Prince William Sound Panomania

NorthernFocus

Well this is my 1000th post on DGrin. I guess I should get a life :huh

We visit Prince William Sound several times each summer. There are some really jaw dropping vistas on sunny days and mystical scenes in the more frequent not so sunny weather. This past weekend we were treated to both. In an attemp to better capture what the place has to offer, I've been getting into stitching together panos lately. Here are a few from the weekend.

All shot w/D200, 16-85 ED VR, handheld from a boat

This is a place called Blue Fjord. There is a glacier at the head of the fjord that terminates a mile or so from the water. We awoke Sunday morning to this view. I think I need to crop some off the bottom of this one. Two horizontal frames, 65mm, 1/50s, f11, ISO200, pseudo HDR by making two versions of the RAW files and blending them.

Blue Fjord


Shot from approximately the same spot later the same day looking in the opposite direction. Four horizontal frames, 48mm, 1/50s, f8, ISO200.

Points to Ponder


A few miles from Blue Fjord is a place nicknamed "the Yosemite of Prince William Sound" in reference to the similar glacially carved geography. Not quite as heavily visited as the real thing. On a nice day it is truly a lovely place with a fairly large stream/fall at its head surrounded by a white sand beach. Four horizontal frames, 48mm, 1/80s, f16, ISO200.

Deep Water Bay

eoren1

Fantastic shots! I disagree about any more cropping on Blue Fjord - I like the hint of sun-drenched trees reflecting.
Really like the overall compositions and use of panoramas.
E

WillCAD

NorthernFocus wrote: »

A few miles from Blue Fjord is a place nicknamed "the Yosemite of Prince William Sound" in reference to the similar glacially carved geography. Not quite as heavily visited as the real thing. On a nice day it is truly a lovely place with a fairly large stream/fall at its head surrounded by a white sand beach. Four horizontal frames, 48mm, 1/80s, f16, ISO200.

Hey, from your image along I can tell you, Blue Fjord IS the real thing! It may be a DIFFERENT thing than Yosimite, and not as well known, but it's Real, and it's Spectacular!*

* Note: Seinfeld reference, inspired by those heavenly peaks...

schmoo

What's this "life" thing of which you speak?

Gorgeous, gorgeous. The light is really sweet in the first, the comp is excellent in the second, and I love the detail in the third.

NorthernFocus

eoren1 wrote: »

... I disagree about any more cropping on Blue Fjord - I like the hint of sun-drenched trees reflecting...

Yeah I already cropped out more of the reflection than I wanted to. Thanks for that perspective.

WillCAD wrote: »

...It may be a DIFFERENT thing than Yosimite, and not as well known, but it's Real, and it's Spectacular!...[/I]

It is a nice place. Picture Yosemite but the whole valley being water. It contrasts with other places in the Sound due to the rounded nature of the eroded granite. Also much of the rock hasn't yet been overgrown by vegetation.

schmoo wrote: »

...The light is really sweet in the first, the comp is excellent in the second, and I love the detail in the third.

In other words, if I could combine all three images I'd have one really good one I'll have to work on that Just kidding... feedback taken as intended.

One of the really cool things about PWS is the dramatic changes in conditions that take place very quickly. I've literally been snowed on, rained on, and sunburned in the same day It's only this season that I've really taken some time to try and capture images that give a sense of the rainy/foggy face of the Sound. Most days are that way so one travels through a mostly black and white world with the distance of the horizon limited by some form of precipitation. That has the advantage of focusing one's attention on splashes of color and small details. IOW, a photographer's dreamscape