This is the south end of the San Joaquin Valley, looking west in the late afternoon. (Not normally what one would seek for a photogenic location.) We're heading for Tehachapi Pass and Gorman Pass is just off to the left in the mid-distance. The atmospherics always look like this. And I always shoot it. The high key somewhat mysterious look appeals to me.
Canon 5D3, 70-200 f/2.8 IS at 70mm, ISO 400, f/8, 1/3000 sec. Could (should) have gone to ISO 200 or even 100 and a wider aperture, but I get so many where there is camera shake from the slightest turbulence that I need to stay in the fast SS range -- 1/3000 can be tempting fate.
Basic LR tonal adjustments and into PS CS6 for some NR and a touch of Detail Extractor. Not much more to extract without a lot of noise due to the very low contrast subject. Cropped top and bottom so about 50% of the full frame.
Diane
Are you in a light plane? I don't recall seeing this view on 58 between Bakersfield and Keene.
The south end of the San Joaquin so often fills up with smog, but you've made an interesting composition
I like the way you've handle the image as fairly high key, keeping the sky and the tops of the mountains fairly light as well
Thanks, Don. Yes, I'm shooting out the right seat window of a Beechcraft Bonanza, heading over Tehachapi into Mojave. With the light scattering from particles in the air, high key was the only choice. Extremely milky light, low contrast situation. But it's one of my favorite kinds of light for aerial landscapes.
Thanks, Dan -- there is more below but it shows the busy-looking imprint of civilization. I'll have another look and see if it can be cleaned up enough, but when I cropped as I did it was because I felt that attempting a cleanup wouldn't give a good result.