Rocky Mountains High

robert4818 · Jun 15, 2008

Went into the mountains today and snapped a few shots.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Bifurcator · Jun 15, 2008

#6 has potential awesomeness! Needs cropping and a few tweaks is all!

#7 maybe too with like, added scratches, sepia toning, and a crop.

I think there's a few nice photographs in the lower third of #2 too now that I look. Crop, crop, crop.

Hmm, #4 too! Bottom right quarter-panel.

Keep'em coming. nice stuff.

robert4818 · Jun 15, 2008

Thanks. I'm using just minimal tools right now. (Fix on microsoft photo gallery) Mainly just adjusting Sharpness, Contrast, and Saturation. Thanks for the suggestions.

BoblyBill · Jun 15, 2008

Are these taken on hwy 285 heading to fairplay by chance? I've traveled that road many times and some, especially #2 and #3, look like that road.

astrostu · Jun 16, 2008

Where's that waterfall located (#8)?

matic08 · Jun 16, 2008

alright I'm a newb here, so I gotta ask how to you achieve that water motion blur without over exposing. I've been trying to do that but it always comes out over exposed.

Bifurcator · Jun 16, 2008

Had some fun with the Mine Entrance.

Nothing's finished here just some super-quicky variations. Hope you don't hate them too much.

The bottom right one is your normal shot cropped and balanced only - no FX or anything.

robert4818 · Jun 16, 2008

BoblyBill said:
Are these taken on hwy 285 heading to fairplay by chance? I've traveled that road many times and some, especially #2 and #3, look like that road.

#1 & 2 were taken up on look out mountain.
#3 - 5 were taken on the road between I-70 and Blackhawk.
#6 was taken just outside of central city.
#7 was taken on Oh My God Road between Central City and Idaho Springs.
#8 is at Idaho Springs across I-70.

alright I'm a newb here, so I gotta ask how to you achieve that water motion blur without over exposing. I've been trying to do that but it always comes out over exposed.

I've had the same problem. For me its just luck, Adjust your timing until you get a healthy balance, then bring exposure down in post-processing. Or go buy a handy neutral filter (sunglasses for the camera) which will help cut down on the amount of light coming in as you expose.

As for my favorite of the mines, I'd have to say the top-left color shot.

Bifurcator · Jun 16, 2008

Well, it's just a compensation or balancing system. In Aperture priority you turn one and the camera turns the other - In Shutter priority you turn the other and the camera turns the one. It's a compensation system, a balancing act if you will where the two ends of the rope are A and S and the general height of the rope is the ISO.

Remember, YOU are the driver. So you set it to the priority YOU want. If YOU want control over the shutter speed (for effects like this) then give yourself Shutter priority. For affects like this you need the shutter to be at least 1/60. 1/30 or 1/20 makes the affect even more dramatic and 1 second will make it look like a river of ice and milk (kinda).

So set the shutter to 1/60 or 1/50 and let the camera set the aperture. As you adjust the Shutter (with your finger on the trigger) if the camera pegs the aperture before you reach 1/60 then you need to lower the ISO. With many if not most lenses in many if not most daylight conditions for many if not most river scenes you should have enough room to set the shutter to 1/60 or so at ISO 100 (or lower if you have it), and have the camera wanting to set the aperture somewhere between 8 and 22. No need for an ND filter at that point.

If you still can't get there however there is one more control available on most cameras: "Exposure Compensation", AKA: "Exposure Value", AKA: "EV". Different cameras will have different min./max. values but usually it's -3/+3. So start cranking that down as well. Different DCs handle EV differently so not in all systems will this help and it may not be allowed or it may defeat your purpose. It's digital film so nothing is wasted by trying.

If you're at 100 or the lowest ISO and your aperture is pegged wide shut before you reach 1/60 then you might need a filter. Polarizing filters if you have one, are often dark enough and can sometimes work. Additionally they cut glare (specular reflection at particular angles) so it's like turning down the brightness of just the highlights (in a way) and will assist doubly for this purpose in that regard.