The Long View

[Matthew Kuchta]

The view from the top of Longs Peak, Rocky Mountain NP
18635

10D, 17-40L (@17), ISO 200
1/640s, f8.0
Almost full frame (I did crop out a bit of the snowfield on the left), slight curve adjustment to bring out some shadow on the foreground, slight saturation increase to show the red color of the rocks, and USM.

Here's another image that I feel is in the same vein as the "Flooded Marsh" and "Cattails" I posted earlier. Same philosophy, but a much different subject. I'm curious to see if this kind of "visual sketch" has a different reaction because of its subject and location.

As I've said before, I find the moments in between the dramatic can be beautiful. This wasn't about capturing mountains at their most dramatic - heck, I am perched on top of Longs Peak, some 2,000 feet above the other peaks in the picture. It's near high sun (partially a function of the logistics of the climb). The sky is nice, but plain. The view below seems to render the mountains as just part of the everyday. But it IS the place. And the PLACE and my reaction to it in its entirety is a large motivation to record what I see. Not just at sunrise or sunset, or in front of a calm mountain lake, but all the time.

cheers,
-matt

ps - I hope the thumbnail is shown full-size. If not, click the thumbnail.

[Robert Amoruso]

I neither need a sunrise or sunset to appreciate a well-composed image. I have many images from the southwest created in the harsh light and deep shadows later in the day I like just fine.

Your sky is not plain IMO with the presence of the clouds. I like the FG rocks and their curvature - act as a frame to the wider vista. But I did feel they constrained the image a bit too much so I offer an alternate crop from the bottom and a bit off the right to accentuate the more prominent peak. I also did a Local Contrast Enhancement with USM at 30/30/0. You can very those settings to your taste or not as you wish.

I don't find the light either harsh or unpleasant. It is a very appealing well-composed image. The tweaks that you mentioned help this image reach its full potential.

[Matthew Kuchta]

Thanks Robert,
I like your adjustments in PS - I didn't pull the sky out as much as could have been done, your adjustment helps it out quite a bit.
-matt

[Roman Kurywczak]

[ This wasn't about capturing mountains at their most dramatic - heck, I am perched on top of Longs Peak, some 2,000 feet above the other peaks in the picture. It's near high sun (partially a function of the logistics of the climb). The sky is nice, but plain. The view below seems to render the mountains as just part of the everyday. But it IS the place. And the PLACE and my reaction to it in its entirety is a large motivation to record what I see. Not just at sunrise or sunset, or in front of a calm mountain lake, but all the time.

cheers,
-matt

.[/quote]
Hi Matthew,
Your statement about the image is contradictory. You are associating the climb and the time of day that you reached the location........to justify technical flaws (Although not as many in this image.....but 1/640 sec at f8...Why??). You yourself state that this image is entirely about the place and your reaction to it. Maybe you should take a page from Gary Winogrand (whom you refer to in your previous post) and follow his philosophy and not process your image for a while. He deliberately waited a year or two to process his images to lose his memory of him taking the image. He was known to say; "If I was in a good mood when I was shooting one day, then developed the film right away, I might choose a picture because I remember how good I felt when I took it." Even the person whose philosophy you follow was basically saying you need to step away from your image and look at it objectively and not in the moment. This is the contradiction in your philosophy which is translating into the images you post for critiqueing.

I know this feeling very well........as I was a backpacker....hiking 10 miles or more.....and I reached my location at 10am through 3pm.....and took record shots........not being able to wait till the right time. Once I became a bit more serious......I started to do overnight hikes....so that I could be there at better moments. Once I changed hats and became a photographer........there was no excuse for time of day and hiking and photography revolved around the perfect time of day........to give myself the opportunity.........and then I abandoned record shots. My idol, Galen Rowell, made no excuses and was know to take extraordinary efforts to achieve his vision. Work harder.......don't justify why..........this is the only way. If everything was not right, do not to take the picture.
All that philosophical stuff said..........compositionally.....this may be your best post so far. I do like Robert's crop suggestion and some of the PP corrections he made do improve the exposure issues.
You are posting images that you know wil draw responses and i am wondering if you are doing this more for the philosophical debate (which I enjoy)..........than the actual response to the image.

[Matthew Kuchta]

Thanks again for your comments.

Roman,
I don't see it as contradictory - I don't think I'm citing the climb as an excuse for "flaws," but rather a reason why I felt it was worth shooting despite the classic conditions that we often look for. This shot was actually taken last year and I like the quote from Winogrand: I have revisited this series of photos regarding my climb several times and I still haven't decided on exactly what to do with them - your comments are helpful in deciding on the next step.

Glad you like the image - I connect this with my previous images because of a few things. First, I did not set out to "compose" the image beyond looking through the viewfinder to pull the elements into the frame that were grabbing my attention at the time. I think of it as a "script" that goes through my head when trying to record something I find interesting - this script was the same for the cattails, flooded marsh and here - the location changed. As to f8 and 1/640 - I had the camera set to AV at f8 to give me a decent depth of field. As far as things "not being just right," I will often click the shutter because there's value for me in "sketching" the landscape to see what ideas shake out. Besides, the only cost to me are some electrons and a bit of my time.

I would say I am unsure how others will respond to my images and I am curious what other people think/feel. I was asked why I took the photo and to explain why, it led to a longer than expected discussion of some of my philosophy - which in turn brought you and Robert into a discussion about your philosophy. So I didn't set out to create as much talking, but I enjoyed it just the same. But in the long run, I want to know how people respond to my pictures because I've been surprised in the past. Some things that I was on the fence about people really loved, some things that I really enjoyed, others didn't really take to. For example, reactions to the flood and cattail pictures give me an idea of what to do with them next.

[Noel Carboni]

Great image! It's no small feat that you carried camera equipment up to the summit; I know exactly what you mean about logistics putting you there at midday. It's nice that the weather held and you have such a spectacular sky over the landscape.

Thanks for rewarding us with your hard-won view from this classic Colorado fourteener!

-Noel