DSS #26 - Early Morning Light at Yosemite

nightpixels · May 26, 2009

Hi all,

I took this shot at the Yosemite's Glacier Point at the elevation of 7,200 ft (2,200 m) over the memorial day weekend. These 2 love birds were camping on a giant rock watching the sunrise and the Half Dome. What do you all think of this image for a DSS #26 entry?

Thanks!

richtersl · May 26, 2009

BEAUTIFUL!

You captured the "morning essence" well with that light.

You may want to consider cropping out the wooden fence. But that's up to you.

Tango · May 26, 2009

beautiful photograph but im not catching how this applies to the theme? help me?

DsrtVW · May 26, 2009

I am envious the last time I was there 4/25 Glacier point was still closed.
Like the shot. Are they wearing SNUGGIES

I like the light, I guess it would be modified by the morning haze?

Katmitchell · May 27, 2009

Hi Allen,

Nice seeing you on here...

I love this photo, you captured that light well. That couple just adds so much to the mood and feel of the composition.. I like the fence, it gives it depth, although, I would burn it in a little and the wall, just a little too, to give it even more contrast against the light haze..

As for the theme..hmmm.. well, I don't know, everyone is taking such a different view of what qualifies as modified, it is hard to say... I mean analytically speaking, are we not all modifying the light with our cameras and the settings in order to capture specific light? so, if you look at it that way, then this qualifies, yes, and it is a super shot...

However, if the judges want to see more proof in the pudding per say that we went out of our way to actually physically modified the light before and during the shoot, then I am going to have to say, try a different shot..

Either way, thanks for the share.. Awesome photo..

Nice haze and morning sun..

Kat

nightpixels · May 27, 2009

Thanks for all the comments. I guess I was trying to capture the "Morning Feel" of the scene using the incoming light and haze in the air ... or as Linda mentioned the "morning essence", but I can totally see how it can be interpreted differently, especially with the 2 people sitting there. To me, the couple in the photo add an extra dimension to the whole thing. I guess as Kat said, we are all modifying light depending on what settings we use on our cameras, or even during the post processing by adding contrast, saturation, etc.

I do have another photo worked out which is more on the theme. It is a photo of Mono Lake during sunset. I will post it later on.

Cheers!

Katmitchell · May 27, 2009

well look forward to seeing that one too.. if your going for capturing light essence.. I like this one... but lets see the other one too... your work is always great... and thanks for sharing..

Kat

jeffgroves · May 27, 2009

look forward to seeing more.
I too, look forward to seeing the lake shot, but I do like this one.

If it were mine, I would just see what it looked like with the tree and the fence/path cropped out, bringing the couple to the bottom left third of the frame. You would end up loosing some of the long shadows, but it may draw the eye to the couple a little quicker.

Thanks for making me feel welcome with my first "photo review" posting today!

Tango · May 27, 2009

nightpixels wrote:

Thanks for all the comments. I guess I was trying to capture the "Morning Feel" of the scene using the incoming light and haze in the air ... or as Linda mentioned the "morning essence", but I can totally see how it can be interpreted differently, especially with the 2 people sitting there. To me, the couple in the photo add an extra dimension to the whole thing. I guess as Kat said, we are all modifying light depending on what settings we use on our cameras, or even during the post processing by adding contrast, saturation, etc.

I do have another photo worked out which is more on the theme. It is a photo of Mono Lake during sunset. I will post it later on.

Cheers!

i see, and i do agree what Kat said.... who knows what the judges and voters will require as per the theme, but imo you will need to MODIFY the light more than just opening the shutter and a few settings...
im thinking filters or gels, or complete post rehauling....

and btw, i AM jealous of this beautiful morning light image.

richtersl · May 27, 2009

Originally Posted by Llywellyn
Mold the light—be it sun or speedlight or some other source—into a strong subject. How you accomplish that is up to you.

Based on the above reply that Kerry made in a post about this challenge, the light in your photo is a strong subject. At least I think it is. It's a strong enough subject that it definitely conveys "morning". You accomplished that by being at the right place at the right time with the right shutter and aperture settings. If you wanted to put more attention to the lighting you might try applying an ever-so-subtle vignette to the photo. And I would also experiment with crops.

nightpixels · May 27, 2009

Regarding the cropping, I did experiment with it a little bit but I just wasn't too happy with the outcome. The main reason being, I just did not like losing highlights on the wooden fence and the trees and shadows on the ground. I really like the way their colors pop which I think contribute to the overall "morning feel" of the photo. In fact, I have cropped this photo once before posting it. Also, I noticed I was losing depth in the image and it just wasn't the same anymore.

I will post my other option when I get home tonight.

Thanks for all the inputs!

Katmitchell · May 27, 2009

Yep.. and I knew that would happen if you cropped it... the fence gives it depth and environment. If you take it out, you lose the sun pouring onto the fence and the ground and that adds to the sunlight effect spilling into the frame... Also, those shadows on the ground are an important effect of the sun doing its thing too..... it completes the story...

I agree, keep the composition, however, if you go with this one, you can always selectively burn or dodge certain areas too in order to enhance it. Perhaps a very light burn on the shadows on the ground would make the sunlight stand out even more...?

Kat

Cool Tuna · May 28, 2009

I am going up there this fall, would like to know how to get to the same spot. I am mapping out about 10 areas that I would like to get AM and PM shots from. Any special trails or parking spot would be great. I like this shot, not sure about the fence.. Liked the rock and the couple sitting on top.

nightpixels · May 28, 2009

Cool Tuna wrote:

I am going up there this fall, would like to know how to get to the same spot. I am mapping out about 10 areas that I would like to get AM and PM shots from. Any special trails or parking spot would be great. I like this shot, not sure about the fence.. Liked the rock and the couple sitting on top.

Hi Cool Tuna,

Stay on road 41 which will take you towards the Glacier Point, then get off 41 into a road called “Glacier Point Road”. You will see the signs, so you won’t miss it. We were staying at the Yosemite Lodge at the Falls and it is about an hour drive from there. As for the same exact point, it would be the very last Vista Point before the Glacier Point's main parking lot ... I'd say maybe half a mile before the parking lot. You can get great shots there both at sunrise and sunset. During sunset, the sky turns pink and it is really pretty.

Another popular spot at Yosemite is at the vista point labeled "Tunnel View" on Yosemite's map where you can get a great shot of the Yosemite Valley. This is the area Ansel Adams took his famous Yosemite Valley shots from. Get there about an hour before the sunset which is a perfect time because the color on El Capitan starts to pop with the Half Dome in the far background and Bridalveil Fall to your right.

One other popular spot for sunset photography is on the Sentinel Bridge where you are looking at the Half Dome changing color.

As you may already know, the whole park is really pretty, but the ones I mentioned above are some of the popular points that photographers regularly visit.

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Cool Tuna · June 1, 2009

nightpixels wrote:

Hi Cool Tuna,

Stay on road 41 which will take you towards the Glacier Point, then get off 41 into a road called “Glacier Point Road”. You will see the signs, so you won’t miss it. We were staying at the Yosemite Lodge at the Falls and it is about an hour drive from there. As for the same exact point, it would be the very last Vista Point before the Glacier Point's main parking lot ... I'd say maybe half a mile before the parking lot. You can get great shots there both at sunrise and sunset. During sunset, the sky turns pink and it is really pretty.

Another popular spot at Yosemite is at the vista point labeled "Tunnel View" on Yosemite's map where you can get a great shot of the Yosemite Valley. This is the area Ansel Adams took his famous Yosemite Valley shots from. Get there about an hour before the sunset which is a perfect time because the color on El Capitan starts to pop with the Half Dome in the far background and Bridalveil Fall to your right.

One other popular spot for sunset photography is on the Sentinel Bridge where you are looking at the Half Dome changing color.

As you may already know, the whole park is really pretty, but the ones I mentioned above are some of the popular points that photographers regularly visit.

<o:p></o:p>

Thanks for the locations, I was up there about 10 years ago so all my shots from then are on real film, I need to update with digital now.
Thanks again, I post some when I get back in Aug.

Thanks..
Jeff

DSS #26 - Early Morning Light at Yosemite

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