Angle of repose

[sdwilsonsct]

Here's a place a I have revisited a few times, but have never captured a really satisfactory image. Perhaps I need to wait for a better sky. The side valleys disappear without snow or with leaves, so the there are restrictions on when these lines are visible. Any suggestions for a more engaging picture are welcome.
Scott

[luxborealis]

Great location with great potential.

It looks to me like you could use some low angle backlighting coming from the upper right corner skimming the tops of the trees. This would accentuate the undulations as the "valleys" would remain in shadow.

Would it be possible to get a little higher to give slightly better separation between the midground trees coming down from the left and the undulations in the background?

Lastly, a nice covering of snow combined with the light described above would also create colour contrasts between the cool shadows and the warm highlights.

[sdwilsonsct]

Would it be possible to get a little higher to give slightly better separation between the midground trees coming down from the left and the undulations in the background?

Thanks, Terry. All good suggestions. Higher ground wasn't possible until last week when Hans Kruse's dolomite pictures caused me to get a longer lens. This should allow me to get higher on the other side of the valley.

Light snow sounds good, too. We're looking SW so the winter sun sets behind. With a bit of luck an equinox sunset might provide the light you suggest.

Scott

[luxborealis]

Actually, I was thinking that if you were in the same location, but higher up the slope to the right, you would keep the same near-far proportions and perspective, but from a better vantage point. If you are further away, but higher up, you would start to lose the depth apparent from this angle. Even getting slightly closer, but from higher up would improve the near-far relationship of the mid-ground trees and background trees and undulations.

[Isaac]

If you could add patches of sunlight to the land where would you put them? What time of day do you need to be there for that lighting?

The valley bottom trees in the centre of the picture have become an indistinct dark mass - maybe different lighting will show something there, maybe it needs early spring-buds or a few leaves.

Also, you could do the 4-seasons - either composite 4 photos intended to show the same view at different times of year; or take 4 sets of 4 photos (each with a narrower view), and then either composite or display side-by-side. Perhaps that would let you show different parts of the scene at their best.

[fineartphotos]

It is a little bit dark but if you have shoot it in RAW you might be able to actually fix it .
What interest me most is the composition, it looks like the image have been taken with the lens fish eye, but i know it wasn't it is very interesting point of view for this piece, I believe it hase a lor of potential.

[sdwilsonsct]

Terry: I agree that a good deal of walking and thinking will help.

Isaac: I lightened the trees today: it certainly helps. Your 4-season suggestion is intriguing...

fineart: this is a panorama, but the valley does have a bit of a fish-eye shape. One hand this makes a nice frame. On the other hand it looks contrived.

Another thought is to stitch a few more images to capture more sky, especially if I can get a good one.

Thanks to everyone!

Scott

[louoates]

I agree that the recurring tree lines are the items of interest. I think the sky and foreground, plain or otherwise, are just distractions.

[sdwilsonsct]

Thanks louoates. A snowy version helps play down the foreground distractions. Scott