Sometimes a favorite image just sneaks up on you.
A few years back I was at Upper Tipsoo Lake in Mt. Rainier National Park to photograph the sunset. I had something very specific in mind, I was hoping for some clouds around Rainier with amazing sunset colors including deep reds. And I wanted it all reflected in the lake. I wasn’t asking for much, was I?
Anyway, so much for preconceptions.
When the light I was counting on didn’t materialize I went exploring, climbing above the lake to see what that might hold. But I wasn’t excited by what was going on in the sky; I was still stuck in my preconceptions. But I was there and the foreground light was looking nice so I gave it a try.
For many years it’s been just a matter of habit for me to get the best possible image in the camera, even if I’m not all that excited about the picture. As the sky this evening was so bright I knew I’d need to either take more than one exposure and blend them in the computer, or use a graduated ND filter. Since at the time I was admittedly disappointed in the sunset I decided to “just” use a graduated filter (I think it was a three stop filter).
What do you know, this image has become one of my very favorites.
There’s a lesson in here someplace about turning lemons into gift horses or some such. What I can say is that I’m damn glad that I’m such a geek about image quality and getting good results in the camera. I’m also glad I carry a set of graduated ND filters. Otherwise, I might have just simply ended the evening by grumbling over the disappointing sunset and soaking my sorrows in a glass of wine rather than capturing one of my all time favorites and celebrating with a glass of wine.
If you’re curious about the post-processing involved here (not a whole lot), jump on over to the Lessons page I’ve created about this image.
