Ideas for improvement?

Pandastrike · Aug 7, 2013

Hi guys,

I was out hiking near Whistler BC this weekend at a place called Jothre Lakes. Beautiful area. Anyways, past the campsite there is a good climb up towards a glacier along what are pretty neat looking ridges of old rock fall. The pictures below are me trying to capture the ridge itself, using it as a leading line of sorts within the picture, with the camp area and lake/mountain background. I couldnt quite get what I was hoping for though, which is the feeling of the narrow rock ridge snaking into the distance down below.

Do any of you have any thoughts on what might have improved the image capture?

The horizonal picture is the one I wanted, with ridge and background but the ridge doesnt quite give the same impression as in life. The second picture seems to do it a bit better, maybe because I went vertical and lower and got more foreground? It could also be the challenge of not enough contrast?

Anyways, would love all your thoughts!

Designer · Aug 7, 2013

I think in order to define the ridge better you need different light, as in; raking light that may or may not be available early or late in the day.

cbarnard7 · Aug 7, 2013

I agree with Designer. I think that a sunrise/set or a less cloudy day would do you better in terms of lighting and colors. I think the 2nd picture better highlights the vastness of the lake and the mountains behind it. With such a large area, it may be better to take either a panoramic or stitch two photos together. Beautiful place, though! And, well done.

skieur · Aug 7, 2013

A graduated neutral density filter to give more detail to the sky and the background as well as a panorama shot would produce a more visually interesting result.

bc_steve · Aug 7, 2013

Joffre Lakes. I've been there before, it is an amazing place! If you hike up to the glacier you get a great view of all three lakes. If you go up there mid-morning there won't be any shadows on the lakes, and I think that is the best time to photograph them. A circular polarizer might help your results as well.

It's been some time since I've been up to the top, but here is a shot of the view you get from the glacier. It's from the old P&S film days ...

ceeboy14 · Aug 8, 2013

A little cropping, some color adjustments, a couple of blend masks. It's late. I may have to do a reedit in the am.

Pandastrike · Aug 8, 2013

Thanks for the thoughts!

I thought it may come down to getting better light. I hadnt considered using a panorama for some reason at the time. That wouldve been great. The filters sound interesting but I dont know much about them so Ill have to look them up. Ive been thinking of trying some long exposure photography and it seems that specific filters would really help for that too.

bc_steve: Its such an amazing spot eh! I actually did go up to the top the next day and got picture of the three lakes. Lol kinda felt like the glacier might crumble on us so we didn't spend too too much time up top. Definitely worth the slog though. Ive got this pic from the top of the three lakes. I like how you put yourself/someone else in the shot! View attachment 52128 View attachment 52128

ceeboy14 · Aug 8, 2013

I like this last image the best. Good color, depth, the light's not half bad and that you got all three lakes I am assuming is quite a feat. If that is hard packed snow or ice below the obvious snow, perhaps you could lighten it up a bit and allow it to blend in with the snow to help lead the eye down into the lakes - that or go the opposite and darken that corner allowing only the snow to have any light dominance. I'd also pop the sky some more - make those clouds stand out.