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Olympic Mountains

May 11, 2008, 04:34:42 PM

My husband and I took a drive today and this is a view about 15 minutes from our home. The clouds were constantly moving, creating weird areas of lightness and dark, plus there was low-lying fog and heavy winds.

Why are my mountains always blue?!?!?!

« Last Edit: May 11, 2008, 04:36:28 PM by wildmaven »

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Comments and Harsh Critiques gladly accepted. My photos are ok to edit.

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Travis Minnig

Reply #1 - May 11, 2008, 04:45:20 PM

WOW! That's a beautiful scene Marian. Did you burn the center of the image above the trees, or is that from the cloud's shadows?

If I had anything to suggest to make it better, it would be to photograph this scene with better light. This is quite flat, which is not necessarily bad, but if the mountains are running in an east/west direction, you could do much better. In the morning you will have a great warm golden glow on one side of the mountain's faces, and in the evening it will be reflecting the many hues of a sunset. I hope you are lucky enough to have this mountain range not exactly perpendicular to the direction of the sun's travel across the sky; because with the right light you can make this image really pop. I would love to see you do some more experimenting with this location, next time show off the shapes in the mountain with some side light if you can.

Here is an example of what I'm talking about. See if you think it could make a difference for your vision of these mountains...

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« Last Edit: May 11, 2008, 04:46:55 PM by Travis Minnig »

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Marian Murdoch

Reply #2 - May 11, 2008, 05:11:52 PM

Quote from: Travis Minnig on May 11, 2008, 04:45:20 PM

WOW! That's a beautiful scene Marian. Did you burn the center of the image above the trees, or is that from the cloud's shadows?

That's from the clouds. As we were driving away, the mountains were completely in shadow and they looked like just a blob.

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if the mountains are running in an east/west direction, you could do much better.

They run North/South. Tongue

Most of the times you can't even see the tops because of the rain clouds. It's aways quite a sight when the clouds let in a bit of sun onto them.

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I would love to see you do some more experimenting with this location, next time show off the shapes in the mountain with some side light if you can.

Any suggestions for north/south mountains?

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Here is an example of what I'm talking about. See if you think it could make a difference for your vision of these mountains...

Thanks, Travis! That's a wonderful shot! Since these mountains are so close to home, I may be able to experiment more as summer comes and we get a bit more sun.

This is what part of it looked like when I first arrived on the scene:

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Comments and Harsh Critiques gladly accepted. My photos are ok to edit.

My photos and art: http://wildmaven.org

Travis Minnig

Reply #3 - May 11, 2008, 05:45:05 PM

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Any suggestions for north/south mountains?

Time of year. The sun is further south in the winter and may provide more direction. Keep an eye out for the patterns on the mountains as you drive or work in the yard or whatever. Imagine in your mind what the current light will do to your mountains (if you can't see them from where you are) and plan. You will figure out when is the best time.

Also, realize that the light is a relationship of your viewing position. You may be able to travel parallel to the mountain range until you can see some more shape to them. You can't move the sun, but you can change it's position in relation to you and your subject. Just for an experiment, if you want to see this in action. Stand someone out in your front yard on a sunny day and walk a full circle around them. Have them turn around slowly so they are always facing you as you walk around them; watch what the sun does to their face. Try this in the morning, the evening, and at midday. There will be a difference and you can use what you learn to plan, pre-visualize, and get the shot you really want.

I can post some more images in a few days if you'd like. I will go and take some of a mountain range running north and south here so that you can see what I'm talking about. Without being there, I would guess that you will probably be best between the morning hours after the sun has made most of its climb (around 10 maybe) until around 5 or 6 but before sunset. I know this puts you in midday which is not always recommended, but based on the sun's position; it will be behind the mountains early and flat lighting them in the evening if you are on their eastern side, and the reverse of that if you are on the western side.

See if that helps...

Oh, BTW I also love the second image you posted. Clone out the spots at the top near the right corner though. Lovely work, Marian.

Travis

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Travis Minnig

Reply #4 - May 11, 2008, 05:50:53 PM

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Why are my mountains always blue?!?!?!

Blue is a natural phenomenon that you see when looking at anything in the distance. That's why (I'm sure you've heard this) when you are using colors in painting; 'blue receeds' and 'yellow is on the tip of the nose'. Meaning that cooler colors cause you to think the subject is far away, and warm colors are used to show objects in the foreground.

You are a painter, and you had a gallery; I know you already know this. Look at paintings and photographs and you will realize this exists all the time. The closer you are to the mountains, the more color you will see (besides blue). Go outside and look, you will see it with your eyes; it's not a film or white balance or paint choice thing as much as it is just plain old reality. I think it has something to do with light refraction through the atmosphere, but I'm not sure, so don't quote me on that.

Travis

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Marian Murdoch

Reply #5 - May 11, 2008, 05:52:49 PM

Quote from: Travis Minnig on May 11, 2008, 05:45:05 PM

between the morning hours after the sun has made most of its climb (around 10 maybe) until around 5 or 6 but before sunset.

Hahahahhahahah....you forget where I am! In the summertime, it's light at 4:30am and doesn't get dark until around 9pm!

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Oh, BTW I also love the second image you posted. Clone out the spots at the top near the right corner though.

Oops. Dang dust and rain. Big Grin

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Lovely work, Marian.

Thanks! I've learned so much this past year.

As we were driving along, in the sun, I kept thinking "sunny 16...sunny 16" and then the sun went away. Read a book

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Comments and Harsh Critiques gladly accepted. My photos are ok to edit.

My photos and art: http://wildmaven.org

Travis Minnig

Reply #6 - May 11, 2008, 05:59:50 PM

I don't know what to tell you on the Sunny 16 rule. I know a lot of people use it and have great luck with it. I don't like to keep a million calculators in my bag, and I have a hard time remembering rules that have so many exceptions, like the 16 rule does. Again, I know it works for many, so I'm not doggin on it, I just can't keep it straight, and I usually feel like I'm in the situation of one of the exceptions more often than I'm within the realm the rule was intended for. On landscapes, I like to spot meter different areas of the scene, make decisions based on my sensor's ability, calculate what I think is the best exposure, and then bracket my shots.

It's more time-consuming this way, but it is a landscape... On that note, I realize that sometimes there isn't much time and you really need to have a pretty good handle on what will and won't work because you don't want to miss the shot either.

Travis

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Mike Hodgson

Reply #7 - May 11, 2008, 10:34:01 PM

God job guys Clapping

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