It's sunset season!! Woo-hoo!!

[Blue_In_AK]

[regnaD kciN]

1. All I can say is...

:wow:

(Too bad we've already had a "reflections" contest recently. That first one would be a sure winner.)

[CC]

2. Both of these are beauties and

I bet are even better bigger but OMG that first one with all the layers. Hint of snow to trees to water reflecting mountain to mountain to sky ending with clouded sky. Wow, just wow.
So when are you going to get an account somewhere so people can order big prints when they figure out where to put them?

[ConsAreLiars]

3. Stunning, as (almost) always!

Since I am a lazy typist, just add "Wow, Ooh, Ahh" as my comment to all your image postings. The few exceptions (I can't recall any now) might have been done with your previous camera where the technical limitations were distracting, or maybe a cat picture.

There's a lot more to getting a good sunset photo than seeing a pretty sky and pointing the camera at it, and you seem to be able to take that one element (the pretty sky colors) and frame/compose the image in a way that uses those colors as one element to create a total image that is truly extraordinary. Very good work!

[Blue_In_AK]

6. Thank you very much, Cons...

I appreciate everyone's praise, of course, but your photos are always so remarkable that your kind words mean even more. I've learned more than you know from your posts, especially your explanations about the more technical aspects of photography which I really knew nothing at all about.

ed. It's because of you that I really don't have to PaintShop my pictures completely to death anymore to get the exposure right. :)

[ConsAreLiars]

7. You have the "eye" for landscapes and photography generally

that takes most of us a long time to develop - framing, excluding "noise," and such, and the dedication to actually get out there and do it. I'm glad I've helped a bit with the technical side, since it can make a big difference.

One thing that occurred to me with your Iditarod pictures (too late to offer the suggestion in time) was that that would have been a great range of subjects for experimenting with aperture priority settings. You know the basics, with wider apertures, f/4 and such, the depth of field is much narrower, so that one part of the scene is in sharp focus while stuff closer and further away gets blurry. It's a good way to select out one subject within a scene for special attention by the viewer and letting the rest recede into mere context. Works with landscapes, portraits and the rest as well. Auto settings on cameras are generally optimized for getting as much as possible as sharp as possible - not a bad assumption about what most camera owners will want - but you can get some nice results with selective focus and a small depth of field, results that auto settings won't give. Something to play with, anyway.

[Blue_In_AK]

8. Yes, I've been wanting to do that...

I hate to keep putting things off until summer, but I know I will have many more opportunities for practicing with depth of field when I have a little more close-up stuff to work with. I keep trying to look at bare bushes and dead grass with an artistic eye, but it's just not working for me, you know. :) I'm really aching for some color ... that's why I've been so excited that at least the good sunsets are back. I'm ready for some flowers and dragonflies -- and green, definitely green. I love Alaska but it's pretty stark in the winter.

[NV Whino]

4. Well, go on...

just post more fabulous photos. See if I care. :)

Seriously, those are beautiful.

[JeffR]

5. Blue_In_AK

Your photos make me feel like a complete hamfisted amateur. These are beautiful.