# Trip to the Rockies



## goodguy (Aug 7, 2013)

I was 10 days on a trip to the Rockies, to everyone that is reading this go to the Rockies its PHOTOGRAPHERS HEAVEN!!!
If you like landscaping nothing can match the Rockies endless amount of lakes, waterfalls, trees and wild life.
Here are few landscape pictures I took.
The wild life I will post in another post later.


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## CaptainNapalm (Aug 7, 2013)

Excellent pics goodguy. 1, 3 and 6 are my favourite.  Looks like the D7100 is serving you well.


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## goodguy (Aug 7, 2013)

CaptainNapalm said:


> Excellent pics goodguy. 1, 3 and 6 are my favourite.  Looks like the D7100 is serving you well.


No brother this was taken with the D7000, yes I know what you are asking yourself.

Why the heck did this dummy got rid of the D7000, it really upped its game in this trip.

I got more pics to come, I just didn't want to put too many in one post.


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## Big Mike (Aug 8, 2013)

I love the Rockies more that I can express in words.  I didn't get out there this summer and it's killing me.

Some of these look a little hazy.  Not your fault, that's just what happens when you are shooting through miles of air, especially in the late summer.  When I plan my next photo excursion out there, I'll try to go in the late spring, when the air is cleaner.  

We had a TPF meetup out there in 2007.  Still one of the best photography related weeks of my life.  
http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/past-meetups/89064-rocky-mountain-meet-up-july-2007-a.html


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## goodguy (Aug 8, 2013)

Big Mike said:


> I love the Rockies more that I can express in words. I didn't get out there this summer and it's killing me.
> 
> Some of these look a little hazy. Not your fault, that's just what happens when you are shooting through miles of air, especially in the late summer. When I plan my next photo excursion out there, I'll try to go in the late spring, when the air is cleaner.
> 
> ...



I know, I know the haze really hurt the pictures and since I come from Toronto I am pretty sure I will not get to see the Rockies anytime in the near future if at all, that trip was expensive!!!


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## CoBilly (Aug 8, 2013)

Awesome shots! I love the rockies too, that's why I moved to Denver

On a side note. I always get that haze in my shots, would a filter get rid of it or at least reduce it? That's the only thing I get annoyed with when I'm taking landscape shots


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## Big Mike (Aug 9, 2013)

> On a side note. I always get that haze in my shots, would a filter get rid of it or at least reduce it? That's the only thing I get annoyed with when I'm taking landscape shots


Not really.  

Back in the days of film, you might get a 'UV haze' in certain situation...which is why UV/Haze filters were/are so popular.  Digital cameras however, are not sensitive to UV light...so they don't require UV filters.  People still use them, simply as protection for the front of the lens...but they can (and do) reduce image quality so I don't use them.

I should mention a polarizing filter.  It can help to improve image quality in these situations.  Part of it, is that it can help to make the sky look darker, more blue.  It also may help to cut reflections off of leaves, water and maybe even air born particles....but it can't fully cure the problem of having to shoot though a haze.  

The haze that we get, especially in these types of photos, has a lot to do with the sheer amount of air that we're shooting through.  It's not like you're shooting a portrait where your subject is 10 feet away.  The mountain may be several miles away.  And the more air you have to shoot through, the more particles that will get in the way.  Things like forest fires (even when pretty far away), tree/plant pollen, water vapor/humidity etc. all contribute to particles in the air.  We often call it 'heat haze' in the mid to late summer.  

That's why, it's often better to shoot mountain landscapes in the spring, when the air is cleaner and more crisp.  However, the landscape can be completely different before all the deciduous are in bloom...and if you go shooting in  mountains in May (especially up here)...it may be clear and dry one day...and be covered in 3 feet of snow the next day.


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## Eclectix (Aug 9, 2013)

Lovely photographs. I often take my own backyard for granted, clutching my camera when I travel elsewhere and neglecting it in my own beautiful home state of Colorado. It sometimes takes an outsider's perspective to help you better appreciate what you already have.

On the subject of haze, I have a general question to the group about: As a painter, using "haze" is an important way to force perspective and get a sense of greater depth. Why is it then always spoken of as a bad thing in photography? Does nobody consider it a positive under any circumstances? Particularly in the first and the fifth images above, I think the haze helps separate the closer elements from the more distant background, and if it was nonexistent then the images would look too flat to my eyes.

That said, a polarizing filter can certainly help deepen the skies and foliage, but be aware that it can also remove the lovely reflections from the water. This can also be a good thing if your goal is to show the water's color or submerged details. I use my polarizing filters extensively.


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## Big Mike (Aug 9, 2013)

> On the subject of haze, i have a general question to the group about: As a painter, using "haze" is an important way to force perspective and get a sense of great depth. Why is it then always spoken of as a bad thing in photography? Does nobody consider it a positive under any circumstances? Particularly in the first and the fifth images above, I think the haze helps separate the closer elements from the more distant background, and if it was nonexistent then the images would look too flat to may eyes.


Yes, I completely agree that haze can serve a useful purpose...specifically because it does allow us show the differentiation in distance.  When I think of that scenario, I image this type of shot...
http://www.lunelson.com/landscapes/_IGP6290 morning valley.shtml.jpg

And while there are times you may want to do that, or certain vantage points where it would be beneficial...usually, when I'm shooting landscapes in the Rockies...I'd much rather see the detail on the mountains, than see the haze.


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## CoBilly (Aug 9, 2013)

Right on, thanks Eclectix & Big Mike. 

I understand that some haze is important, or can be. But I've had to give up on some shots because it looked like I was trying to shoot through a bed sheet. I'll just have to be more aware of when I'm taking them


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## Tiller (Aug 10, 2013)

If you could have framed a little to the right and got that tree in #5, I think it would have made it a tad but better. I still think it's the best of the set. Nice one


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## goodguy (Aug 10, 2013)

Tiller said:


> If you could have framed a little to the right and got that tree in #5, I think it would have made it a tad but better. I still think it's the best of the set. Nice one


Good eye.
Pic No.5 is of Lake Medicine. 
It was hands down the most beautiful place we saw in the Rockies.
I tried to really chatch the beauty of the lake and my pictures really don't do justice to how amqzing this lake really is.


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## Woodsman (Aug 10, 2013)

Lovely shots.   My favorite is number 6

I have to get back out there.  I did a week back in the very early 80's  doing the *B*anff, Lake Louise, Okanagan Valley, and the Icefields Highway.  It was wonderful. Sadly at the time I had to save wherever I could and could not afford printing costs so I was was shooting slides.  I made the mistake of using both a non Kodak slide film that started with F and a national camera store chain branded film that started wth a B.   I went to convert old negatives and slides to digital a couple of years ago as a winter nights project and found that many of these old slides had color shifted or faded so badly they were either blue or washed right out.  Images lost.  I should have used Kodak but every penny counted back then. The Kodak slides from the same time are pristine.  

I need to get back and do some digital shooting  out there. The Canadian Rockies is a magical place.


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## Ysarex (Aug 10, 2013)

There are a number of things you can do in post processing that will dramatically cut the haze. Here's one quick method;



Your photo is an RGB composite. The haze is predominately in the blue channel. So I extracted the red channel (least haze) and pasted it as two new layers on top of the RGB composite. I set the blend mode for the first dupe to Luminosity and then set the blend mode of the second dupe to Multiply. I leaned on it to make the point so you could see the full extent of what this will do. The effect can of course be adjusted with more subtly.

Joe


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## goodguy (Aug 10, 2013)

Ysarex said:


> There are a number of things you can do in post processing that will dramatically cut the haze. Here's one quick method;
> 
> View attachment 52241
> 
> ...



Wow, fantastic job.
As I said in the past not only I need to continue and improve my picture taking skills but also improve my post processing skills.


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## WesternGuy (Aug 11, 2013)

goodguy said:


> Tiller said:
> 
> 
> > If you could have framed a little to the right and got that tree in #5, I think it would have made it a tad but better. I still think it's the best of the set. Nice one
> ...



Having frequented much of that Jasper area over the years, I am going to assume that if you got as far as Medicine Lake, you also drove onto Maligne Lake?  It is also very impressive. Do you know why it is called "Medicine Lake"?

I would also be interested in where the rest of your pics were taken.

Did you get to the Ice Fields while you were there?  Fantastic!

WesternGuy


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## goodguy (Aug 11, 2013)

I wish I remembered where the rest of the pics were taken, a big part of the trip was driving in the Rockies and stopping anywhere that look interesting so we saw Sooo much beauty in so many stops that all the names became a bit blurry.
Didn't want to go to the ice field because I was afraid I will slip on the ice, I got a bit of a sensitive back and falling is not an option for me.


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