HDR" done right in my book, i.e. not in any automated way, but with a careful application of various PS features, in this case channels-based BlendIf sliders and masks.

    Really good work on that one, Nik. Looks awesome. So how much time did you spend on it?
    Moderator of Landscapes forum
    Link to my Smugmug site
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited July 21, 2009
    kdog wrote:
    Really good work on that one, Nik. Looks awesome. So how much time did you spend on it?
    Thanks!
    About 5 min I think. I know it's not one button click mwink.gif, but my MO is if a shot is worth it, it's worth spending time on it deal.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • Marc MuenchMarc Muench Registered Users Posts: 1,420 Major grins
    edited July 21, 2009
    #9: Toroweap during the day:

    597298930_yXpPu-XL.jpg

    Great shot Nikthumb.gif


    #10: Group Portrait (it does get crowded:-):

    597355972_72oZd-L-1.jpg

    Ohhhh! I would not leave any camera equipment lying around with those sharks:D

    Looks like a good time was had, and by all the images a great experiencewings.gif
    Marc Muench
    Muench Workshops
    MW on Facebook
  • kdogkdog Administrators Posts: 11,681 moderator
    edited July 21, 2009
    Nikolai wrote:
    Thanks!
    About 5 min I think. I know it's not one button click mwink.gif, but my MO is if a shot is worth it, it's worth spending time on it deal.gif
    5 mins? Really? That's a lot less time than I would have thought. I probably spent more time on my sunstar shot. And no, it's not a one-button click. rolleyes1.gif

    Cheers,
    -joel
    Moderator of Landscapes forum
    Link to my Smugmug site
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited July 21, 2009
    kdog wrote:
    5 mins? Really? That's a lot less time than I would have thought. I probably spent more time on my sunstar shot. And no, it's not a one-button click. rolleyes1.gif

    Cheers,
    -joel
    Well, it's a bit faster/easier when
    1) you know your way around the PS, and
    2) you know what can *possibly* be done.
    The reason I don't like uber streamlined helper tools is that they hide everything behind some potentially nice (and sometimes even flexible) UI, yet when it comes to certain things there is no way you can figure out what needs to be done to tweak it into the right direction. Or maybe you can, but you'd have to spend another lifetime learning just *that one tool*, and I have already spent one learning PS, so I think I better stick with it:-).

    I guess all I'm saying: give me a low level access (like those channels) and I'll do the rest myself. I'm sure you can relate to that ;-) mwink.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • AzzaroAzzaro Registered Users Posts: 5,643 Major grins
    edited July 21, 2009
    Hi Nik........That is a really nice set...... thumb.gif azzaro
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited July 21, 2009
    Azzaro wrote:
    Hi Nik........That is a really nice set...... thumb.gif azzaro
    Thanks Gary! thumb.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
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