Dissonant Darkness & Crater Lake

[maddogmurph]

Well, a couple recent edits here. I debated going full size on crater lake or using this crop, but I think this brings in the tightness of the scene and displays almost all the elements I hoped to bring in.

As a side note, I've got some extra calendars this year. Not many, but I'm offering them to people besides my friends and family. I sort of doubt any photographers are actually going to want one, when they can so easily do one of their own work, and also... who really uses calendars anymore?! But nevertheless, if you'd like one I'm happy to furnish:

https://www.etsy.com/MaddogMurph/listing/906361598/2021-international-landscape-calendar-13?utm_source=Copy&utm_medium=ListingManager&utm_campaign=Share&utm_term=so.lmsm&share_time=1607838083425

[Bob_B]

Well done. I like the crop on Crater Lake. It has the right balance to my eyes.

[RSL]

+1

[thierrylegros396]

Really like both photos.

Thierry

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

Really like both photos.

Thierry

+1.

[Peter McLennan]

I've never seen Crater Lake better rendered.
Including by my own two eyes.

[Paulo Bizarro]

Terrific shots.

[Dave (Isle of Skye)]

Beautiful.

Great work 

Dave

[francois]

Both wonderful but my heart leans slightly toward the first one (Crater Lake)…

[maddogmurph]

I've never seen Crater Lake better rendered.
Including by my own two eyes.

Peter this was a moment of pure bliss that lasted a full 24 hours. It's those moments we live for as photographers. It takes work, pain, and suffering... We slept up top and got blasted, but to get the clearing or oncoming storm shots, you need to be in the storm at some point. The things most people usually avoid, I gravitate towards.. and the feeling of being out there with my snow shoes watching the fog banks roll across the lake and engulf everything is magical. It would have made a spectacular time lapse or video from a helicopter/drone.

[maddogmurph]

Both wonderful but my heart leans slightly toward the first one (Crater Lake)…

I very much agree. The second is part of a time-lapse series. The time lapse will be one of the best I've ever done, but not quite long enough. If I had known the lights would come this night, I would probably have picked a better composition down by the water below. But to be honest, there weren't great options from this side, the expanse of water made everything kind of average. Also the blend between the mountains and sky isn't as clean on this photograph as I'd like. It's a single photograph, but cross processed.

[Jeremy Roussak]

I like the first very much. I'm always a bit suspicious of aurora shots, although the second is certainly among the better ones I've seen.

Jeremy

[maddogmurph]

I like the first very much. I'm always a bit suspicious of aurora shots, although the second is certainly among the better ones I've seen.

Jeremy

I agree. I actually think part of that is the difficulty in processing them. On my original edit, there was about 40% of the green that was out of gamut. I had to reprocess the aurora in a separate mask and simply lighten it to a green that's in gamut in order to not have what I considered to be an awful involuntary color shift. But to your point a lot of photographers either embellish, or take multiple aurora shots and combine them to make a balanced composition because the Aurora rarely comes out balanced. It's just absolute chaos. And the color is nearly impossible to work with if there's other colors...

[Peter McLennan]

We slept up top and got blasted, but to get the clearing or oncoming storm shots, you need to be in the storm at some point.

I remember on viewing "Clearing Winter Storm Yosemite" having the realization that "Ah!  That means that you have to be there, ready to shoot, DURING the storm".

Since then, like you, I've tended to aim for shzzty weather.

Thanks for freezing your ass off up there.  Well worth it, IMHO. 

[sdwilsonsct]

Peter this was a moment of pure bliss that lasted a full 24 hours. It's those moments we live for as photographers. It takes work, pain, and suffering... We slept up top and got blasted, but to get the clearing or oncoming storm shots, you need to be in the storm at some point. The things most people usually avoid, I gravitate towards.. and the feeling of being out there with my snow shoes watching the fog banks roll across the lake and engulf everything is magical. It would have made a spectacular time lapse or video from a helicopter/drone.

Outstanding, inspiring.