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Author Topic: Christmas Morning, Yosemite Valley, Merced River  (Read 2608 times)

Mjollnir

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Christmas Morning, Yosemite Valley, Merced River
« on: December 29, 2015, 10:38:06 am »

It snowed from well before we got to the Valley until well after we retired for the night.  Woke up to the lovely sight of not only tons of snow, but practically no one else up and about around dawn.

This was taken from the south shore of the Merced, between Housekeeping and Stoneman Bridge.

Only things out there besides me were the tracks of the forest creatures who'd been there on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Morning, Merced River #1 by tanngrisnir3, on Flickr
« Last Edit: December 30, 2015, 09:17:04 am by Mjollnir »
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Stephen Girimont

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Re: Christmas Morning, Yosemite Valley, Merced River
« Reply #1 on: December 29, 2015, 11:19:17 am »

Wow, what a scene! I love the bits of sunlight (reflected off peaks?) that can be seen in the reflection a lower right.

I kind of want to see a bit more at the top of the image, though.

Slobodan Blagojevic

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Re: Christmas Morning, Yosemite Valley, Merced River
« Reply #2 on: December 29, 2015, 11:28:17 am »

Look at all that golden fish in the pond!

Fish or no fish, superb catch, man!

Nitpick: it appears that the tree in the upper left corner has slightly cooler white balance?

MattBurt

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Re: Christmas Morning, Yosemite Valley, Merced River
« Reply #3 on: December 29, 2015, 11:40:21 am »

Love it! Beautiful scene either way but the little golden flecks really make it special. Nice work.
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-MattB

Mjollnir

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Re: Christmas Morning, Yosemite Valley, Merced River
« Reply #4 on: December 29, 2015, 12:16:54 pm »

Look at all that golden fish in the pond!

Fish or no fish, superb catch, man!

Nitpick: it appears that the tree in the upper left corner has slightly cooler white balance?

Thanks!

I think that may actually be due to shadow, as I didn't touch the WB in post.

But now you've got me curious, and I'm going to go back and look at the processing stream.

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Slobodan Blagojevic

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Re: Christmas Morning, Yosemite Valley, Merced River
« Reply #5 on: December 29, 2015, 01:50:56 pm »

...I think that may actually be due to shadow, as I didn't touch the WB in post...

Quite likely, as shadows tend to have a cooler WB by default. I sometimes leave it as such, or even accentuate it, if I can contrast it with the rest of the scene nicely (you know, the standard blue-orange complimentary color contrast generally works well). In this particular case, the upper left tree is placed inconveniently close to the rest of the scene that has a rather neutral WB.

For comparison, take a look at the lower right-hand corner: it also has the same bluish cast, yet is not that much objectionable, as a pretty large area around is in the shade and exhibits the same cast, plus it contrasts nicely with the oranges.

What I would do? I would either bring everything closer together (i.e., close to neutral WB) or I would cool the lower left corner as well, creating the impression that the whole foreground is in the shadow and thus cooler. The latter would also "push" the eye toward the middle ground and background.

Richard Pearlman

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Re: Christmas Morning, Yosemite Valley, Merced River
« Reply #6 on: December 29, 2015, 11:18:47 pm »

That water is like glass! I'm in agreement with Stephen about seeing more of the upper portion of the image.

Jens Peermann

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Re: Christmas Morning, Yosemite Valley, Merced River
« Reply #7 on: December 30, 2015, 07:55:53 am »

Awesome reflection and I also like the subtle colors. The golden spots on the water add a nice touch.
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Chairman Bill

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Re: Christmas Morning, Yosemite Valley, Merced River
« Reply #8 on: December 30, 2015, 08:08:00 am »

We all want to see more of the upper reaches of the trees. Go back & shoot it again, and make sure you get it right this time  :)


Stephen Girimont

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Re: Christmas Morning, Yosemite Valley, Merced River
« Reply #9 on: December 30, 2015, 08:26:12 am »

I'm hoping the image was cropped in post and there is some additional headroom in the original image. But, if not, definitely go back and shoot it again! I'm sure you'll get the exact same conditions a second time!

 ;D

Mjollnir

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Re: Christmas Morning, Yosemite Valley, Merced River
« Reply #10 on: December 30, 2015, 09:22:08 am »

Sorry, the only cropping done was from the bottom frame, in order to get more symmetry.   This shot is pretty much a WYSIWYG.

Slight redo, as per suggestion.  I was also noticing a very slight greenish hue over the entire frame.  Turns out that lowering aqua saturation did the trick.  The WB issues are also addressed.

Christmas Morning, Merced River #1 by tanngrisnir3, on Flickr
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sierraman

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Re: Christmas Morning, Yosemite Valley, Merced River
« Reply #11 on: December 30, 2015, 09:24:57 am »

If you want to see the upper reaches of the trees just look at the reflection.  :)
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John Koerner

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Re: Christmas Morning, Yosemite Valley, Merced River
« Reply #12 on: December 31, 2015, 08:26:21 pm »

Nice, either way, but do think the second image is "shinier" ...
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sdwilsonsct

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Re: Christmas Morning, Yosemite Valley, Merced River
« Reply #13 on: January 01, 2016, 10:47:39 am »

Really good. The colours in the first version don't bother me.
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