Photographer's Note
We all know Mt. Olympus as the home of the great ancient Greek gods: Zeus and his buddies. This Mt. Olympus, however, is just east of Salt Lake City and is one of the prominent peaks looking down on it and its many companion cities. This photo was taken in South Jordan, a suburb of Salt Lake City. The boulders, trees and hills block out a goodly 1 million people and their houses and places of business, for I am indeed looking across the Salt Lake Valley.
I found this pile of boulders and wanted some strong foreground elements in the photo. I tried lots of different crops, but liked this the best. I do realize that some, perhaps, may want less foreground, but I enjoy it this way. I stood on my tiptoes with camera high above my head to see over that highest rock. I almost made it!
PP: cropped (of course), sharpened, burned the sky only slightly.
quantabeh, nwoehnl, robiuk, singuanti, Didi, ChrisJ, wilkinsonsg, bullybeef53, cam, Galmeida, Jeppe, dbyoungster έχουν(ει) επιλέξει αυτή τη σημείωση ως χρήσιμη
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PixelTerror
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor [C: 9758 W: 0 N: 0]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-g-n.gif){kind=small}
(0) 2005-06-14 10:03
Hi David,
Reading the note I had a instant of doubt, trying to match Jordan (a middle east country) to that landscape, then I understood it is a place in Utah too !!! I like the symbolic dimension of the composition, the big rocks making it difficult to impossible to access the sanctuary of Zeus. Good colors and details.
Have a nice day,
Jean-Yves
ballaln
![Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Note Writer [C: 64 W: 5 N: 49]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-n-s.gif){kind=small}
(406) 2005-06-14 10:28 [Comment]
lulululu2003
![Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Silver Note Writer [C: 69 W: 31 N: 14]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-s-s.gif){kind=small}
(413) 2005-06-14 10:56
good composition and nice details of the stone.
good color too.
congratulations!
arab
![Silver Star Critiquer/Silver Note Writer [C: 29 W: 8 N: 27]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/s-n-s.gif){kind=small}
(312) 2005-06-14 12:35
David, Very nice shot with a beautiful, serious sky. On the contrary I love the pile of boulders in the foreground. It sets off the entire photo.
Well done.
Arturo
quantabeh
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 921 W: 135 N: 690]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-g-g.gif){kind=small}
(5205) 2005-06-14 13:27
HI David,
very strong foreground, with good exposure. It's certainly adding compositionally to the photo. The focus seems to be good all across.
I find the taller boulder to the left a bit disturbing though. I think it would have been better if it were flat, but that's just personal.
good work, strong colors and good contrast.
Regards,
Behrang
nwoehnl
(122) 2005-06-14 14:15
I'm all for foreground elements, David, and here you made really nice use of the boulders to that respect. Their textures really sing in the way the light falls on them, and they offer a good contrast to the magnificent snow-topped range in the background. Very nice work.
robiuk
(10807) 2005-06-14 16:06
Ha, ha, ha - very interesting note, David! You really gave the best of yourself for this shot and that's obvious at the first look!
Beautifully lit boulders make such a fine introduction to what is going on behind and I also like that fine transition from them onto the grass where from snowy peaks lead to the blue skies!
Fantastic contrast and range of colours, depth, rich textures and above all a trully amazing composition - a masterpiece!
Bravo!
Robi
singuanti
(15250) 2005-06-14 23:02
Hi David. This shot is amazing! This shot looks like a pro shot with that foreground and jaw-dropping background. I'm with Norbert on liking a lot of foreground. I guess those rocks are bigger than I initially thought. Glad to see you got the shot you wanted given the trouble you had framing it. Nicely done David.
greg64g
(11193) 2005-06-15 4:42
Hello David,
Well the pictureis very good, i like the boulder and the mountain, with the nice sky, and i appreciate your comment especially to explain your impressive work on PP. i like it;
cheers
greg
Didi
(61589) 2005-06-15 6:31
Bonjour David
C'est un paysage merveilleux avec un bel avant-plan qui donne beaucoup d'intιret ΰ cette composition.
J'apprιcie beaucoup votre talent artistique.
Hello David It is a marvellous landscape with a beautiful foreground which gives much interest to this composition. I appreciate much your artistic talent.
wilkinsonsg
![Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 879 W: 48 N: 1446]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-s-g.gif){kind=small}
(8662) 2005-06-15 7:35
I'm glad you did leave the rocks in - I think it makes the shot, very well concieved and executed image :)
bullybeef53
(3365) 2005-06-15 19:25
A fantastic landscape and highlight the boulders in front , to snow clad mountains and the sky . Jim
john_c
(24666) 2005-06-15 22:05
Hello David. Your shot deomonstrates the validity of a pet peeve of mine, and that is, why are photographers afraid to capture rocks and boulders? Your shot demonstrates not only how interesting the varied textures are to such objects, but also how they can form the perfect foreground for a delightful scene, enhancing tremendously. You have also created a slight air of mystery, with the peaks rising just above the ridge line. Very well seen and composed. Regards. John.
rjamin
(1169) 2005-06-16 0:17
Nice composition. Good sharpness and exposure. The rock does make a nice complement.
ChrisJ
(172408) 2005-06-16 3:45
Hi David
A superb landscape with excellent sharpness & depth. I like the snow capped mountains, & the arrangement of boulders in the foreground. Well done!
CliffW
(2381) 2005-06-17 23:09
2nd try, the first attempt at writing something here and one of the boulders smashed my net connection :)
I like the textures in the foreground. Appears to be granite. I'm thinking this would be a nice pic with just the mountains but the boulders in from give it a lot more interest. It's also good that the grasslands are dark, as there are enough strong elements and that provides balance and a break in between.
davido
(1982) 2005-06-19 12:41
Nice pic David !!
I like the pebbles in the foreground.
This brings our eye to the top of the mountain.
There is some atmosphere of the Lord of the Rings in this picture actually.
Original format.
David
cam
(9043) 2005-06-21 8:17
Hello David
Just superb.
The foreground is everything,without it the photo is ordinary and without any life or history.
Photo very well composed and clear details.
Beautiful contrast between the sky and the snow capped mountains.
Tell me,I tried this type of mountain photo and always end up with a burned out sky or an underexposed foreground,do you have some tips to share?
thanks
Charles
jrj
(34843) 2005-06-23 5:22
First rate landscape shot David. Excellent use of perspective, depth, light and a very good saturation. A very, very attractive compo.
BTW the mountain is much more 'scarred' than the original mt. Olympus in Greece .-)
sn00zie
(2384) 2005-06-23 11:20
really pretty.. i like the way you've done this picture. very nice, different and love the tones.
Galmeida
(12559) 2005-06-24 6:12
Hello David,
Fantastic shot and lso a great artwork!
Excelent capture and quality picture. Simple, nice sky, rock textures, graphism effect, good sharpness and contrast.
Very well seen, done and composed!
Best to you.
Fernando
manny
(22032) 2005-06-25 0:30
You have a way wth composition David. They are very dramatic. They always tell a story. Here, it is of doom and gloom. But the blue gives it a flicker of hope.
Jeppe
(18654) 2005-06-26 3:05
On my way to work can I pass through Siberia and Pensylvania :-)
An interesting note to follow this fine landscape shot - I like the boulders a foreground to give this "small" mountains - I like the way the sky seems to continue the snow covered slopes - a very fine job as usual.
joseelias
(0) 2005-07-04 18:21
These rocks are very nice and can give a lot of options. They create a nice foreground because of their round shapes and great textures and tones.
In fact, I whished that the one at the left didn’t touch the mountains, but it’s not that serious. If you couldn’t get higher maybe taking with you a big hammer to crash the top of the rock and lower it would solve the problem… ;-)
In fact these type of ideas are not a totally original, as a Portuguese king, not satisfied that the highest Portuguese mountains was about 1990 meters, ordered to be piled 10 meters of rocks in the top of it so it could get to the 2000 meters… Dum… :-)
I find the sky a bit too burned because it doesn’t fit with the luminosity of the foreground very well.
Ulises
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 228 W: 9 N: 115]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-n-g.gif){kind=small}
(1026) 2005-07-17 21:23
david,
what an impressive view. it really must have been amazing, the clouds look unreall, and the beautiful rock looks astonishing,
rgrds
ulises
feather
(51130) 2005-08-04 17:39
I have been unsuccessfully trying this kind of shot and so I realise how difficult it is to get the whole picture in focus. I don't suppose you can remember roughly the point you focused on. I also read with interest your exchange with cam about grey grad filters. Must start a shopping list!
Well I think others before me have said it all but it really is a super photo, sharp right through, well caught light on the rocks, beautiful sky.........
Excellent work.
Kath
dbyoungster
![Silver Star Critiquer [C: 48 W: 1 N: 9]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/s-n-n.gif){kind=small}
(29) 2005-08-10 0:48
David,
How the heck did I miss this? This is a great shot. Your foreground is very well framed and sharp, the mountains and sky very striking, and great note.
You did very well to move around to achieve an image in difficult circumstances. I would like to see a photo taken from the same spot, perhaps with a higher point of view, so we could see how much you had to manuever around for this image.
Great job!
Deeb.
Photo Information
-
Copyright: David Sidwell (dsidwell)
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2294 W: 168 N: 1911]](//i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-g-g.gif)
(9783) - Genre: Τοποθεσίες
- Medium: Έγχρωμο
- Date Taken: 2005-05-00
- Categories: Φύση
- Camera: Sony DSC-f828, UV+Polarizer
- Έκθεση: f/8
- Έκδοση φωτογραφίας: Πρωτότυπη έκδοση
- Date Submitted: 2005-06-14 9:50
