Stanley, Idaho in Winter

acowan

Stanley ID is a favorite spot for many during the Summer months. It's also a hot spot for Winter Recreation. I've been up to Stanley plenty of times but I've never experienced it during Winter so I was looking forward to the opportunity. The mornings I went out to shoot were very cold (-16F and -10F). That's the coldest temperatures I've ever experienced but it was worth it. Here are some pics (all C&C welcome!):

1. 30 minutes before sunrise. The scene had a beautiful deep blue to it and the mountains had a faint glow.


2. First light on the Sawtooths


3. Thin clouds caught pre-sunrise light above the mountains (hopefully the clouds are visible).


4. A section of Redfish Lake Creek early in the morning.


5. I've wanted to strive for simpler compositions and was struck by the frosted limb next to the creek.


6. The second morning we stopped at a bridge overlooking the Salmon River. Innumerable chunks of ice were floating along the river. I used my Vari-ND to slow down the action.



7. Here is a tighter shot looking southwest (the other was looking northeast). The water was so clear I figured it would look interesting to show the flow of ice above the clear water. This was shot at 1/6 of a second.

thapamd

Beautiful work, Aaron! I love the abstract nature of the last shot...great eye!

zoomer

That is my neck of the woods...I am in Boise.
Love the Sawtooths, these are excellent photos. Crisp and clear, very well done!
It was worth the deep freeze to get these.
1 is my favorite, great light.

acowan

Mahesh,

Thanks! I'm glad I chose to shoot with the Vari-ND "turned off" because the 1/6th speed captured it much better than my longer exposure.

Zoomer,

Thanks for the compliments! Despite the cold it was worth it (as usual) to wait for the light. Mountains seem to look best before the sunrises.

ole doc

was there a lot of post processing on #1and #2. The snow color just doesn't look natural to me.
I love the group, in any case.
Nick

acowan

ole doc wrote:

was there a lot of post processing on #1and #2. The snow color just doesn't look natural to me.
I love the group, in any case.
Nick

Now that I really look at them it doesn't seem quite right. I've been working on a few different edits for WB and levels adjusting. The original processing was slight vibrance/saturation adjustment in ACR (nothing major) and a levels adjustment with a couple luminosity curves in CS4. I'll post the adjustments soon. Thanks for the feedback.

acowan

Here are the reedits:

zoomer

I liked the original much better on the first one and the re-edit a little better on the second one..
The light predawn at -16 is not your normal light. It has a decided blue tint to it. Then as the sun begins to rise the light quickly takes on a pinkish much warmer color.

The re-edits on the first on looks like the black point was adjusted to far.

The re-edit on the second one looks a bit more contrasty with a bit more of the warmer light which would just be starting about that time of day.

hawkeye978

It's a nice set. What they seem to be lacking to me is contrast. The trees in the first two may have some more detail that can be brought out, especially if you shot in RAW.