mtybumpo
FollowThe morning sun touches the tops of the Sawtooth Mountains over Alice Lake in Idaho's Sawtooth Wilderness.
The morning sun touches the tops of the Sawtooth Mountains over Alice Lake in Idaho's Sawtooth Wilderness.
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Action Award
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Winner in Mountain Lakes Photo Challenge
Winner in Idaho Grandure Photo Challenge
Winner in Nature's wonders Photo Challenge
People's Choice in Rockies Photo Challenge
People's Choice in Rockies Photo Challenge
People's Choice in Land meets water Photo Challenge
People's Choice in Panoramarama Photo Challenge
Winner in Only In The U.S.A Photo Challenge
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joycealicesmith
October 19, 2015
Congratulations on People's Choice! Stunning photo! Absolutely gorgeous!
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at Alice Lake in the Sawtooth Wilderness of Central Idaho. This sunrise was on the last day of a 75 mile trek through the wilderness with my Scout troop. I knew the sunrise at Alice lake would be spectacular so I woke up early and stood on the edge of the lake facing west toward the peaks waiting for the first rays of light to touch them. When they did the magic happened and this shot is the result. I once heard that the way to take great photographs is to stand in front of great places. That saying has rung true for me to this day.Time
I believe this was just after 6 am. Everything was cool and calm and the water was like polished glass. It made for a great mirror effect.Lighting
I didn't use any artificial lighting. In fact, that would be impossible to do because of the vastness of the landscape. The sun worked it's own magic and the white granite of the peaks glowed beautifully.Equipment
This photograph was taken with my Casio Exilim EX-ZR850. It's actually just a high end point and shoot with a great lens and some great settings. I didn't even use a tripod. This picture is actually 3 separate photos stitched together to form a wide-angle shot.Inspiration
I'm really into landscape photography and alpenglow shots, especially involving water are my favorite. Anytime I have the opportunity to take a shot like this I will go out of my way to make sure I'm in the best possible position to get it. Nature doesn't always cooperate but sometimes I get really lucky, like in this case.Editing
For this shot I used the HDR setting on my camera. It snaps three different photos using differing exposure levels very quickly and combines them into one. The setting on the particular camera I used for this shot is actually really good so my post processing was very minimal. I chose the three best shots from that morning and stitched them together to get the full wide-angle view and then I did just bit of touch-up in Lightroom using some of my color presets. Nature did the rest.In my camera bag
For big trips where I have to travel light (like backpacking or climbing) I usually bring only my Casio point and shoot and a small tripod. Otherwise I have both the point and shoot and my Canon T3i with a large tripod and several lenses and filters.Feedback
The hardest part about taking photos like this is actually getting to the locations. There certainly are locations like this you can drive to but I find my best photos come from places that are hard to get to. This is probably because I'm not rushed and I feel like since I've worked so hard to get there I might as well take the time to enjoy the place to the fullest extent. In other words, don't be rushed. Let nature do its thing and make sure to capture as much of it as you can so that you can choose the best when you get home.