calicotraveler wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 8:28 am
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?
indiana hiker wrote: ↑Mon Sep 28, 2020 6:22 pm
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