Farewell, a photo from Posocje, West

Photographer's Note

There are evenings which get attributes of eternity in one's life. Such was this evening, at about 2.100 m altitude on the south slopes of Mt. Mangart, looking toward west, across Slovenia-Italy border in the direction of West Julian Alps. It was December, no snow yet this year. Alone, I was waiting behind my tripod on a miracle - and it happened. An indescribable calm evening, full of pastel hues, persistently and mutely changing toward deeper and deeper colors. Not a slightest breeze. The 'orgelpunkt' was Silence. And the end was the night.

35 mm lens was used. I waited until the difference between the sky, excluding the region around the sun, and the mountains was about one stop. Aperture priority, matrix metering, stop 11. Scanned by Nikon CoolScan IV-ED. In Corel PhotoPaint, on 4000 pix width level, the picture was Gaussian blurred 1px to kill grain, with the exception of the region of grasses (hand drawn mask, Mask Feather 100 pix); resampled to 800 pix width; a hand drawn mask around central see of haze was made and superimposed on an another linear gradient fill mask (Paint on Mask tool) in the upper third of the picture (instead of using an optical graduated neutral gray filter) to further reduce sky/mountains contrast; slight darkening using Curves; selective contrast enhancement of grasses; Unsharp Mask 45%, 2pix and some slight additional selective sharpening of the grasses. No color management.

mitternacht, rabani, hispic, megafolie, KevRyan, anthonyasael, ravish, Nottinghill, Albrecht, ayobami, iehuiah, shaas, fijiphil, klyee75, Guillem69, yulie351, calimex, kmarscher, Ganchor4, FreewheelerBee, EstudioChispa has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Porteplume (4036) 2003-02-20 15:46

Stunning! It looks like it's not real because so few of us have seen that wonder!
"Being on the right place, on the right moment..."

Nina (5099) 2003-02-20 16:03

This is pure magic Amadej.I have been rendered speachless. You do not need me to critique this shot. It can hardly be improved. I would make a suggestion of a crop, which in my view would improve the composition. I would crop on the left of the image. Have you tried it?

[3]

Aegean (2571) 2003-02-20 16:33

Perfect...what else can i say looking at this stunning picture!!!! It is the one that every photographer wants to have it in its portofolio!!!!

tuc (389) 2003-02-20 16:51

Beautiful work. But if I have one criticism it is that the photo has been too edited to look convincing. I would like to see the brightness on the grasses reduced a little - clearly the sun is setting but they look to be in stronger sunlight. Alternatively, you could increase the brightness of the sky

ronners (10) 2003-02-20 19:18

Again, a great great work. I do notice, however, that you have a preference for de-emphasising the background. As a question of taste, I like as much depth of field as possible. Take a look at Ansel Adams work for example (I'm sure you're familiar with 'Mount McKinley, Grass' which has incredible DOF). Foreground interest is very valuable and helps anchor the picture, but by blurring the background even slightly you get to the point where the shot loses a bit of reality. I for one keep thinking that this is two shots pasted together when I see it. But again, this is just my own taste. I look forward to seeing more of your work.

benbroug (811) 2003-02-21 14:00

This is absolutely stunning!! What a beautifull image.

CAP (78) 2003-02-22 23:16

Awesome, Amadej! Once in a lifetime shot with a great balance of both cool and warm colors.

maja (90) 2003-02-24 10:07

Kakšna dobra slika!

deiphon (31) 2003-03-10 16:05

Stunning...

chrischris (877) 2003-03-10 16:12

Magic... a magic shot. Congratulations.

tropicdiver (0) 2003-03-11 17:27

A very lovely photo. You've captured the beauty of this place very well. :-)

sita4ram (814) 2003-04-15 0:49

Damn good shot.
amazing light effect, and those flowers at the front make it go live.
simply excellent.

dovi (1068) 2003-06-18 4:08

I'm lucky that this was posted as the "Featured something...., really can't find the words!

shahin (167) 2003-06-21 8:20

Breath taking

flamingo (109) 2003-09-01 10:30

What a great way to start my day. It is magnificant. Thanks, Bill

mortijo (12828) 2003-09-04 12:01

Absolutely Fabulous. I agree with Tuc on the grass.

Eagle (522) 2003-09-13 8:38

Beautiful picture and nice framed! I also like the detailed postproduction information that give tips on how to improve my images.

martin (1242) 2003-09-13 15:37

A stunning image.

libellule28 (32) 2003-10-09 17:11

Wow est-ce le paradis ?? cette photo est f澭rique la brume fait contraste avec l'herbe qui est tres illumin�!!!Si j'avais a donner plus que 2 points je le ferais!!! Perfection!!
wow is this the paradise?? this photograph is feeric the fog made contrast with the grass which is very brightness!!!if I had to give more than 2 points I would do it!!! Perfection!!

pcostas (321) 2003-10-29 15:45

A trivial moment captured so very wonderfully.... Congratulations for an excellent foto

CoolDan (2516) 2003-11-02 4:33

Quelle belle photo. La luminosit� de l'herbe en avant plan et la pointe des montagnes qui sort des nuages: c'est sublime. Tr鋊 bien vu.

Kenny10pin (19301) 2003-11-09 6:03

great shot, I love the foreground and the amount of detail you have included in this picture. The fog adds a nice touch, may be a little bit more sky would really enhance the picture

Surfer31 (0) 2003-11-17 18:46

So surreal and so beautiful. My favourit so far.

touristdidi (8583) 2004-01-03 0:09

all I can say is oooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhs!!!!!!!!!!!!!

kooki (556) 2004-01-03 0:47

? � � Incredible!!!
Sans voix je suis...

taivo (1843) 2004-02-25 22:06

Stunning photo with such soft colors!

LMAN (46) 2004-04-29 5:31 [Comment]

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rabani (9645) 2004-05-19 20:03

Hie Amadej,
No comment. I am just sitting here admiring the view.
Thank you

eilaw (259) 2004-10-21 6:57

Awesome shot, the only thing I might have changed is including the sun in the frame.

eleparc (24063) 2004-10-21 7:07

wow great photo;-)) you have so many levels of reading and light;-) i am out of words;-)

Maru (0) 2005-01-04 17:44

The only thing I can say to you is thank you for being there and capture this magic moment.
Your pp work is absolutly amazing.
My hands are clapping :O)

megafolie (259) 2005-01-19 16:18

I just can't find any word to describe how beautiful this picture is. Period.

KevRyan (22956) 2005-01-19 16:20

aaaah! Wonderful - I was once in a situation akin to this with no camera so just the image etched on my brain but fantastic to see this capture - very nice image, mystical and otherworldly whilst profoundly in this one.

gsgeorge (764) 2005-01-19 17:06

Let me just say this: Wow.

maphoto (8082) 2005-01-19 21:59

This is gorgeous, very beautiful and original photo, colors and light are just great, thanks for sharing this beauty, well seen.

emilia (44) 2005-02-25 10:15

An amazing story , lika a fairy-tale, beautiful and fantastic, like a butterfly wing!
Bravo!

mishreyee (0) 2005-03-26 7:15

superb, fantastic photograph! really unbelievable that nature is so beautiful!!!!

julio1 (83) 2005-03-26 8:02

This image is great! It is outstanding to see how you have been able to contrast the grass over the backgroud and to keep the haze at such a defined level. Wonderful!Congratulations

ravish (140) 2005-03-26 8:12

YOUR PHOTO IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST DISTINCT ONES.YOU HAVE CAPTURED SUNSET WITH THE HAZE SEEN ON THOSE MOUNTAINS GIVING THOSE SHRUBS A SHINY AND A BIT ATTRACTIVE LOOK.

JackB (368) 2005-04-01 11:15

Cool scene, but I agree with Tuc, I think your gradient filter effect is too heavy-handed. The technique is so obvious in this photo that I noticed it even before anything else, even in the thumbnail image. It's a good idea how you blended it with the contours of the mountains to give the haze a strong 3D effect. Maybe you could add another larger gradient mask to the photo to darken the blue haze a bit more so it looks realistic.

Nottinghill (1089) 2005-04-15 3:28

for everyone who tried this kind of photo is obvious how great job you have done : waiting for a right moment during exposition and later during postprocessing to preserve the original mood. added to "catch the mist" theme. well done

Albrecht (11283) 2005-06-01 5:47

Hi Amadej
What a wonderful shot: good depth and the colours are great with the hazy mist and the setting sun. Good job, greetings Albrecht

ayobami (1353) 2005-06-01 5:57 [Comment]

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DLM (6479) 2005-07-28 15:19

Hi Amadej,Amazing image,What else is there to be said.Welcome to my list of favourites.
Best wishes.
Dave.

kency (2352) 2005-09-24 3:56

very nice and splended shot Amadej.
You were lucky that day,well done.........kency.

Dis_Account (0) 2005-11-08 18:39

beautiful image Amadej. I realise that some of it is due to post processing, and perhaps this image would never occur in nature. Still, it looks beautiful!

...tim

sined (4523) 2006-01-01 10:18

just a mountain dream ...

mangotree (20) 2006-02-14 7:44

just anotherone for the list...:-)

brigondino (98) 2006-02-16 8:14

Wow!!What a wonderful shot
O)ttimo lavoro
ciao

TomekWalkiewicz (233) 2006-02-16 8:47

fantastic shoot, but I hate pictures form corel or adobe.

osh (402) 2006-06-05 8:38

wow stunning picture the mist just looks too surreal, its a beautiful photo well done!!

johnnyh (639) 2006-06-16 7:33

Stunning, lovely warm colours, and the layer of mist is outstanding, well captured regards John.

krakowiak (4762) 2006-06-16 7:40

This is another beautyful shot!!!

Cheers,
Pawel

arnoud1976 (1191) 2006-06-16 7:44

Hello Amadej, wonderful shot and very informative note. amazing capture of wonderful view. well done and tfs arnoud

talwarraman (103) 2006-06-16 7:56

great timing and good metering...these shots can get real tricky..but you've done a good job...captures the essence of time perfectly...

great going..

raman...

klyee75 (778) 2006-07-12 0:49

This is really a perfect shot. great foreground with the grass then you see the mist covering half of the mountains. Amazing light effect, and those flowers at the front make it go live.
simply excellent.

mfonda (891) 2006-10-11 1:04

This looks almost surreal. Very impressive, TFS.

- matt

MikiM (1924) 2006-11-02 7:31

Hello Amadej,
Amazing picture. You captured that I've never seen but I know. Perfect execution. Thanks for sharing,
Mikl鏀

andeweg (139) 2006-11-02 7:57

Stunning picture Amadej, very beautifull and tranquil...

Great work!

kind regards,
Hans

yulie351 (162) 2006-11-02 7:59

Amazing fog. Very very wel done, I love those colors. Thanks !

Julie

AVG (4) 2007-05-05 7:16

WoW, beautiful photo!

calimex (151) 2007-05-09 22:19

No color management is key here. Incredible example of patience and technique in getting the shot and strategic use of PP.
Thanks for the extensive note, Amadej.

Best,
Jos�

papatya (59) 2007-08-15 5:37

Wonderful!
Great combinations of colors, nice contrast of diffirent textures. I really appreciate it...

Lika (268) 2008-01-07 16:12

WOW!
AMAZING!
Perfect shot!
Beautiful work!
Thank you for sharing!
Best Wishes!
And Happy X-mas!
Best wishes!
lika

fritzi007 (14698) 2009-07-18 5:00

Hallo Amadej!
very impressiv photo! Congratulations..
Good job.
Regards
Wolfgang

nazirbadar (234) 2009-07-26 2:40

Really a prize winning photo.great composition and nice use of light.
Regards
Nazir

MB2 (17) 2009-10-25 10:06

Absolutely amazing - WOW looks like the spirits are having a get together...right spot at the right time :0)

FreewheelerBee (263) 2009-10-29 8:35

Hi Amadej,
Amazing moment in the mist. It looks so unreal, what a beautiful sunset. Like the sharpness of the grass, totally in opposition with the fuzzy ambient of the fog between mountains.
Anyway, i've one criticism : i'd have let more importance to the sky, to give more depth to the photography. But at the end the result is awesome.
Regards,
Clemence

tomescuc (3291) 2009-11-05 12:24

pure magic..

dekanski (9419) 2012-09-03 14:42 [Comment]

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