Wow! What an incredible surprise - I was guessing by the great entries in this challenge that even my 7+ score wouldn't get me in the top 10, but as I casually floated by the site this morning to check the results I was stunned to see that I received not only a ribbon, but my first blue one :) Thank you so much!
Here's the skinny:
3 captures for HDR with a focal length of 10mm and a 9 stop ND filter attached for exposure times of 4, 10 & 25 seconds.
Camera was actually slung upside from a Manfrotto tripod, stuck into an opening in the ice and live view used for framing. Here's the set-up pic I took on my phone:
Post processing was HDR processing first to combine the images, then various adjustment layers to make each color area really pop (curves, selective color, dodge/burn layer for trouble areas & to bring out cloud detail, and possibly a little sharpening layer, too, IIRC). May have straightened the horizon with a bit of rotation then resized for submission.
If I had known I was going to submit AND that I'd actually win (ha ha!) I would have spent more time cleaning this image up, there are so many areas that bother me....
Statistics
Place: 1 out of 296 Avg (all users): 7.1788 Avg (commenters): 8.7647 Avg (participants): 7.1182 Avg (non-participants): 7.3415 Views since voting: 5616 Views during voting: 337 Votes: 151 Comments: 50 Favorites: 16 (view)
Had to re-check if I had your entries in your profile sorted by date :). What a comeback! Gorgeous image, I love it - must look even richer in a large format. Congrats on the blue!
One of my favorite shots from the bunch! Congrats on the ribbon. Very well deserved. And after seeing the set up... OH MY! I would have been too scared to put my camera in such a position! lol
My first gut instinct said this was probably near pictured rocks. It looks just like one of the many little inlets along the shoreline. If you ever head back up there and wouldn't mind some company, I'd love to meet up and visit some hidden spots - as you seem to know where the picturesque areas are. Besides, motorcycle season is just about here and I wanted to do a photo tour in the UP this spring. :-) Oh, and of course, congrats on the blue!
Wow!This is an amazing image!The 8 second exposure makes the water so soft, and the contrast against the razor sharpness of the ice, is just fantastic. Makes me want to go take pictures.
Congratz on the Blue. As I said in my comment during voting....very beautiful and it reminds me of those "YES" album covers of the 70's by artist Roger Dean.
google search: yes album cover
Its rare indeed that my top scored image is also the top scoring image in the challenge as a whole. I am glad that this time that is the case, because this image is marvelous and deserves it. Congrats!
I love the colors in this unusual (to me) winter seascape and the clarity is excellent. The composition which I initially found too divided in half has grown on me. One of my top scorers.
Fantastic! The formation on the right looks like a man's profile, with frozen drippy nose. It's hard to imagine such a scene being being a depiction of mildness, but I suppose everything is relative.
Wow. Amazing. Beautiful. Stunning. Need I go on?
I absolutely LOVE this shot. I would love to have it hanging in my house... I would love to be able to shoot it. The colors are wonderful, the detail is magnificent. It's a brilliant shot! 10
Mild Winter
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