In the Field

Smokey Reflection in Alpine Tarn. Near Talus Lodge, BC, Canada. September 15, 2007.

Landscape photography is largely about depth - you have to be very aware of your foreground, "mid-ground", and background. This scene initially attracted my attention because of the colour of the dramatic reflection of the smokey clouds (a forest fire was burning in the distance) in the alpine tarn. When I looked at the scene more closely, I really liked how the colours reflected in the lake tied the foreground to the background. The scene made me look twice, which is what I hope the photo does for you!

This image was shot near Talus Lodge, which is a beautiful alpine lodge located in an extremely remote section of the southern Canadian Rockies. If you're into the geology of, biology of, photography of, or any other activity associated with alpine meadows and high alpine ridges, Talus Lodge is definitely worth checking out!

PS: That IS Mount Assiniboine just to the left of centre in the distant mountains (as it is seen from the south).

Behind the Camera

Smokey Reflection in Alpine Tarn. Near Talus Lodge, BC, Canada. September 15, 2007.

Digital Capture; Uncompressed RAW (NEF) format; ISO 100.

Nikon D2Xs with Nikon 17-55 mm f/2.8 DX G ED-IF AF-S lens @ 23 mm (34 mm equivalent with digital conversion factor) - handheld and with circular polarizing filter.

1/90s @ f8; -0.33 stop compensation from matrix-metered exposure setting.

At the Computer

Smokey Reflection in Alpine Tarn. Near Talus Lodge, BC, Canada. September 15, 2007.

RAW Conversion to 16 bit TIFF, including first-pass sharpening and exposure compensation, using Phase One's C1 Pro.

Further digital correction on 16-bit TIFF file using Adobe's Photoshop CS3 and LightZone 3. Minor tonal adjustments performed in LightZone (using the ToneMapper/Relight tool). Photoshop adjustments included selective saturation adjustment.

Conservation

Smokey Reflection in Alpine Tarn. Near Talus Lodge, BC, Canada. September 15, 2007.

Ten percent of the revenue generated by this image will be donated to the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation (Y2Y) Initiative.

This image was captured in a high alpine area near the British Columbia - Alberta border. The region shown in this image is considered as of significant importance in maintaining genetic connectivity between northern and southern populations of many species, including large carnivores.

The Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation (Y2Y) Initiative seeks to ensure that the world-renowned wilderness, wildlife, native plants, and natural processes of the Yellowstone to Yukon region continue to function as an interconnected web of life, capable of supporting all of its natural and human communities, for current and future generations.