Grand Prismatic Spring #2

[Karen Pleasant]

Reference this thread....

I had to make a steep hike up a very slippery hill to get this vantage point. I really like the colors and patterns created in nature.

Nikon D800, 70-200/2.8 @ f16 and 200mm
1/90, ISO 400

Used CS6 to apply contrast, curves, a little dodge and burn, and sharpening. No vibrance or saturation added.

Here is a little information on the colors: "Water at the center of the spring, which bubbles up 121 feet from underground chambers, can reach temperatures around 189 degrees Fahrenheit, which makes it too hot to sustain most life (some life does manage to exist, but its limited to organisms that feed off of inorganic chemicals like hyrdogen gas). Because there's very little living in the center of the pool, the water looks extremely clear, and has a beautiful, deep-blue color (thanks to the scattering of blue wavelengths — the same reason oceans and lakes appear blue to the naked eye). But as the water spreads out and cools, it creates concentric circles of varying temperatures each signified a different temperature. And these distinct temperature rings are key, because each ring creates a very different environment inhabited by different types of bacteria. And it's the different types of bacteria that give the spring its prismatic colors."

[Don Railton]

I do prefer this crop Karen.. This would be a good candidate for an Pano image stitch I think. I am wanting to see all of the lake and the orange run off...

DON

[Diane Miller]

I agree -- for me the story is the colors and steam. I'd love to see a pano with more on the right, showing the lovely deep blue water.

[Karen Pleasant]

I'd love to see a photo like that also! LOL! Unfortunately, the only way (without trying to get permission to fly low over the area) to get a shot of the area is to climb up a very treacherous hill. Many people are injured each year attempting the climb.

Then there are trees in the foreground. And once up the hill, you face Grand Prismatic Springs with the boardwalk close along the far shore. The steam rises high above the spring. Even shooting a pano would require cutting off the top of the blue waters of the spring to avoid the board walk and omitting most of the tall plumes of steam rising in front of the boardwalk and distant areas in the background.

These are reasons I provided the overall perspective for context in my first post.

Sometimes the ideal perspective is met with reality.

[Andrew McLachlan]

I too prefer this tighter crop Karen...and agree on the pano crop Don suggests...beautiful blue surrounded by the complimentary colors of the scene.

[Karen Pleasant]

As requested...

[Don Lacy]

I really like the col,ors and feel of the first posted image. The tighter crop works for me as it has a nice flow to it. The pano images with the top of the lake cropped out looks like a compromise or a mistakes since there is no reason to crop out the top of the lake for any compositional reasons.

[Karen Pleasant]

The top of the lake needs to be cropped due to objecions to "hand of man" elements. The stems rising from the lake is 30 -" X" feet in height.....in front of the board walk. Hence my comments that you cannot get a pano that reveals the grandeur of this place without including the boardwalk.

[Don Lacy]

The top of the lake needs to be cropped due to objecions to "hand of man" elements. The stems rising from the lake is 30 -" X" feet in height.....in front of the board walk. Hence my comments that you cannot get a pano that reveals the grandeur of this place without including the boardwalk.

I know why you cropped it I would leave the hand of man in the image if it was the best compositional choice for the image.

[Diane Miller]

If you're into such tings, you could come close to having it both ways with a crop similar to this (or including a little more on top) and paint in more steam to mostly obscure the walkway. The ideal would be if you were able to get several different shots with steam covering different parts of the walkway and composite them.

[Morkel Erasmus]

Missed this - love the colours and curves, the original post is a great crop to me.