On Top of the World

[Joanna Trescott]

This was taken on top of the Continental Divide in Colorado. It took many hours to reach this location, so the light is not the best. I did a little dodge and burn to tone it down. Canon 20D, 10-20mm lens @ 17mm, 1/50, hand held.

[Matthew Kuchta]

Joanna,

Having just returned from RMNP, this scene is an excellent portrayal of the divide landscape. I like the low POV to get the flowers (and a few rocks!) with the mountains forming the distant horizon. It's a simple fact that most of the time we have to accept high sun as the price to pay for these beautiful vistas. Unless you want to start hiking before dawn, or wait until late afternoon (always tricky during monsoon season).

I like it. What make is your 10-20mm lens? Image quality looks quite nice.

[Joanna Trescott]

Matthew -- actually the lens is a Canon 10-22. I hope to head back up and encounter a cloudy day!

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hi Joanna,
First...........let me say that you have a wonderful eye for composition. You did well toming down the brightness......but some noise was introduced into the sky. Blurring it or noise reduction would help. While not as dramatic as some of the others you have posted........still nicely done. Well thought out minimizing the sky also.

[Robert Amoruso]

To add to Roman's comments, I like the placement of the rocks - perfect as they lead the eye into the image. You have some flower blooms that are either cut or close to the edge. Some careful framing might have gotten them away from the edges (I do understand that in a bed of flowers, getting the edges clean is not easy). If you are so inclined, you can clone out some of the cut/close ones.

Please post the f/stop next time as that is indicative of the DOF. THe image looks a bit soft. I tried some USM on it and that improved the sharpness. If you are having trouble sharpening the small JPGs I recommend you go to the following link http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=5598 where Artie discusses some topics including under the heading "Free Excerpt: Creating an Action for your BPN J-PEGS". I use the same method.

Well done composition - you have a good eye.

[Joanna Trescott]

Roman and Robert: Thank you for your critiques. I shot it at f22. I try to focus 1/3 of the way into the shot and I know I need to work on my sharpening skills and will look at Artie's method of sharpening for the forum.