Mt. Chapin (12,454 ft / 3,796 m) on the right, with Sundance Mountain on the left, looking up the valley to the location of the Alpine Visitor Center.
One thing that spoils this photo for me is the out-of-focus bush in the foreground - what do you think?

[Archimedes the Dog]

It's a beautiful scene, I can see what you are saying about the bush but it doesn't bother me that much.

[GRB]

This is a very nice scene on what appears to be an ugly kind of day. The bush of concern does little more than add depth to the photo.

[ToddK]

This is a very nice photo of a beautiful scene. The bush doesn't bother me that much either. You might have been able to get it in focus if you had stopped the lens down, but with the 55mm it still might have been too close. The other option is to focus stack a few images.

[Charlie Victor]

Impressive scenery, well-captured! My eye is drawn into the scene and up the valley, so the bush is no distraction. Thanks for sharing.
Best.

[The Squirrel Mafia]

Very nice!

[Bertrand3000]

It's really a nice shot, and to be fair with you I did not see that out-of-focus bush before reading the description. Sure it's not perfect, but since cropping the bottom would get rid of that beautiful river, it's a small defect for an otherwise great photo!

[Kerrowdown]

Mt. Chapin

Very nice indeed.

[Apet-Sure]

I like the photo as it is (and wish I had been there), but I would probably have cranked up the ISO and stopped down the lens for better DOF. I'm still experimenting with my K-5 IIs to determine how high I can go with ISO and still get good results. With the in-camera noise-reduction set to 'auto', the images at ISO 400 or even 800 are at least as good as my K10D set to ISO 100 IMO. I don't do big prints, or much landscape photography, but in my day to day shooting I have no hesitation at using ISO 800 if the scene requires it.

You may want to read up on depth-of-field and hyperfocal distance. There is some good info here: Understanding Depth of Field in Photography and here: Online Depth of Field Calculator

[edit] I didn't mean to indicate that you should have used ISO 800 for this shot, only that with the K-5's capability you could set the ISO somewhat higher and stop the lens down a little (and maybe adjust your focus point) to nail that bush in the foreground and still have the distant mountains as sharp as they can be with atmospheric haze. Like others have said, the bush isn't necessarily a problem depending on how nit-picky you want to be.

[arqjaviergarcia]

Great image, interesting composition

[Gray]

Thanks everyone for your thoughtful comments and suggestions. I posted the image because it's an example of a mistake I can all too easily make when distracted and not properly present "in the scene".

On site, I didn't notice the bush, being in a rush. It had started to drizzle, and I asked my American friend and travelling companion (a patient non-photographer) to stop the car, jumped out with K5II, DA*55 which was already attached, and my DA 16-85 and took about five or six images. I didn't venture in front of the bush, because -- stupid rookie mistake -- I was concentrating on the distant clouds and mountains and didn't >see< it. It is so obvious, but was just invisible to me. There were a lot of people behind me, and cars, too which just added to the distraction. Also, I think there may also been a sign preventing people from walking into the meadow.

Here are some of the other images taken with the DA 16-85. They give more context.


1. Here the bush is in focus, but distracts from the view up the valley IMO. (f/7.1 39 mm)


2. This is more panoramic and the usual 3:2 apect ratio. The bush is still there, but less of a distraction. (f/5.6 26 mm).


3. This is a crop of image 2. It doesn't really work because the water should fill more of the image to balance it.

All the images are cropped to some extent to straighten them or format them in 4:3. I think the original in the first post is probably the best compromise. But the lesson I forgot... breathe and really look at what I'm shooting... don't be distracted by weather, time, traffic and people... weather, least of all -- after all I had a Pentax!

[DW58]

Beautiful scenery. Personally I like the first shot you posted.