Evening on the River

[John Ippolito]

Eagle River and the Western Chugach Range
mid September. Eagle River, Alaska
4 exposures blended in Photomatix
B&W conversion with selective color in CS3
D300, 17-55 2.8 @50mm, ISO 200, 14 bit capture, double spirit level, f 22 @ 1/4, 1/8, 1/15, 1/30

[Robert Amoruso]

John,

I took a look at your website and you have some beautiful work there.

I am debating on the FG. I browser cropped this up to just the water in the FG (a narrow strip) but keep coming back to the full version you presented. I would be interested in how others feel.

I think some might feel this is oversharpened but I once saw an exhibition by a B&W large format photographer that had what I would call hyper-sharp images of detailed landscapes that almost hurt the eyes due to the level of detail and sharpness they had. I was very much impressed - but don't remember his name.

Your image reminds me of that.

I find the tonal separations and overall range of tones just right. There is much for the eye to see and appreciate in this image. Only thing that I might have liked to see would be the treeline the whole length of the image and not ending at the left before the image's edge.

[Dave Mills]

Hi John, The comp as presented works for me.I felt the same as Robert regarding the oversharpening but the effect was probably created in photomatix and IMO is interesting. This falls under the category of personal taste.
The clouds add alot of appeal. Robert's crop recommendation would be an easy fix if desired...

[Dennis "Curly" Buchner]

Great BW John, makes me want to go there sooner than later

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey John,
Very interesting and effective conversion! A bit oversharpened....maybe but as mentioned above it has some appeal as presented in that regard also. I'm leaning towards the crop with the central FG land mass more prominant....but all in all very nicely done!

[John Ippolito]

Robert, Dave, Dennis and Roman, thanks for your comments and observations-much appreciated. The crop is something I have considered before but never could reconcile the right lattitude. On the other hand the common thread of looking oversharpened has me wondering if my monitor is displaying too soft of an image-or maybe it is me. The image prints well with a lot of detail at 13x19 in color or B&W. Here is a version with sharpening backed off a bit. I think I'll give the crop suggestion a go also.

Thanks for the positive feedback on the website Robert. Now I'm wondering if that appears oversharpened.

[Peter Farrell]

I like them both. Maybe a slight crop of the bottom, but keep the pool of water with the tree reflections.
It looks so cold, I am surprised the water is not frozen.
Peter

[Lance Warley]

The second post certainly fixes the perceived oversharpening.

I like your composition just as it appears.

Great job, John. Perfect choice for a b&w.

[Stu Bowie]

Great conversion John, and I feel there are always many options to create the perfect contrast and lighting in these type of images. Looking closely at your OP, there is quite a bit of evidence of oversharpening on the mountain, so your repost gets my vote. Well done.

[John Ippolito]

Paul, Lance, and Stuart, thanks for your comments and suggestions. All appreciated.