[Score trend] Before the number of votes reached 140, my score was 8.0 plus minus 0.02 and remained stable for about 60 votes. I was so thrilled and thought I would set my PB, which is my goal after I upgraded to EOS 7D. But all of a sudden, it changed direction and headed south-east. It felt like the pilot hijacked by somebody and have to bear right at that point. As a passenger, I felt bad about it. My second chance in 2010 to set my PB had therefore gone again. Thanks to god, the hijacker was probably exhausted and fainted. My score headed east again for the last two days, otherwise it would go all the way down to 7.5 if followed that south-east direction.
[Mood] In the hopes of setting my PB with EOS 7D, my mood during the voting phase changed as the following:
Day 1 to day 3:
Day 4 to day 5:
Day 6 to day 7:
Tuesday afternoon:
Maybe my only chance to set PB is to learn some snake charming music like this , so I can hypnotize all the voters.
[Behind the scene] Weather channel forecasted sunny for Timberline Lodge. But when I arrived government camp, it was totally cloudy everywhere. As the first time visitor of Timberline, I had no clue and was so disappointed in the accuracy of the forecast until I was 3 miles away from Timberline. Guess what? Timberline lodge was above clouds and the whole Mt. hood was shining bright under the strong sun light.
I carried my tent, pad and sleeping bag and went snowshoeing up to 7000’ elevation. After shot some sunset scenes, I spent a while to survey the spot to setup tent and tripod. I knew I could not shoot star trails without the tent because it’s too windy and cold. I almost gave up because when I inserted the rods and expanded the tent, the strong wind blew tent and me all together down and rolled 20 feet away. Well, safe and sound then tried again with help by my camera bag’s weight. The good thing is my second attempt was successful so I spent the whole night watching shooting stars and forgot my camera was doing long exposures for me. Thanks to the timer so I can lay back.
My tripod legs were one foot deep into the snow for stabilization (it’s too windy). The consequence was after 3:00am, I could not pull the tripod legs out because the snow became frozen ice. I used my hiking pole to dig them out. After I shot some more Mt Jefferson sunrise and colorful clouds photos, I finished my first ever unforgettable overnight shooting above clouds and in snow zone.
[Thank you all for the nice comments and votes!!]
Statistics
Place: 1 out of 127 Avg (all users): 7.7806 Avg (commenters): 8.6364 Avg (participants): 7.3111 Avg (non-participants): 7.8906 Views since voting: 15500 Views during voting: 526 Votes: 237 Comments: 54 Favorites: 49 (view)
this is one of the most awesome shots i've ever seen in dpc .. and that's saying a lot coz the quality in this site is something to be reckoned with & i've viewed thousands and thousands ..
i've read your write up .. i went thru a few emotions myself reading reading it .. humour .. it was pretty funny seeing in pics how your mood changed as the voters gave you their all .. and then reading how you set this shot up i was blown away ... it just goes to show .. a top photographer who is willing to go the extra mile or more will get something incredibly special ..
i feel like an ant by comparison ... or at least a small bug .. nothing against small bugs ... i actually like them a lot .. but one of these days, and i hope its in the not too distance future, i'll be able to get something half as wonderful as this .. :)
ps .. congrats on your blue ribbon .. you've set the bar very very high to get yourself a pb .. but i reckon you'll do it .. its just a matter of time .. :)
I really do like this pic. I'm usually more interested in the lengths a photographer goes to get a great shot than the lengths taken editing the photo later. Your's is pretty fabulous in that regard. Congrats on the ribbon!
I can't really find the accurate words to tell how truly amazing this photograph is, nor the effort you've put into it. So I guess I'll keep it as simple as that. It's truly incredible. And to be honest, above all, I appreciate you sharing the events that unfolded while taking it. That really is the reward with top shots such as this. Thank you.
This is simply awesome. I am totally impressed by the effort you went through to get this fantastic shot. I cannot think of many blue ribbon shots that are as deserving as this one. Congratulations!
Personal best or no. . . it just flat out doesn't get any better than this! I'm so in awe of what you went thru to get this shot -- but how worth it. You will have this masterpiece forever, for the efforts of one day. Mega Congratulations and admiration!
I am pretty sure a mild distortion to correct star trails ellipticity is allowed, the rules disallow distortions which "create new effects or radically alter objects", which is not the case here. But a confirmation would be good, indeed :)
Wow, what people do to win (just have read your comments)! I feel almost ashamed for my easy shot :) Congrats on a wonderful image William, with a well-deserved blue result!
I gave this a "10", but there may be lens distortion or sizing problems, as evidenced by the elliptical star trails around Polaris. Otherwise, this is great.
I didn't do lens correction to compensate the distortion because I am not sure if it's legal in advanced editing. The rules said distortion tools are not allowed but didn't say lens correction purpose is allowed. Any SC can clarify this? thanks.
Like many of the "soft water" photos in these Long Exposure contests, start trail photos start to get repetitious and boring. The key is an interesting foreground. Aside from the blurring evergreen (I assume from mountaintop winds), your foreground caught my attention. Interesting pic.
I gave this a "10", but there may be lens distortion or sizing problems, as evidenced by the elliptical star trails around Polaris. Otherwise, this is great.
Star trails over Mt. Hood
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