2015-08-25 Two Medicine Lake
Smokey sunset on Two Medicine Lake in Glacier National Park at the height of this summer's fire season.
Smokey sunset on Two Medicine Lake in Glacier National Park at the height of this summer's fire season.
Read less
Read less
Nov, 2015Views
1413
Likes
Awards
Contender in the Photography Awards
Action Award
Zenith Award
Legendary Award
Lucky 3 Award
Top Shot Award
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Superb Composition
Outstanding Creativity
Peer Award
Magnificent Capture
Superior Skill
All Star
Top Ranks
Top 30 rank week 1
Top 20 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 30 rank week 1
Top 20 rank
Categories
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
This photos was taken at Two Medicine Lake in Glacier National Park just after a late-afternoon hike up the south side of the valley. This country is moose country, and, as hoped, we saw a few moose several yards from the trail. Late August of 2015 had 3 separate large fires burning through the park, and this was one of the better days that month as far as visibility went. I'm a self-taught amateur photographer, and this was my first chance to shoot during "good lighting" hours and forest fire smoke. The results were a very pleasant surprise.Time
This was taken about 5 minutes before sunset, facing west, from the shore adjacent to the Astor Park trailhead.Lighting
I love shooting through forest fire smoke - it always lends an air of mystery and the red overtones can really influence the overall feel of the photo. What really surprised me about this photo was the fact that the reds were even more vibrant when reflected off of the lake.Equipment
This was shot on my handheld Lumix (Panasonic DMC-TZ5). f 3.3, exposure 1/200, ISO 100, focal length 28mm.Inspiration
We were walking back to the car and I thought, "Hey, the sunset looks amazing through the smoke! I wonder how it'll turn out in a photo?"Editing
I'm not a photoshop guru by any means. I did the smallest bit of color adjusting to enhance the blue to make the most distant mountains stand out a little bit, and to enhance the contrast with the pink.In my camera bag
Depending on how much walking I'm doing, I either have the above-mentioned handheld camera, or my Nikon D3300. I have a tripod, but usually only bring that with me if I'm planning on shooting slow exposures, such as water or night scenes.Feedback
Bring a breathing mask - smoke this dense smells terrible! In all seriousness, however, I find that I cannot go wrong in the face of amazing scenery such as that afforded by Glacier National Park, and many other national parks. Unlike wildlife and other subjects, landscapes don't go anywhere, so there's no reason to not plan to shoot them during the 'golden hours' - either right before sunrise or right after sunset.
