Denali reflecting in Wonder Lake, Denali National Park, Alaska. Canon 5D Mark II, 24-105mm f/4L IS (47mm), 1/8 sec @ f/16, ISO 100. Processed in Lightroom 3 with brush brightness increase on the foreground and brush brightness decrease on the mountain and sky to balance tonality. Fill light set at a risky 54, but the shadows still hold up well. I shot multiple exposures in case HDR or blending was necessary but it looks as though a single image looks great. Using a low ISO is important. See the image below to compare with the original RAW capture.
On Sunday, July 25, my eyes slowly opened at 4:00 AM. The temperature read 33 degrees. If you have spent any time in the outdoors in Alaska, such a chilly temperature in July is a telltale sign that the skies above are clear. I checked the sky (the first thing every landscape photographer does upon waking) to confirm this. Within 5 minutes after waking, I was in motion.
The night before I gambled and chose to camp at the western end of Denali National Park, in hopes of some sunrise light on Denali. Record high rainfall has fallen in Alaska’s interior during the month of July so I felt gifted by the clear morning. But more specifically, I was anxious to see if the clearness overhead extended to that great massif rock called Mt. McKinley, or Denali, North America’s tallest mountain.
I have stood and looked at this mountain on countless mornings and evenings. While the mountain itself never changes, the light and clouds seem in perpetual transition and the visual variation still amazes me. The first thought and desire is to be at twenty different locations when skies are like this, but one has to commit for first light and I chose to stay at Wonder Lake, since the fog and mist over the water was intriguing. Sometimes, the alpenglow color is dramatic, but on this morn, although beautiful, it was not particularly colorful.
Three cameras were set up on tripods and I ran back and forth between them clicking shutters. I used the 16-35, 24-105 and 70-200 lenses on full frame cameras, with ISO set low, and importantly remembered to turn off the Image Stabilization. This is a critical factor when using slow shutter speeds since one can introduce blur when stabilization is turned on for exposures below 1/15 sec or so.
I shook some ice off my tripod legs and mused at the speed in which season’s move in this state.
Original RAW capture, exposed for the mountain highlights. Canon 5D Mark II, 24-105mm f/4L IS (47mm), 1/8 sec @ f/16, ISO 100.
What you do with those RAW captures in PP never ceases to amaze me. I assume you are not biking the park this year? 🙂
Eli,
No bike this year, at least not planned at this point. I will be back in the park later this autumn for some more work. Lightroom 3 is amazing, and the new luminance noise reduction enables even more stepping on shadowed areas than LR2.
Wow… beautiful. I can’t wait to go. I may never capture as lovely a picture… but I sure want the chance to be there and try!! 🙂
Carmen,
Go and enjoy Denali Park, it is a tremendously scenic landscape, and my you get a good peak of the big mountain.
Carmen, pun was intended but not the spelling of “my for may”
Patrick, I’m a new and avid reader of your blog – currently checking out your archives. Enthusiastic about photography and gear myself I wondered if you could explain the correlation between slow shutter speeds, image stabilization and blur?
Hope my english is understandable.
Thanks.
Aleksander,
The image stabilization mechanism in some lenses will cause a blurry photo if the shutter speed is long (or slow). The exact time varies based on the lens, I use about 1/15 second as a general rule. You can see an example of a test for Canon’s 70-200mm at DPReview.com. (http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/canon_70-200_2p8_is_usm_ii_c16/page5.asp) Look for the graph. It would be great if the stabilizer would automatically stop functioning when a shutter speeds is below the acceptable speed. It does not seem that it would be too difficult to program that in.
I am coming to Denali for 3 days end of Aug. beginning of Sept. I hope to stay in Tek (RV with wife, we are in late 60’s). I have read that there’s a pond near Wonder Lk. that has a better reflection than Wonder Lk., if mt. is out. Do you have any info. re. this, such as location, or other suggestions re. photographing in the park?
We will spend 2 full weeks in AK, 7 days in the Kenia then north of Anchorage.
Thanks for your help. Mick
Mick,
There are a number of small ponds in the vicinity of wonder lake, and due to their smaller size and profile with the land, they can often be calmer on the surface making the the reflections better. You are probably referring to Reflection Pond, which is right along the road between the Wonder Lake Ranger station and the turn off to Wonder Lake campground. It is easy to find. Good luck in the Park, it will be a great time to be there.