Mt Grinnell Alpenglow – Many Glacier, Montana.

Sunrise light on Mt Grinnell and Mt Gould. This image was taken few minutes after Sunrise Cloud Movements over Swiftcurrent Lake. I much prefer the clouds in the first shot, but I do like the alpenglow here.

PS: I’ve been too busy lately … trying my best to find time to post.

Sunrise cloud movement over St Mary Lake – Glacier National Park, Montana.

I spent a sunset and two sunrises here on Wild Goose Island, and each time, the light was different. A few minutes after I took this shot, the sky colors disappeared as rain clouds blanketed the eastern sky. It would have been perfect to get this sky and the same alpenglow light that I saw a few days earlier. This is a single exposure shot with three GND filters.

We ended up hiking in the rain to a couple waterfalls later that day to finish our trip. There are still some more photos from this trip that I might post later when I find the time, but this is the last good photo that I took during my trip. If you follow my series thus far, I hope you enjoy the photos as much as I enjoyed capturing them. Glacier National Park is very beautiful, and my photos don’t do it justice.

The Garden Wall and Going To The Sun Road in the evening light – Logan Pass, Montana

Didn’t think I’d get good sunset light to work with on Hidden Lake, I left to find a better spot and found this scene near Logan Pass: The setting sun illuminated the Garden Wall, revealing the Highlight Trail above Going To The Sun Road.

This image is a digital blend from a single RAW exposure shot with a two stops soft edge GND filter. Getting this shot was a good way to end a productive shooting day: the previous five images I posted came from a single day of shooting from sunrise to sunset. I wished everyday in the park could be that fun, but it rained half of the time we were there.

Hidden Lake and Bearhart Mountain – Logan Pass, Montana

The Blackfoot Indians refer to this part of the Rockies on the continental divide as the “backbone of the world”. I thought it’s a fitting title for this image showing Bearhart Mountain towering above Hidden Lake.

After a morning hike to checkout Grinnell Lake, we went up Logan Pass to see Hidden Lake. The Hidden Lake trail is one of the prettiest walks I’ve done: blooming flowers, running water cascades, imposing mountains… There was even a small ice field for those wanting to get off the trail for a little climb. After spending about an hour up there watching the mountain goats in their natural habitat, we left early. If there were more clouds, I would have stayed until sundown.

Aerial view of Grinnell Lake from Grinnell Glacier Trail – Many Glacier, Montana.

After spending the morning hours photographing sunrise on Swiftcurrent Lake, I took off on a scouting hike up the Grinnell Glacier Trail. I normally don’t shoot much during the day time, but I took out my camera and tripod when I saw this mesmerizing view: sun to the left, waterfalls to the right, towering peaks in front, glaciers in the distance, dramatic clouds above, and the spectacular turquoise water of Grinnell Lake below. Although I used a 2 stops soft edge GND filter, the contrast was still too extreme: the mountains were in dark shadows. I needed a digital blend to bring out some details on mountains while retaining some of the sky textures. I also boosted contrast to reduce the distance haze on the left side.

Visiting Glacier NP in the near future? Definitely don’t miss this hike. The glaciers will be gone soon. Curious about the turquoise glacier lake water? Look up glacier flour.

PS: I’m on the road again this weekend – will resume posting more next week. Have a good weekend.

Mt Gould Alpenglow at sunrise on Swiftcurrent Lake – Many Glacier, Montana.

I was experimenting with bulb exposures to exaggerate the cloud movements, but as the beautiful sunrise light lit up the top of the mountain range, I removed two of my GND filters to cut down my exposure time. Knowing that this beautiful alpenglow wouldn’t last long, I hurried a few shots before the intensity of the sunrise light faded. Perhaps this was the best sunrise light that I was lucky enough to catch during my trip.

The previous morning, I got out on the lake shore at 5am and waited for the sunrise alpenglow that never showed up. Two of the Many Glacier hotel employees joined my company. I asked them about their experience with sunrise on this lake. They described how they once saw the three peaks (Mt Gould, Mt Grinnell, Mt Wilbur) became infernal volcanoes spewing out fiery clouds! On this sunrise, I witnessed a glimpse of what the “locals” get to see.

When my new sunrise companions found out that I write computer software for a living. Both of them stared at me for a few seconds, “What are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere in the dark?” I replied, “Once in a while, I love to get a way from the computers, turn off my cellphone and get off ‘the grid’ for a few days to find myself again.” They both nodded in approval. We talked about how beautiful this place is during the summer and how isolated it can be in the brutal winters. Both later offered to take me on a guided hike to hidden place with caves and waterfalls. I was tempted, really tempted, but I politely turned it down. Perhaps next time, I might take up on their offer …

Swiftcurrent Lake sunrise – Many Glacier, Montana.

Although we encountered wind gusting 25-40 mph and rains during our week long visiting Glacier National Park, this area is one of the most visually stunning locations that I have visited. The diversity of photographic opportunities were amazing: rugged mountains, towering peaks, dramatic clouds, turquoise lakes, raging waterfalls and cascades, exquisite flora and exotic fauna … I was in heaven. No wonder why this little corner of the world is known as “The Crown of the Continent“. Over the next few weeks, I will post a series of photos that I managed to capture during my time there.

This ninety seconds exposure was taken during my second sunrise photographing Swiftcurrent Lake in the Many Glacier area. The prominent peak on the right is Mt Grinnell and Mt Gould is under those fast moving clouds above the valley. Both mornings, the strong wind destroyed all the lake reflections:(

To maximize the wind effect, I stacked three GND filters (3 stops hard + 2 stops hard + 2 stops soft) to simulate solid ND filters to lengthen my exposure time. With the sunrise light changing rapidly every minute, I could not afford to experiment with too many of these long exposures and loose the exquisite sunrise light. In my next post, I will upload a much shorter exposure of the same location shot a few minutes later.

Early winter morning light on Upper Yosemite Falls seen from the Merced River

I shot this Upper Yosemite Falls back in February. My initial plan that morning was to shoot a sunrise at the valley view point, but when I arrived at my intended location, there was about a dozen photographers there. I couldn’t find a decent spot to setup my tripods, so I just packed up my gears and left to find another location. I ended up here on the Merced River by the Swinging Bridge. I stood in the icy water waiting for the light to reach the valley floor, hoping to catch the rising mist, but the clouds rolled in and blocked most of the soft light for the rest of my morning.

As far as post processing on this image, I had to do some dodging to correct the 0.6 split ND filter effect on the top half of the image (too dark). This is one of those images that I think a 1 stop soft edge ND filter would work better than my 2 stops hard edge ND filer.

Here is another view of this spectacular waterfalls seen not too far from where I shot the above image: Upper Yosemite Falls in Winter (BW).

The big granite wall seen in a winter morning from Yosemite’s Leidig Meadow.

After digging myself out of the snow from my previous Upper Yosemite Falls shot, I headed back towards the swinging bridge. Looking at the morning light on the huge granite rock face and seeing a faint line of fog rising at the edge of the Leidig Meadow, I just knew that a black and white image was waiting to be captured.

It’s nearly impossible to come up with an original image from Yosemite since the place has been done to death by countless photographers, but I do try to force myself to look away from the classic locations. All the popular spots I visited that morning were teaming with photographers. In the end, the two images that I like most from my trip are these two black and white images because some of their compositional elements are consistent with most of my other works.

]]> http://www.photofool.com/2009/02/25/the-wall/feed/ 29 http://www.photofool.com/2009/02/23/upper-yosemite-falls-in-winter-bw/ http://www.photofool.com/2009/02/23/upper-yosemite-falls-in-winter-bw/#comments Mon, 23 Feb 2009 09:30:49 +0000 photofool http://www.photofool.com/?p=2225

Yosemite has been transforming itself into a modern day theme park to accommodate mass tourism. I remember visiting the park during the peak season … congested traffic for miles, crying infants, visitors packed like sardines into shuttle service buses … Although I often think that Yosemite has lost some of its allure, once in a while, I still find myself walking the valley floor. During the winter months, Yosemite still shows its quiet grandeur to those who love the park for what it is.

I took a few decent photos during my visit last weekend, but this black and white version of the Upper Yosemite Falls is one of my favorites. When I shot this image, I was thigh deep in the soft snow, waiting for the morning light to come through. There was nobody else around but my camera and I. In the quietness of a cold winter morning, my bio rhythms slowed down to match with my surrounding. I stood still, taking it all in.

I returned to Yosemite looking for a quick escape, and I found what I was searching for since dawn: a moment of stillness alone in the middle of some of the grandest display of Mother Nature’s wonders. People often ask me why I keep on coming back to Yosemite, I simply say because I like it. It is hard for me to explain my desire to loose myself in order to find myself again …

Thunderous cracking sound from the distance waterfall awakened my senses. I wiggled my toes and dug myself out of the snow. On my way back to the swinging bridge, another photographer greeted me, “I saw you deep in the snow, and I am glad I didn’t go out there!” I smiled, “It’s easy to get lost in a beautiful morning”. He nodded, and we parted way.

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