Mt. Rundle and Two Jack lake in Banff NP

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

http://gallery.photo.net/photo/8668979-lg.jpg

I hang out on the Avian forum a lot. This is my first post in landscapes forum. Elan 7E; velvia 50; tamron 28-75 f/2.8; graduated neutral density filter; bogen tripod.

This one is from my 06 visit to Banff. It was a pciture-perfect morning. Shot as the first light hit the moutain.

All critiques welcome and appreciated.

KD

[Robert Amoruso]

Kaustubh,

Glad to have you here - welcome.

I can understand why you framed this with the rocks in the FG. That is good technique but I feel in this image, they are not strong enough given that excellent reflection you have. I find the FG rocks competing with the BG and not supporting it.

I tried a pano crop and that looks really good. You did well composing the BG shapes and I like the treeline silhouette. Well done.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

http://gallery.photo.net/photo/8668978-lg.jpg

Robert, here's the pano photo of the same seen....zoomed in with the lens. The orig slide is much better...this is a home-made scan. The OP is a scan done by a good lab.

KD

[Dave Mills]

Hi Kaustubh, I've been to this exact location a few years back. When the first light hits the mountain it can be simply beautiful. The pano crop definately works. Regarding the original the foreground might have been better served without the larger bottom rock. You would of had some interest but it would not of held such strong dominance.

[David Thomasson]

Welcome, Kaustubh ...

It was a picture-perfect morning, and you did it full justice. The soft light and subtle gradations of color are wonderful.

I hope you don't mind my messing with your work. Like Dave Mills, I thought the larger rock didn't work quite right for the composition, but
it can't be cropped out without cutting into the reflection of the smaller rock. So the big has to be removed. I also felt a need for a little
more sky, so I added that.

Such alternations don't suit a lot of people, but I'm a sort of cowboy about these things. Unless I'm doing journalism or forensics, what matters most
is the impact of the final image. This one has plenty of that.

http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/7308/rundle.jpg

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hi Kaustubh,
Welcome to the forum! I can't really offer much more to the above but just something for you to explore in the fiekd next time out. I agreed with the others that the OP rocks were a bit disconnedted from the mountain...David's repost did strengthen it some but I don't know if you are OK with such things so I offer another thing to think about in the field....crouching down a bit would have gotten the rocks closer to Mt. Rundle and still kept the seperation in the rocks. Moving left or right may have allowed you to isolate the 1 rock like David did and placed it more to either side of the mountain. Going back a bit and crouching down some may have allowed you to get the FG rock in entirely while also getting it closer to Rundle and strengthen the comp overall. Just a few thought to keep in mind! It doesn't really take much movement to change the comp substantially!
I see you thought this out with the zoom in the pano.....this works best for me too but just a few things to keep in mind in the field!

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

david....that is some unbelievable photoshop work. I dont do that much....but WOW!!

I agree with everyone on the advice. If I were to take the same photo today I also would have done something on those lines. am a wiser person( thanks to sites like this one) after 3 yrs.

Thanks a lot everyone.

KD