Stairway to Heaven

[Petrus]

Cleaned dusty Velvia from year 1998, shot with Contax G2 and 21 f/2.8 Biogon. The place is Khumbu, Nepal, the high trail from Phortse to Pangpoche.

[bill t.]

Now that's a real photograph in the classic tradition!  I like everything about it.  The stairs, the hiker, the light, the composition, the tonal interpretation, it all adds up to an impressive image.  Those stairs are very surreal somehow, I think that's what really makes this shot.  And that hiker is an effective viewer surrogate, which is something I would like to use more in my photos.

[amolitor]

That's a very lovely photograph, I like the foreground and the "staircase" framing the background. The hiker is, I think, a necessary touch. It might be nice without, but having seen it with I could never accept it without the human. In addition to the more abstract contributions, the hiker simply provides scale.

The digital rendering is appalling! The highlights on the steps are wretched, and rendering in the sky is a mess. Did you smash the "sharpen" lever all the way over? Pixel-peeping is emphatically not rewarded here

[Petrus]

That's a very lovely photograph, I like the foreground and the "staircase" framing the background. The hiker is, I think, a necessary touch. It might be nice without, but having seen it with I could never accept it without the human. In addition to the more abstract contributions, the hiker simply provides scale.

The digital rendering is appalling! The highlights on the steps are wretched, and rendering in the sky is a mess. Did you smash the "sharpen" lever all the way over? Pixel-peeping is emphatically not rewarded here

Thanks, for the most part.

Technically this is lacking, I freely admit that. The original scan (done by the printing house 14 years ago) is nowhere near perfect. Also the slide was dusty. Practically the whole sky has been redone. It has been adjusted and readjusted too many times. Still, I like it as the conditions were perfect after a some snow fell at night, the light comes form the right direction etc. I have walked the same trail a few times later hoping to catch the same photo on digital, but no luck, so far.

[popnfresh]

Thanks, for the most part.

Technically this is lacking, I freely admit that. The original scan (done by the printing house 14 years ago) is nowhere near perfect. Also the slide was dusty. Practically the whole sky has been redone. It has been adjusted and readjusted too many times. Still, I like it as the conditions were perfect after a some snow fell at night, the light comes form the right direction etc. I have walked the same trail a few times later hoping to catch the same photo on digital, but no luck, so far.

I'd say it's worth cleaning and re-scanning the chrome to get it right.

[amolitor]

I agree! This is totally worth a re-scan from scratch.

[bill t.]

Sigh.  It's a great image guys, just the way it is.  Don't sweat the small stuff.   

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

Sigh.  It's a great image guys, just the way it is.  Don't sweat the small stuff.   

+1

[louoates]

+1

+2

[RSL]

+3 Fabulous. It reminds me of El Camino Del Rey (q.v. at http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZmDhRvvs5Xw.

[amolitor]

It is a fine image!

I only mentioned the technical stuff here since it looked all pretty fixable.

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

+4.

I generally prefer my landscapes not to have people in them, as I'm a fan of untrammeled wilderness. But the hiker here not only works, I think he really makes the image, and it's more than just giving a sense of scale.

Bravo!

[Peter McLennan]

+5

Superb image.  Great timing, well seen and well resolved.  I agree with Bill. Fuggedabout the nitpicking and just enjoy a perfect moment.

[feethea]

+6 fantastic, enough said!

Barry

[fike]

This is a very nice shot. If I intended to try to print the image very large, a rescan might be in order, but I interpreted the noise and posterization in the sky as artifacts of jpg web publishing. If you plan to print it smaller or display online, it is a very fine image as it is.  

The hiker is perfect. The hat on the hiker is perfect.  The backpack is perfect.  All these small human elements add up to a story about a hike in the mountains that couldn't be captured without the person.  

It was a beautiful day in Khombu.  My companion and I awoke to a light, wet snow and blue skies.  We donned our heavy packs for the slippery ascent and pulled our hats on to protect us from the harsh high-altitude sun. I stopped to catch my breath and captured this wonderful image."

The image is a bit sharp, but I think heavily sharpened analog images don't get that same crunch feel that oversharpened digital images get, so I am okay with it. I don't see haloing or stair-stepping anywhere.  

As for the rescan, has the slide deteriorated?  I have seen wide variability in slide permanence and who knows how it would look all these years later.