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I made
this image during a two-week backcountry trek
through the Fitz Roy region of Patagonia. This
particular location was approximately twelve miles
deep within the Los Glaciares National Park
wilderness, far away from civilization. I hiked to
this location from my backcountry camp before
sunset, hoping for some interesting light. I was
intrigued by a small stream on the map which flowed
out of the mountains from west to east. I was hoping
that it would point straight into Mount Fitz Roy and
the setting sun, providing an interesting
foreground. Lucky for me, I was not disappointed.
During
the hour leading up to sunset, a perfect "halo" of
ice crystals lit by the sun formed above Fitz Roy,
which sent me into a photography frenzy, running up
and down the stream looking for interesting
foreground compositions. As sunset approached, the
light got more colorful, but the halo began to
dissipate. High clouds streaking over Fitz Roy
caught the last fleeting light of the day, turning
rosy pink as the sun set behind the massive peak. I
choose a zig-zagging bend in the stream as my
foreground for this, the final shot of the evening.
My foreground choice was important, as it acts as a
leading element drawing the viewer's eye into the
background of the scene.
I
decided to use a stack of neutral density filters to
lengthen my exposure to 30 seconds, in order to
record movement of the clouds in the sky. A
polarizer was also used to reduce glare on wet rocks
in the stream, and a 2-stop graduated neutral
density filter was used to balance the exposure of
the sky and the foreground.
To see
more Patagonia images and to read more about my
adventures there, visit my
Patagonia Photo Journal.
Technical data: Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40mm
zoom lens (@17mm), Aperture Priority mode, manually
focused using Live View, neutral density filters,
polarizer filter, 2-stop graduated neutral density
filter, ISO 100, f/16, 30 seconds. |
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I
processed this raw file in my usual manner, adding
minor amounts of color, saturation, and contrast as
necessary to optimize the image. Raw files render a
scene relatively flat and colorless compared to
color slide film, and need processing to capture the
look of the scene to the eye, or to approximate the
look the image would have if taken with film. I tend
to make most of my adjustments in Photoshop, rather
than during the raw conversion process, as Photoshop
offers greater control and flexibility. As usual, I
made my adjustments using adjustment layers,
allowing me to fine tune my results using layer
masking. A selective Curves adjustment was applied
to make the transition zone of the graduated neutral
density filter less obvious, and therefore make the
scene more natural looking. I used a Curves
adjustment layer in Color Mode to remove a slight
magenta color cast in the rocks, rendering them
neutral gray, which is how the eye perceived them. I
increased the Saturation of the reds by
approximately +20 to restore color and intensity
muted by the raw file, but nonetheless seen by the
eye when I was there photographing this mountain
paradise.
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