Mount Baker- Greys skies, not as much delight..

Mount Baker- Greys skies, not as much delight.. · 07:05 PM

Hoped to capture some sunset images of Mount Baker from Cougar Divide but a quickly advancing low pressure system offered more grey skies than sunset. Not quite the session I was hoping for but still valuable since I got a better sense of the difference between using my 2 stop versus 3 stop ND Grad filters-

1. 4 shot pano (DA-12-24mm @ 12mm)

2. (DA12-24mm)

3. (DA12-24mm)

4. Mount Shuksan (DA12-24mm)

5. Sunset many miles away (DA55-300mm)

6. (DA12-24mm)

Thanks for looking..

Jimbo · 08-21-2009, 07:22 PM

Beautiful images. Need to get up there soon. JIM

rormeister · 08-21-2009, 07:39 PM

Great series! #3 is my fave. Would love to learn more about how (and which pics) got the grad filter applications. I really need to get North to the Baker area.

OrenMc · 08-22-2009, 04:13 AM

One of the most beautiful places on the planet is the N. Cascade IMO. Geat job and thanks for sharing.

JMR · 08-22-2009, 04:16 AM

Excellent series. Especially the last three.

JMR

mel · 08-22-2009, 05:48 AM

The cascades are gorgeous. Having grown up in Seattle they are MY mountains. Your images remind me of how much I miss them. Nice work. All of them. I'd say the skies worked in your favor.

drmartin · 08-22-2009, 05:50 AM

Beautifully! I very much liked photos!

Taff · 08-22-2009, 06:27 AM

You kept me from looking at this thread with the ''grey skies" comment, should have looked sooner, nooooice

**Ash** · 08-22-2009, 06:30 AM

How beautiful these landscapes are...
#4 is just brilliant - love the bold colours and subject matter with striking radial cloud pattern.
In fact they're all good.
Good use of the grad filter - it's really brought out the landscape without losing sky detail.
Awesome stuff. Well done.

**Sailor** · 08-22-2009, 04:37 PM

Very nice series, as others have said. Sunsets are beautiful in areas like this, but your shots show another dimension that is different, but compelling.

Jer

MRRiley · 08-22-2009, 04:43 PM

Very very nice. You've done an excellent job with the graduated NDs.

Mike

Andrew Faires · 08-22-2009, 04:49 PM

Beautiful shots, but I really love the 3rd and 4th shots in the series.

scole · 08-22-2009, 05:03 PM

Thanks for the comments everyone. Glad you enjoy them..

I was alternating between two Cokin ND Grads- a 0.6 and 0.9 (both soft edge). Everything happens pretty fast when you're out there shooting so unfortunately I can't recall which shot used which ND Grad. Every shot in this post did use one, though.

I did buy a P series filter holder but like many others, I've learned its much easier and faster to handhold them in front of the lens. Shots like #3 & 4 were probably done using the 0.9 ND grad due to the somewhat darker foreground and the brighter skies whereas photo #5 was probably the 0.6 ND grad since I didn't want as much detail in the foreground.

Most of the time, I am resting the fllter against the front of the lens (a circ polarizer BTW) but at least on one occasion, it added some vibration into the photo which I did not notice while reviewing the photo in the field. On the other hand, holding it in front of the lens without touching the lens can introduce reflections. Kind of a balancing act..

The Cokin filters have been great to learn with (I bought them used) but I'm ready to upgrade them to Lee (and perhaps Sing-Ray). I've messed up more than a few shots because portions of my hand showed up in the frame, especially while using the 12-24mm lens. The Lee filters are significantly longer so they should be easier to hold while keeping my hand out of the frame.

In case people haven't seen it, this might be useful:

The Art of Filtration in the Digital Age - Part 2

daacon · 08-23-2009, 06:01 AM

Did well for nature not playing along. Great landscapes.

**Ash** · 08-23-2009, 07:27 AM

Great article Steven.
Invaluable for the elusive landscape shots.

scole
	View full profile
	Contact via private message
	Find other posts by scole
	Find threads started by scole
	Find threads in which scole has posted

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Landscape Mount Baker area	OrenMc	Post Your Photos!	12	10-08-2010 03:48 AM
Landscape Mount Baker	Jimbo	Post Your Photos!	27	08-01-2010 08:46 PM
People Delight	skid2964	Photo Critique	4	12-12-2009 09:33 PM
Wildflower delight	JMR	Post Your Photos!	10	09-29-2008 10:34 PM
Saguaro Delight	HogRider	Post Your Photos!	6	02-20-2007 04:00 PM

08-21-2009, 07:22 PM	#2
Jimbo Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Maple Ridge BC Canada Photos: Gallery Posts: 11,368	Beautiful images. Need to get up there soon. JIM

08-21-2009, 07:39 PM	#3
rormeister Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 626	Great series! #3 is my fave. Would love to learn more about how (and which pics) got the grad filter applications. I really need to get North to the Baker area.

08-22-2009, 04:13 AM	#4
OrenMc Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,901	One of the most beautiful places on the planet is the N. Cascade IMO. Geat job and thanks for sharing.

08-22-2009, 04:16 AM	#5
JMR Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 3,332	Excellent series. Especially the last three. JMR

08-22-2009, 05:48 AM	#6
mel Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Virginia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,531	The cascades are gorgeous. Having grown up in Seattle they are MY mountains. Your images remind me of how much I miss them. Nice work. All of them. I'd say the skies worked in your favor.

08-22-2009, 05:50 AM	#7
drmartin Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Izhevsk, Russia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 858	Beautifully! I very much liked photos!

08-22-2009, 06:27 AM	#8
Taff Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Perth Western Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,612	You kept me from looking at this thread with the ''grey skies" comment, should have looked sooner, nooooice

08-22-2009, 06:30 AM	#9
Ash Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Toowoomba, Queensland Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 23,920	How beautiful these landscapes are... #4 is just brilliant - love the bold colours and subject matter with striking radial cloud pattern. In fact they're all good. Good use of the grad filter - it's really brought out the landscape without losing sky detail. Awesome stuff. Well done.

08-22-2009, 04:37 PM	#10
Sailor Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Coastal Texas Photos: Gallery Posts: 26,205	Very nice series, as others have said. Sunsets are beautiful in areas like this, but your shots show another dimension that is different, but compelling. Jer

08-22-2009, 04:43 PM	#11
MRRiley Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Sterling, VA, USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,275	Very very nice. You've done an excellent job with the graduated NDs. Mike

08-22-2009, 04:49 PM	#12
Andrew Faires Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Ontario Posts: 744	Beautiful shots, but I really love the 3rd and 4th shots in the series.

08-22-2009, 05:03 PM	#13
scole Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Everett, WA Posts: 216 Original Poster	Thanks for the comments everyone. Glad you enjoy them.. I was alternating between two Cokin ND Grads- a 0.6 and 0.9 (both soft edge). Everything happens pretty fast when you're out there shooting so unfortunately I can't recall which shot used which ND Grad. Every shot in this post did use one, though. I did buy a P series filter holder but like many others, I've learned its much easier and faster to handhold them in front of the lens. Shots like #3 & 4 were probably done using the 0.9 ND grad due to the somewhat darker foreground and the brighter skies whereas photo #5 was probably the 0.6 ND grad since I didn't want as much detail in the foreground. Most of the time, I am resting the fllter against the front of the lens (a circ polarizer BTW) but at least on one occasion, it added some vibration into the photo which I did not notice while reviewing the photo in the field. On the other hand, holding it in front of the lens without touching the lens can introduce reflections. Kind of a balancing act.. The Cokin filters have been great to learn with (I bought them used) but I'm ready to upgrade them to Lee (and perhaps Sing-Ray). I've messed up more than a few shots because portions of my hand showed up in the frame, especially while using the 12-24mm lens. The Lee filters are significantly longer so they should be easier to hold while keeping my hand out of the frame. In case people haven't seen it, this might be useful: The Art of Filtration in the Digital Age - Part 2

08-23-2009, 06:01 AM	#14
daacon Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Alberta,Canada Photos: Gallery Posts: 20,914	Did well for nature not playing along. Great landscapes.

08-23-2009, 07:27 AM	#15
Ash Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Toowoomba, Queensland Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 23,920	Great article Steven. Invaluable for the elusive landscape shots.