The Huangshan Mountains in China are famous for their steep granite peaks and cloud formations. Clouds can swirl around the mountains, making peaks appear and d...
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The Huangshan Mountains in China are famous for their steep granite peaks and cloud formations. Clouds can swirl around the mountains, making peaks appear and disappear before your eyes.
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Awards
Contender in the Photography Awards
Action Award
Chatter Award
Contest Finalist in Moments In Time Photo Contest
Zenith Award
Contest Finalist in My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol13
Contest Finalist in Creative Landscapes Photo Contest vol10
Top Shot Award 21
Legendary Award
Runner Up in Around The World Photo Contest Digital Camera World
Contest Finalist in Around The World Photo Contest Digital Camera World
Contest Finalist in Beauty In The Clouds Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Travel Photo Contest 2019
Contest Finalist in Celebrating Nature Photo Contest Vol 6
Contest Finalist in Our Amazing Planet Photo Contest xpozer
Contest Finalist in Never Stop Exploring Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Everything Nature Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Explore Asia Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Our Natural Planet Photo Contest
Peer Choice Award
Contest Finalist in My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 3
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Magnificent Capture
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
Virtuoso
Superior Skill
Genius
Top Ranks
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p_eileenbaltz
October 22, 2017
Spectacular image.....congratulations on your well-deserved Contest Finalist award.
Cheever2
January 07, 2018
I love this photo! My Grandmother was an artist and often painted China's mountains.
PaulEnigma
April 27, 2018
Join the conversation. Add a comment or even better, a critique. Let's get better together!
PaulEnigma
April 27, 2018
Join the conversation. Add a comment or even better, a critique. Let's get better together!
SMthegamer
November 02, 2019
Absolutely stunning, might have to plan a trip, I'd love to just sit and watch those clouds for a day.
AndrewMayon
June 26, 2021
Always loved Chinese landscapes like you would see in their paintings. Beautiful!
philofax
December 11, 2021
Great photo, love the yellow mountains. Enjoyed a visit there back in 2008.
kurtsnyder
February 28, 2023
I love this image Bill - it is perfect and fascinating and captivating in every way!! Congratlulations on placing in the contest! Kurt 😀👍👍👍👍👍🏆🏆🏆
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this in the Huangshan Mountains, also known as the Yellow Mountains, in China. These mountains are famous for their steep granite peaks, the almost bonsai-like trees that flank them, and spectacular cloud formations that both sweep around the peaks and create under casts around the mountains. Several million Chinese visit these mountains each year, but few Westerners such as me come here. They are well worth visiting. I have been to mountains around the world, but none like these mountains.Time
My wife and I hiked for three days on often steep trails carved into the sides and along the ridge tops of the Huangshan Mountains. On the afternoon of the second day, as we slowly climbed up from a deep valley, the clouds parted to reveal these peaks across a narrow valley from us. The clouds were flowing fairly quickly around the peaks, so I quickly took several images before the clouds changed again.Lighting
The lighting was very diffuse and muted with thick clouds covering the sky. The lighting helped to bring out some of the darker tones in the scene, such as the rich greens, but it also greatly muted contrast.Equipment
I used a Pentax K-1 body, Pentax 28-105 lens, hand held. Since we were hiking steep trails over three days, and I am not a young man any more, I kept my equipment and its weight to a minimum.Inspiration
Years ago I came to like traditional Chinese landscape drawings. This art work often features mountains. One hallmark of these drawings is that the artists layered mountain ridges one behind the other from foreground to background to help create the illusion of depth, rather than use western perspective drawing techniques that were evolving about the same time in Europe. The Chinese method of creating depth appealed to me as I hiked in and photographed mountains around the world. These drawings also often looked fantastical to me; it was hard to believe that the mountains they portrayed actually existed. However, a few years ago I learned that many of these drawings depicted or were based on the Huangshan Mountains. So my wife and I traveled there and hiked for three days among the peaks. As we hiked I looked for scenes that looked like they were straight out of traditional Chinese drawings. In a few locations where the clouds cooperated, including where this image was taken, I found my inspiration.Editing
Because of the diffuse lighting and greatly muted contrast, I significantly increased the contrast in post processing. I especially wanted to accentuate the contrast between the similarly colored ridges in this image, so that the layers of ridges receding from foreground to background would be more apparent, as they had been when I viewed them without my camera. I wanted the image to echo traditional Chinese landscape drawings, using the same method of creating depth.In my camera bag
Because much of my landscape photography is done while hiking, I carry a minimum of equipment to keep the weight down. I usually carry a Pentax K-1 body, a Pentax 28-105 lens, and (unless it's a long or multi-day hike) a Slik tripod. For shorter hikes or when shooting close to a road, I also carry a heavier Pentax 150-400 lens. Part of my approach to photography is that photography is done with your eyes, heart and mind, not with your equipment, to paraphrase a famous photographer. So I concentrate on learning how to improve my photography with my heart, mind and eyes, rather than on improving how much equipment I own. I still have a lot to learn and improve.Feedback
Look for inspiration for your photography in various places, including art work in other media. Try to learn from other artists' ways of viewing and depicting the world, such as Chinese artists from centuries ago. More specifically for landscape photography, research locations before you go there, trying to find the best places to hike, drive or otherwise travel, especially if you have limited time or budget. Before we decided where to go in the Huangshan Mountains, I researched the trails, what maps I could find, and images that others had taken.