How do you photograph an American? That’s not a rhetorical question. Rather, it was running through my mind as I stood there and looked at the bust on Mount Rushmore. I cannot think of how many different photos that I have seen of Mount Rushmore.
I must admit, I tried everything—I shot early in the morning, I shot late in the evening, I shot at night, I tried HDR shots, I tried wide angle lenses, I tried telephoto lenses and I tried shots from many different angles. I probably took over 100 photos of Mont Rushmore. I liked several of them, but finally settled on this one.
What was it about this photo that I liked?
First, it is a very simple composition that really shows-off the four bust on the mountain. There is the warm colors of the busts which brings the busts forward, while the cool colors of the sky pushes the sky to the background.
Second, the color pallet is very simple and very complementary to each other. In addition, there is just enough gold in the sky to tie the sky back to the mountain.
Finally, I really like the contrast in texture—the hard texture of the mountain against the softness of the clouds.
Enjoy.
Camera settings: Nikon D3, Nikon 28-70mm f/2.8 at 50mm, shot at ISO 200, f/16 and 1/250th of a second on a tripod.
Post Processing:
Lightroom—Set white and black points, added mid-tone contrast, clarity.
Photoshop—used nik Color Efex Pro to add contrast to highlights, mid-tones and shadows of mountain and added additional mid-tone to the sky.
Very nice Patrick!
ReplyDeleteI really like the composition here. About 99% of the Mt. Rushmore photos out there are full frame, straight on shots! By choosing to make your image an environmental portrait you have made it somewhat unique!
Well done!
Barry
I can see why you chose this one. It is different and it makes me study it more closely. I like what you did here.
ReplyDeleteDebbie
When I think of Mount Rushmore, I think of big statues on the face of a mountain. Yet, your photo makes the statues look somewhat small. Not what I would normally expect. Made me think a little. Definitely different.
ReplyDeleteTed
Nice photo Larry. I do think though it might be just a little too much of a good thing. I think I might look at cropping about 25% of the sky from the top and the left. This would still achieve your look IMHO, without so much negatjive space [even though it's a shame to call a sky like that "negative" space."
ReplyDelete