Tag: winter

Frozen Sunset Lake

While at a family camp this past weekend I saw this pretty frozen sunset lake scene. I wasn’t the only one to get a panoramic shot of it, but I’m probably the only one to do it in HDR. I shoot a lot of images in HDR but I make every effort to have them appear as the human eye sees things, though I am a saturation junkie at heart and so I do sometimes boost that out of control. Anyway, this was such a gorgeous scene the picture really cannot do it justice. The fog was ever so slowly rising up off of the lake and the golden sun was shining down through it making it look like a sea of gold. If you ever get the chance, be sure to visit Payette Lake in McCall, Idaho in the winter. It is truly gorgeous!

Frozen Sunset Lake

 

McCall, Idaho Winter Sunset


One weekend in February I had the pleasure of going to camp. The first evening the sky was just so calm and serene, and the evening star shone so bright. The sunset was soft and shallow. This really allowed the entire scene to speak out, rather than the sky stealing the show.

Often a photographer will choose to capture a scene in several different ways, but only show the one he feels is best. I decided I would most enjoy showing you all three versions of how I saw this particular scene. My favorite is the one with the posts in the foreground. Which one is your favorite?

Please let me know what you think in the comments boxes below.

Horseshoe Bend Sunset & Editing

While I do try to remain honest with my photography, sometimes you have to push the edge of reality just a little bit. On a beautiful January day, I was happily working away at my desk (at home) when I noticed the sky start to become more and more rich and bold in color. I had my camera ready and rushed outside to snap off a few images before the colors died. Usually this type of sunset sky only lasts a moment or two when it is at its most magical, so I had to be fast. Because of this, I had to shoot it where I was. In town. No time to run up the pass or around the bend of the river. Just shoot!

Below is a description of what I did to make the image appealing to you and I, and to be usable as the featured image for this website.

  1. In the first image you’ll notice two things:
    • There are power lines
    • The highest hill is on the right, not the left.
  2. In the second image the power lines are gone
  3. In the third image I flipped it so that there would be a good place for the site name and tag line
Click on the first image and then use your keyboard’s arrow keys to quickly flip back and forth for the magical disappearing act.

It’s as simple as that. Though it did take over an hour to remove the ‘man made’ stuff. If only I had Photoshop CS5…

Payette River Frost

Ice and frost on the Payette River. Banks-Lowman Road, Idaho.

On my way to visit Sylvia at work I had to stop and photograph the cold, winter river. This valley runs east/west so it gets little to no sunlight during the winter months. So even though it was the middle of the day, there was still plenty of frost on the rocks. The river humidity makes an ever-present ice covering in the deep of the valley.