I enjoyed doing some reading about Ansel Adams in preparation for this challenge and, also, checking out some of his photos, and really noticing this time around how he'd made his photographs into pieces of art by so effectively using dodging and burning.
I drove into the mountainside here in Japan to make this picture. It was snowing very heavily, so I had a friend holding an umbrella over the camera. I had thought my photo would record the snowflakes too but, alas, my shutter speed was too slow. That did make it easier for doing the dodging and burning though.
Dodging and burning and then split toning pretty much summarises what I did to it in Photoshop. Oh yeah, and cloning for where the snowflakes had recorded as if they were a piece of lint on the lens.
A very memorable, beautiful day all in all.
Statistics
Place: 31 out of 292 Avg (all users): 6.2231 Avg (commenters): 7.7778 Avg (participants): 6.0972 Avg (non-participants): 6.3925 Views since voting: 1846 Votes: 251 Comments: 24 Favorites: 4 (view)
Critique Club
Very Beautiful! I took a long look and read all the comments. I do have to agree that the tone of your picture is not AA, but I think that if you prefer the sepia better, than it is ok to introduce some of your style to the challenge. I think you do an excellent job getting a large amount of tonal range. I don't love the tree in the bottom right corner, however it does stop the eye from following the river right out of the picture. I also would have like to see the water just slightly brighter and compare the too. I think with the water lighter (just a little) that the photo would "pop" a little more. Try it and see which you like better. Overall, I think you did a fabulous job of meeting the challenge and the quality is wonderful. Good job!
Voting you up after a last look. I like the symmetry of the bridge against the water, the mist/fog over the mountainside, the geometry in the bridge span. The sky might be a little blown out. Great photo. (9)
Beautiful! I'm not really comfortable with the sepia tone representing Ansel Adams style but as a whole this is an amazing picture worthy of hanging on any wall. - 9
While this image inhibits many of the zonal tones it does it with great style and flair We see zone 1 in the darkest and closest mountains along with branches, then the 2 and 3rd zones in the greenery following immediayely and then it fades into the 9+zone as the distance is covered. The water fills in the 3,4 5 and a kiss of the 8 as it approaches towards the viewer. A comfortable image to look at Bumping to 8
This is one of my top placings. I like the bridge, leading into the light and disapearing background. My only comment for improvement would be to explore the possibility the have the picture without the botom right tree. Good look.
At first I liked this image a lot because of the dof but then my eyes wandered closer and I see the strange blur bottom center, the image became flat, what a landscape though!
I really, really wisdh this had been rotated ccw a degree or so, it has such a strong sense of leaning over. The tonalities are a bit muted, but it's an effective composition and a drmamtic scene.
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