2020 "Snaps" Around Glacier National Park

[PeteE]

I think this one turned out ok.
I was able to stop and park in a tight spot beside the cliffs on the GTTS road going down.
Placing the camera and tripod on the stone guard wall wasn't an option because traffic was passing too close to the wall.
So I had to climb over the wall where there was only one small place I could put the tripod and then sit on the wall--feet inward.
Lucky because the terrain dropped off literally straight down from the stone wall all along the area.

4 image pano ISO 100 f11 at 1/60 second 28mm(42mm at 35mm)


Might have a couple more worth posting.
Good, bad, or ugly, I took a number of panos and images from along side the road because...
These cloud layer conditions are unpredictable and don't occur very often--especially on days when I can be there.

pete

[McKee80]

I love when the clouds are low. Great shot!

[PeteE]

I just got back from Avalanche Creek.
There was virtually no wind (good for slow shutter speeds) and the light was great(overcast and flat) for pics in the gorge.
So I should have some good images to post later today.
AND....
I and absolutely STOKED over the 12"x36" print I got a few minutes ago of this image from Monday!!
The print looks soooooooo much better than the digital image below.
It's not only tack sharp but the color of the light on the mountain tops, especially the GTTS mountain is just incredible.
The color is a sort of golden orange9ish) and those tops, including the distant mountain tops, just GLOW on the print!
The image below simply pales in comparison to the print.
I spotted the print across the store as soon as I walked in the door because the GTTS mountain was just glowing like a neon light.
This one print made the whole day worthwhile.

So thanks to all of you who've been so supportive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Your comments keep me motivated to try harder every time I go out.

I think I may have some decent images from this morning.
Back later.

pete

[PeteE]

Here are the the best of the image I got this morning at Avalanche Creek in the gorge area and just up stream.
Five of the six images were panos.
The lens I used for these is a Sony f2.8 16-50mm (24-75mm at 35mm)

So it's not particularly wide. Many professionals use a "full frame" camera and shoot with a 16-35mm or similar length zoom lens.
Full frame sensors are 42megapixels and larger. APSC (chopped frame) sensors like on my Sony a77M2 are 24 megapixels.
An equivalent lens for my camera would be something like 11-24mm.

Therefore, to get the filed of view that I prefer, I do panographic images to get the wider field of view.
Panographic images also have a much higher pixel density than a single image with the equivalent field of view.
And so panographic images can be printed much larger than single frame images from a 24 megapixel camera like mine.

Like you wanted to know all that, huh?

3 frame pano
ISO 100 f11 at 0.3 seconds


4 frame pano
ISO 100 f11 at 0.3 seconds


4 frame pano
ISO 100 f11 at 0.3 seconds


Single image
ISO 100 f13 at 1.0 seconds


4 frame pano
ISO 100 f9.5 1.0 seconds


The following was my favorite of the day.
Lots of color, texture in all the trees and rocks,the carved out gorge wall, all the different green colors, the colored rocks.
I really like this one.
And it'll print really well since the full size image is very sharp...a "pixel dense" 36.9Megapixel square(ish) image 5755x5244pixels
This composition is available only when the creek is way down as it is here.
Most all of the gorge wall and creek bottom with its colored rocks is not visible when the creek is raging earlier in the year.
2 frame pano
ISO 100 f8 at 1.0 seconds Polarizing filter used to reduce glare and reflections on the water.


pete

[MarxMN]

That last Avalanche Creek picture is great. I have never seen the water in Avalanche Creek that low

And the St. Mary Lake picture you posted is good - I can imagine the 12 x 36 print is great.

Bill

[calicotraveler]

Your Avalanche Lake pictures are beautiful! I really like the slow shutter speed, the vivid colors and the color of the Glacier rocks. Especially the submerged rocks. But the big winner was your Saint Mary's photo! Totally stunning and I'm glad you enlarged it. Thanks so much for sharing!

[Carol Lynn]

Pete, that photo you had printed is absolutely stunning. Have you tried to sell any of your photos? I seem to remember that you mentioned this possibility at once time.

[PeteE]

First, I want to post this link to Deb1741's post in Non Glacier photography.
I do NOT want my frequent posting to bury her post.
http://www.glacier.nationalparkschat.co ... 99#p109599

*********************************************************************************
It's a good story with some really nice video of a HUGE grizzly bear in Yellowstone.
Plus, her grandson Braedon had some of his photographic/video work on TV!!
Go Braedon!
I'm happy to see you're still at it with your photography and being recognized for it.
Well done lad!!

pete

Your Avalanche Lake pictures are beautiful! I really like the slow shutter speed, the vivid colors and the color of the Glacier rocks. Especially the submerged rocks. But the big winner was your Saint Mary's photo! Totally stunning and I'm glad you enlarged it. Thanks so much for sharing!

Thanks Michele!
That morning lent itself to photographing Avalanche Gorge--flat light and almost no wind--very good for keeping trees in focus.
Yeah, that St Mary print is a winner.
One of the guys at the print shop remarked on it today when I took the image below in to be printed.
He also gave me a quick Photoshop lesson in using layers, masks, dodging and burning, and tone curves.
I think some, but not all, of my images would benefit from such simple techniques.
My newer images less so than some of my OLD images which I know I could improve.

I'll be out again Sunday AM at the crack of dawn for a different take on the sunrise in the St Mary Valley.
That assumes the weather cooperates. One thing for sure--If I ain't there at sunrise, I can't get a pic!

That last Avalanche Creek picture is great. I have never seen the water in Avalanche Creek that low
And the St. Mary Lake picture you posted is good - I can imagine the 12 x 36 print is great.

Bill

Thank you Bill!
Yes, the creek is down really low likely due to lack of rain this summer.
That made for the opportunity to get some good pics.
And I intend to be out there the next day good conditions like Monday come around again.
After looking more closely at the pics I posted, I see a number of things I could do differently to make some better images.
Just gotta keep on keepin' on!

Pete, that photo you had printed is absolutely stunning. Have you tried to sell any of your photos? I seem to remember that you mentioned this possibility at once time.

As always THANK you Carol.
I sent you a long PM explaining what I intend to do regarding selling my images.
maybe Sunday I'll get another stunning image.


I cropped the last image above to an 8x10 and the print should be ready tomorrow.
I think it works MUCH better cropped this way.
The left side didn't really add much to the overall image---just distracting and made the image too busy imo
What do you think?

pete

[PeteE]

Fall is here in the North Fork.
Camas Creek area of GNP taken from Glacier View ridge









Off at 4:30AM to see if I can get a" wintery" sunrise shot at snowy Logan Pass.

later

pete

[PeteE]

Snowy Logan Pass

Sunrise shots aren't too great from my first look through them, but some of the other images came out pretty good.
I'll post a few more later, but I just had to post this one.
I'm really lucky it turned out well since the Hidden Lake observation deck had people walking all around--potentially "shaking" the deck.
Plus, it was cold and windy. I had to take of my gloves to work and my fingers damn near froze!

I took it with the camera mounted portrait style on my small Oben tripod.
The tripod was sitting on the sign in the middle of the deck that describes all the mountains one can see.
However, I finally made it through taking 11 images without something getting screwed up!

I've been waiting for a long time to get a good pano of Bearhat and the surrounding mountains.
Lots of people, including me, have pictures of this scene taken from the observation deck, but...
I doubt many have an image like this one!

What do y'all think?

The greatly shrunken image posted below, while it looks pretty good here, really doesn't do the image justice.
The file for the printer is 84.1 megabytes (17,414 X 5866 pixels)
I think it will look very good printed. The detail is sharp viewed at 100%.
Potentially, it could be printed up to 2X6 feet and remain sharp.

Sony 16-50mm f2.8 zoom lens set to 35mm (52mm in 35mm format)
ISO 100 f8 at 1/125 second



later with more

pete

[indiana hiker]

Pete, You seem very pleased with your picture. And you should be! That is absolutely beautiful. Would make a great one for the wall. Can’t wait to see the others!

[calicotraveler]

The dusting of snow makes this photo special! Really like it.

[PeteE]

The dusting of snow makes this photo special! Really like it.

Thanks Michele
Wasn't it you who posted a pano of yours of BearHat here some time back?

Pete, You seem very pleased with your picture. And you should be! That is absolutely beautiful. Would make a great one for the wall. Can’t wait to see the others!

Well, yes....I am pleased with that picture, and not just because it turned out to be good "technically".
I should say that that image has had very little editing done to it.
I see places that could be improved with a little help, and I may try making it better when I know how.

I don't expect anyone to feel sorry for me, but...
I'm proud of this image for what it took to get it--same for some of the other images as well.
I got out of bed at 3:30AM, ate breakfast, got all my gear together, and drove 65 miles in the dark to Logan Pass.
Got there about 6:00AM. It was pitch dark, temperature in mid 20's with a stiff wind blowing.

I walked up to the beginning of the boardwalk to see how good or bad conditions were--the parking lot being somewhat protected.
God it was COLD up there in the dark, the wind pushing damp clouds across the landscape! It was colder than I expected.
So back to Jaybird to sort out the layers I would wear on the way up and what gear I would take.
My original plan contemplated hiking out the "un-named ridge" towards the Dragon's Tail.

After I got layered up, I slung my pack and camera, choosing to carry my hiking stick and small tripod with its pano head.
I hadn't gone far up the boardwalk when I realized it was going to be ICE covered all the way up.
So I had to stop and put on my MicroSpikes--very glad I thought to carry them. Surprisingly, virtually nobody else had traction aids.
Some people were actually wearing shorts!!
Check out this short video.
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-nVB ... H-1920.mp4

There was no point waiting around for a good sunrise shot due to the clouds to the east and clouds bowing through the meadow area.

So when I got to the two frozen tarns at the top of the boardwalk, I decided that the hike across the un-named ridge was not gonna happen.
The whole landscape was frozen solid and very slick---and would likely get really treacherous when the sun came out and put a sheen of water on the icy surface. So off I went to the overlook with the slipping and slidin' "tennis shoe" crowd

At the overlook it was obvious there was an opportunity to get some nice pics anda good pano if things went well.
And luckily I did get a good pano.

So...there's more to getting a good image than some may think.
Here's a few more snaps from yesterday.

Reynolds Mt. a little after sunrise.
I remember hiking along that big "crack" just above that cloud now highlighted by snow on the way to the summit.


3 image pano of Bearhat with the cloud bank over the Hidden Lake outlet creek gorge.


I took this pano of Clements on the way back down. I had to crop ot part of the left side that didn't stitch well.
It's really hard to stitch images when the the shots were taken with the camera looking up(or down) at a steep angle.
I didn't see the couple until I rotated to the last shot.


Kind of cool how they were standing and holding their phones alike. They had no idea they were in the frame.


Driving out I stopped at the Big Bend for this HDR image of the Garden Wall.
The light was very difficult--very bright sky above the wall which was in shadow.
LOTs of ice covered rock up there.


Mt Gould from the Big Bend.


Back to the big pano of Bearhat.
This is a TINY crop from the pano.
The detail is sharp enough to show the trail going around the base of the Reynolds cliffs.
The trail is probably what? 1/2 mile from the camera and yet a two foot wide trail is clearly visible.
So yeah the image could use some touching up, but...the image is sharp if nothing else.
It'll print well imo.
Incidentally, you can see how hiking out to the Dragon's Tail would be crazy.
That snow is wind packed and no doubt frozen solid on the trail and the drifts you must cross.
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-MQB ... PWF-X3.jpg

[calicotraveler]

The dusting of snow makes this photo special! Really like it.

Thanks Michele
Wasn't it you who posted a pano of yours of BearHat here some time back?

Pete, You seem very pleased with your picture. And you should be! That is absolutely beautiful. Would make a great one for the wall. Can’t wait to see the others!

Well, yes....I am pleased with that picture, and not just because it turned out to be good "technically".
I should say that that image has had very little editing done to it.
I see places that could be improved with a little help, and I may try making it better when I know how.

I don't expect anyone to feel sorry for me, but...
I'm proud of this image for what it took to get it--same for some of the other images as well.
I got out of bed at 3:30AM, ate breakfast, got all my gear together, and drove 65 miles in the dark to Logan Pass.
Got there about 6:00AM. It was pitch dark, temperature in mid 20's with a stiff wind blowing.

I walked up to the beginning of the boardwalk to see how good or bad conditions were--the parking lot being somewhat protected.
God it was COLD up there in the dark, the wind pushing damp clouds across the landscape! It was colder than I expected.
So back to Jaybird to sort out the layers I would wear on the way up and what gear I would take.
My original plan contemplated hiking out the "un-named ridge" towards the Dragon's Tail.

After I got layered up, I slung my pack and camera, choosing to carry my hiking stick and small tripod with its pano head.
I hadn't gone far up the boardwalk when I realized it was going to be ICE covered all the way up.
So I had to stop and put on my MicroSpikes--very glad I thought to carry them. Surprisingly, virtually nobody else had traction aids.
Some people were actually wearing shorts!!
Check out this short video.
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-nVB ... H-1920.mp4

There was no point waiting around for a good sunrise shot due to the clouds to the east and clouds bowing through the meadow area.

So when I got to the two frozen tarns at the top of the boardwalk, I decided that the hike across the un-named ridge was not gonna happen.
The whole landscape was frozen solid and very slick---and would likely get really treacherous when the sun came out and put a sheen of water on the icy surface. So off I went to the overlook with the slipping and slidin' "tennis shoe" crowd

At the overlook it was obvious there was an opportunity to get some nice pics anda good pano if things went well.
And luckily I did get a good pano.

So...there's more to getting a good image than some may think.
Here's a few more snaps from yesterday.

Reynolds Mt. a little after sunrise.
I remember hiking along that big "crack" just above that cloud now highlighted by snow on the way to the summit.


3 image pano of Bearhat with the cloud bank over the Hidden Lake outlet creek gorge.


I took this pano of Clements on the way back down. I had to crop ot part of the left side that didn't stitch well.
It's really hard to stitch images when the the shots were taken with the camera looking up(or down) at a steep angle.
I didn't see the couple until I rotated to the last shot.


Kind of cool how they were standing and holding their phones alike. They had no idea they were in the frame.


Driving out I stopped at the Big Bend for this HDR image of the Garden Wall.
The light was very difficult--very bright sky above the wall which was in shadow.
LOTs of ice covered rock up there.


Mt Gould from the Big Bend.


Back to the big pano of Bearhat.
This is a TINY crop from the pano.
The detail is sharp enough to show the trail going around the base of the Reynolds cliffs.
The trail is probably what? 1/2 mile from the camera and yet a two foot wide trail is clearly visible.
So yeah the image could use some touching up, but...the image is sharp if nothing else.
It'll print well imo.
Incidentally, you can see how hiking out to the Dragon's Tail would be crazy.
That snow is wind packed and no doubt frozen solid on the trail and the drifts you must cross.
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-MQB ... PWF-X3.jpg

Thanks Michele
Wasn't it you who posted a pano of yours of BearHat here some time back?

Yes, I posted the BearHat photo. Surely am enjoying your postings! Who ever that couple was who inadvertently got into the side of your photo would probably be interested in seeing that photo.

[indiana hiker]

Pete, I meant no offense when I said you seemed pleased and hope you didn’t take any. I knew you were looking forward to a dusting of snow and think it turned out just great. You have every right to be pleased and proud. You put a lot of work and time into your photos and I believe everyone enjoys them and hearing of your adventures to get them. Thank you for sharing with those of us that can’t be in the park.