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The Tetons and the Snake River 2.0
The Tetons and the Snake River 2.0
wackybit


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Free Study 2016-06 (Standard Editing)
Camera: Sony DSC-RX1r
Location: Grand Teton National Park, WY
Date: Jun 10, 2016
Aperture: 2
ISO: 6400
Shutter: 15 secs
Galleries: Landscape, Astrophotography
Date Uploaded: Jun 24, 2016

 I slept early that night, probably around 7 or 8pm, and woke up at around 11pm, took a shower, and left the Inn where I stayed in Idaho. It took about an hour to drive to this spot where Ansel Adams took his iconic shot of the Tetons with the Snake river in the foreground.

When I got there the moon was very low in the sky. Within five minutes the moon had dipped below the horizon and I thought I had missed the golden opportunity. It actually turned out to be a blessing because the stars shone even brighter without the moon in the picture. The foreground, however, was way too dark.

I had to do two exposures because if I exposed only for the foreground, then the exposure time will be too long resulting in star streaks. Exposing for the sky was an exposure time of 15 secs, f/2, ISO 6400. The foreground was really dark at this point and I wanted to have some editing latitude so I dropped the ISO down to 1600 and exposed for 4 minutes at f/2.

I got back at around 2am and started editing. I overlaid the sky over the foreground with a layer mask and painted it in. The result is the picture you see above.

Thanks for looking!

Statistics
Place: 8 out of 92
Avg (all users): 6.4286
Avg (commenters): 8.0000
Avg (participants): 6.5714
Avg (non-participants): 6.0714
Views since voting: 1012
Views during voting: 91
Votes: 49
Comments: 6
Favorites: 2 (view)

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AuthorThread
Nikon D500
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
 08/04/2016 12:33:43 AM
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Please, please don't thank me for looking at such a magical capture. It is my pleasure! The colors are astonishing and your patience and adaptability certainly paid off in a big way.

Such lush greenery, accented by the river that draws the eye to the horizon and those beautiful stars. I'm torn on the 'hotspot homestead' though. On one hand I'm totally jealous that people get to live/visit this place. On the other I'd prefer not to see proof of humanity in the pic. It's a minor nit but I had to find something to pick on... Thank you for sharing how you accomplished this epic feat of bringing fairy tales to life in pixels. Awe inspiring and a great selection for a free study entry.
Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II
Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro
07/08/2016 11:01:52 PM
Thank you everybody for all your votes! This is my first time submitting after about ten years of lurking.

Ja-9 I'm very happy that I inspired you. Please feel free to message me with any questions and I'm looking forward to seeing your version of star lit skies!
Nikon Z7II
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
 07/08/2016 11:30:10 AM
How amazing!!! I've been in this spot before. Thank you for sharing your steps in your notes. I've been curious to try this type of photography. You've given me encouragement to try it!!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
Samsung Galaxy S24, S24+, S24 Ultra
Sony Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm f/4 ZA OSS
 07/07/2016 11:20:02 PM
Now THERE'S a new take on the iconic "Ansel View" :-)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon Canon 1d x Mark II
Sigma 85mm f/1.4 FG HSM Art
 07/05/2016 08:24:22 PM
Colours of the sky are amazing, beautiful image. In my top picks.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-6D
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 L Macro IS USM
 07/01/2016 08:09:44 PM
7 from me... Love that sky... and those little bits of water.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
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