Dreaming

I’ve been away from the high peaks for many months now, a deep longing kept turning my eyes back to those soft peaks. The mountains are a place of peace for me, and for many others, rejuvenation waits for us there. Taking a breath of that mountain air can let you exhale the stress around you. Close your eyes, breath the aromas around you, listen to the wind whipping, feel that warm sun on your face despite the subtle chill in the air. Are we standing on the side of a mountain, looking out into vast untamed wilderness, or are we dreaming.

It’s true, I’ve not been able to get up into the mountains since November to shoot the sort of scenes I truly love, so when the opportunity presented itself, I didn’t squander that chance. I waited till a storm had just passed, a bit of rain still falling, and headed into the mountains. I knew I may not get a great shot, but I had planned several locations where I could work on my shots. This was the last stop of the day. Crepuscular rays, misty valleys, shadowy mountains, all I had to sacrifice was being dry. Sprinkling though it was, after half an hour I was properly wet.

The composition itself was simple, sunrays on the right, mountain saddle on the left, shadow, light, contrast. The issue was what do I need to edit? I could do global edits like I have done in the past, or create a stacked HDR image, any number of things to get the shot I wanted out of this. What I decided in the end was targeted adjustments through the image. Sky, midground, and foreground, all edited with layered masks, which is something I encourage all of you to learn to experiment with. It can take a bit of time to learn, but well worth it.

Until Next Time!

Aperture: f8
ISO: 320
SS: 1/125th
Focal: 21mm

Fujinon 16-55mm