Summer mountain & Reflection

[Ian McHenry]

Here in New Zealand it is mid-summer and this recent image was taken in around 90 degree fahrenheit heat.
The mountain is Mt Cook, New Zealand's highest @ over 12.000 feet and the lake is Lake Pukaki.
Photographed mid afternoon when the reflection was just appearing in the lake.
Pentax K10D 400 ISO 1/4000 @ F4.5 Minus 0.5 EV Multi Segment metering.
Comments appreciated.
Cheers: Ian McHenry

[Don Railton]

Hi Ian

It's wonderful to see a bit of the home country again....and 90 F is pretty hot for NZ. The light here is pretty harsh unfortunately. I think you could have tried a few different settings however to improve the reflection because its not very strong in this image IMHO, probably not good enough to include so much... In rippley water like this I like to slow down the shutter as much as possible as it enhances the reflection, gives it 'time to develop' so to speak on the sensor. You have ample scope to slow down things here from the settings you used. Not sure if you had a tripod or not but a scene like this needs a tripod, a CP filter, a foldup chair, a glass of wine (or two) and about 3 hours to suck I all in... set the ISo as low as it will go (will help remove the noise you have in the sky), set the F stop to 16 ish and the shutter to whatever is required for the correct exposure. if you have ND filters to get that shutter down to 1/10 second or less that reflection will vastly improve, else you just have to wait till the light get lower. I would crop the image as it stands to a 16:9 ratio to remove a little more of the FG and sky and focus more attention onto the hills.. that plus a little contrast enhancement might help cut through the haze that you have... Please show more..!

regards

DON

[Diane Miller]

I'm only on my iPhone at the moment so not getting the best look, but I wonder if the near ground could be lightened.

Good information from Don. I'd question the need for such a high shutter speed. Low ISO is always good.

I love the scenery in NZ and would also love to see more!

[Ian McHenry]

Thanks Don for all the good oil.
We were only @ the Pukaki salmon shop for a short while and I was charging around trying to get different mountain scenes in shot.
No reflections visible in lake @ start, however your advice about improving reflections with different ISOs and shutter speed trials wil be good for me to practice on.
I do have a good monopod and several tripods but they are seldom used, although I've seen the difference when recording the changes of the post quakes Christchurch skyline.
Also have ND filters but as yet unused !!
Have cropped the image a bit, added some contrast, and finished with Noise Ninja.
Cheers: Ian Mc

[dankearl]

Ian, I would clone out the shore lights and spend a bit more time on PP even if you had crappy light....
Oh, and maybe comment on a few other photos......



mcook.jpg (http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=149022&stc=1&d=1422752957)

[Ian McHenry]

Thanks Dan
Really grunty edit.
Cheers: Ian Mc

[dankearl]

Thanks, Ian.
It was hard to work on such a bad photo, but I gave it a try.
Sorry you did not like it.
Next time maybe post a better one?

[Ian McHenry]

Hi Dan
I was actually complimenting you for the great job you did editing. Regret misunderstanding.
Appreciate your time.
All the Best: Ian Mc

[dankearl]

Sorry Ian, I had to look up what Grunty meant and it was not a compliment.
There must be other meanings.
Sorry for the misunderstanding.

[Morkel Erasmus]

Glad the misunderstanding is now cleared up :t3
Gotta love quirky regional sayings :Whoa!:

Ian - a lot has been said about the conditions, light, etc. I do still find it a pleasing scene, and prefer your first repost to all the other versions posted here, though I would try and extract a hint more detail in the treeline as per Dan's repost.

Looking forward to more of your images as well as your contributions/input on a few other threads - that way we all learn and grow together :cheers:

[Ian McHenry]

Thanks Morkel
Appreciate your encouragement.
Thanks to Dan's edit I realised the value of extra colour depth, an area of editing with which I am unfamiliar although I should be able to learn from Topaz Adjust.
Meantime here is another repost.
Cheers: Ian Mc

[Ian McHenry]

And one final post to get back framing as Suggested by Don Railton.
Cheers: Ian Mc

[Don Lacy]

HI Ian, Beautiful scene would definitely come back with better light. I played around with this inPS and removed the color cast, added some midtone contrast, brighten the whites and open up the shadows and cropped it to my taste.

[Ian McHenry]

Thanks Don for the fine clean up and detailed use of edits.
Partial pano also looks good too.
Cheers: Ian Mc

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi Ian, good suggestions and reposts for this image already. I like Don's repost in Pane #13 the best. My initial thought was too much water in the foreground and this location is certainly worth exploring during different lighting conditions. Look forward to seeing more of your landscapes.

[Ian McHenry]

Thanks Andrew
Cheers: Ian Mc