Whiteface Mountain stands out from the rest of the High Peaks like a lone sentinel. At 4,867′ it commands an amazing 360-degree view of the surrounding Adirondack Park. To the south it looks down on the serene face of Lake Placid holding Moose and Buck Islands within its azure waters. The granitic face of the mountain has become a host for a world of colorful lichen that are slowly reducing the mighty peak to the level of the lower plains. To stand on the pinnacle of Whiteface is to stand often at the level of the floating clouds whose shadows touch the land with no trace at all of ever having been. I wandered along the broken rim noticing the weathered cracks in the great blocks of stone until I found a pair that I could use as leading lines to direct attention off the mountain, down the jagged slope and out into the space of the wider world. In order to bring the surface of the peak into play as a primary element, I set up the camera on its tripod about a foot above the rock and then tilted up until I had included the band of wafting cirrus, which gave the sky the visual weight of about one-quarter of the image and the rock about one-half. I positioned the cracks in the rock so that neither of them came from directly out of a corner of the frame; and I included the rock outcrop on the right to show the line of the top of the mountain. A focal length of 18mm gave me the angle of view that I wanted. An aperture of f/20 at a shutter speed of 1/25th second at ISO 100 gave me a medium overall exposure. Artistic work can be done even in the middle of the day when you have the right elements to work with.
Placid Even From Whiteface
by Lui Umano | Jul 14, 2013 | July 2013 | 25 comments
Don, this point got my attention:
“I positioned the cracks in the rock so that neither of them came from directly out of a corner of the frame……”
What’s that about? To soften the image more than it would have been without that adjustment, or just that a crack coming out of a corner might be a distraction?
thanks
Whiteface Mountain is an awesome site. You chose a beautiful spot to make this photo. Not only do you have lines leading to the lake, the rocks on the right seem to be reaching out for it creating a shape similar to the lake. Then the group of clouds creating a shadow right where you needed it in the large green area. I know none of these elements are there by accident, you put a lot of time and thought into the photo. I am learning to do that more. I find after a shoot, the ones I spent the time to look at all the elements and their relationships turn out to be my favorites of the day.
Thanks for sharing.
Nancy
Stunning! It’s so interesting for me to understand how you composed this picture.
Hi Everyone. Thank you all for joining this conversation. To answer Fred’s question: your second choice is absolutely correct. Having lines, especially strong lines, enter the frame exactly in the corner is often experienced by a viewer as a distraction, and even more especially when the line seems to divide the frame in half. And Nancy T., thanks for your observation. Here’s how I experience that: First there is an emotional response to something in the visual field. This is a gestalt moment, when all I sense is that there is something to which I have a strong visual attraction. Next is the process of identifying the quintessential image, within the larger field, to which I am particularly attracted, and for which the initial emotional response was a trigger. This is where I am considering, among many other things, the elements as well as the principles of graphic design. Recall that one of those principles is always “relationships.” So effective composition involves both reaction and reflection. And thank you, Bonnie; I’m glad this image piqued your interest.
I love this image at the simple level of a wonderful representation of the beauty of the place. On a very different level, I especially appreciate the teaching that you provide in your comments on composition. This weekly series has provided so many “teaching/learning” opportunities for your readers. Thank you for that contribution to the improved craftsmanship of all of us.
Thank you, Horace. I always appreciate your observations and contributions to the conversation. It is your thoughtfulness and that of others like you that encourages me to share my small insights into a process that has held my attention for quite a few years. I appreciate the interaction that has bloomed from something we all love.
Hi Don!
You’re “living dangerously” – shooting in mid-day light! 🙂 Seriously, you broke that “don’t…” rule quite successfully. Good example for us all. I’m curious, where was your point of focus? About 3′ out? How long did you have to wait to get the cloud shadow where you wanted it? I’ve noticed you shoot many images at an f-stop greater than f/16. I assume you find the greater depth of field a good trade-off for (what I’ve read) the somewhat less degree of tack-sharpness?
Hi Don:
I have an image similar to this… maybe taken on the same day as yours. I used a small trail as a leading piece of foreground, but I really like your idea of using the cracks in the rocks better. Very nice!
Thanks Don for your images, but more importantly, thanks for all of the thought and careful planning that goes into each one. I read intently and maybe I am picking up a little bit each week.
Also thanks for my certificate. I feel completely qualified now.
Hey Bruce, Drew, and Eugene. Thanks to all of you for joining us for this discussion. Eugene, I have no doubt about your capacity to become very good as a photographic artist. It’s about practice. I’m glad the certificate arrived intact. Drew, I’m sure your composition is a good one. Isn’t it great that we can see things differently and be inspired by each other’s vision? Bruce, thanks for your comment on the conditions of the image. It really is quite possible to do artistic work in any light when the elements come together. Would the image be more dramatic in different, say early, light? Probably so; but it also works as it is. At 18mm, at f/20 with a CoC of .028, the hyperfocal is 2’8+”, so 3′ would have been really close. In fact, the difference probably would have been unobservable. Actually, when I noticed the clouds, they were almost where I wanted them, and I had just enough time to get set up before they were there. With all of the sharpening tools available in the processing software, the slight increase in aberration is worth the trade-off for the increased depth-of-field, especially if you will be careful in your use of hyperfocal focusing.
I appreciate the “Image for the Asking” and accompanying commentary that brightens my inbox each week. The combination is a great learning tool and creative incentive for me. It is especially nice to learn this week that great images can be captured at reasonable times of the day. Thank you, Don.
Hi Dave, thanks for joining us. It’s good to hear from you. Yes, the golden light advocates will surely accuse me of heresy, and the quality of the light, as you know, makes for a huge difference in the outcome of an image; but I do believe that landscape art can be good regardless of the times of day, even the reasonable ones. I appreciate your kind words.
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