Machhapuchhre

[Manfred M]

Looking at the calendar, I realized that yesterday was the day my wife and I trekked to Poon Hill (3210m) before sunrise to see the Annapurna Range, in Nepal. I posted shots at the time, but never got around to posting one of the 6993m / 22,943 ft Machhapuchhre Mountain (which means Fish's Tail in the local language). I think it is one of the most beautiful mountains in the Annapurna range. A lot more work with a problematic foreground and I think this is as good as it's going to get.



Machhapuchhre is a sacred mountain and is closed to climbing.

[Shadowman]

Nicely done, very dramatic exposure.

[Mike Buckley]

Gorgeous scene well crafted. Did you dehaze it? How did you notice that you had hiked on that particular date? Perhaps a birthday or some other momentous occasion that occurs on that date?

[Manfred M]

Did you dehaze it?

Yes. Quite a bit of dehaze, in fact.

How did you notice that you had hiked on that particular date? Perhaps a birthday or some other momentous occasion that occurs on that date?

Two possible answers:

1. My wife has an incredibly good memory for dates; or

2. My knees were aching a lot yesterday just to remind me of the anniversary of my folly.

[Wavelength]

Oh...what a scene!!! feel blessed

[Marie Hass]

Impressive scene and impressive shot.

I really like the composition. All of the triangles and lines laid in there. Must have been a challenge to PP. Did you have to treat FG and BG as having different WB?

Marie

[bnnrcn]

Very nice !

[Manfred M]

Impressive scene and impressive shot.

I really like the composition. All of the triangles and lines laid in there. Must have been a challenge to PP. Did you have to treat FG and BG as having different WB?

Marie

The problem I had was with the vastly different colour temperatures on the sunny versus shady side. If I white balanced on the snow, the overall colour balance went blue and if I went with the grey rocks as a neutral colour, the overall image had a warm cast, so I used the snow to do the white balance and then reduced the overall blue cast in the shadows of the rock.

That worked reasonably well except for the rocks in the foreground at the bottom left side of the image. Here I put in a saturation adjustment layer and using a layer mask, just desaturated the rocks a touch.

The real issue with this shot was that while the mountain was properly exposed, I had really work on getting the foreground to work and blend in. That was mostly in heavy shadow from the mountain I was shooting from. This is the SOOC jpeg to give you an idea as to what I started with.




The shot is rather boring, but the potential is easy to see. The foreground is just a really dark mass in the image that needs to be coaxed out.

[Mike Buckley]

Though I realize we've been over the success of the dehaze tool in a couple other threads countless times, these two images yet again show how effective it is at revealing detail that is otherwise obscured by the haze.

[pnodrog]

A majestic looking peak. You have certainly done well in extracting tones and hues from what started off as an uninspiring foreground. Must have been a wonderful trip.

[Sam W]

This is a terrific photo Manfred. What is the horizontal structure on the right of the peak about 1/3 down in the photo? I think the trees in the dark part of the image are very interesting that was the second thing to catch my eye. - Sam

[Manfred M]

What is the horizontal structure on the right of the peak about 1/3 down in the photo?

This is a close up (100% crop), but it's not super clear. My guess is that this is a natural formation and could be some form of inclusion in the rock. The rest is shadows and snow. I'll ask my geologist friend the next time I see him.



It is definitely not a man made structure; no one has been on the mountain since the mid-1950s, when it was closed to climbers and climbing is the only way to access that part of the mountain.

[Sam W]

This is a close up (100% crop), but it's not super clear. My guess is that this is a natural formation and could be some form of inclusion in the rock. The rest is shadows and snow. I'll ask my geologist friend the next time I see him.




It is definitely not a man made structure; no one has been on the mountain since the mid-1950s, when it was closed to climbers and climbing is the only way to access that part of the mountain.

Interesting. There also seems to be a wire loop on the left end. Anyway, not important. Great photo! Best regards - Sam

[Chrisclick]

Marvellous shot, great PP. Hope the knees are feeling better!

[Dave A]

Outstanding image. Man I have a lot of this would to see.

Dave

[Donald]

To echo Nandakumar's comment, to stand there and take in that sight, one would have to feel very privileged and honoured and, indeed, humble. Breathtaking view.

And as for photographic skill, you have demonstrated how it is possible to get the best out of a raw file and reveal what was there in a beautifully presented image.

What was the focal length on the lens?

[IzzieK]

Beautiful place...made the more by your shot and pp of the image itself.

[Manfred M]

What was the focal length on the lens?

This was taken with a mFT camera using the Lumix 14-140mm lens using a 125mm focal length; 250mm FF equivalent.

[Manfred M]

Though I realize we've been over the success of the dehaze tool in a couple other threads countless times, these two images yet again show how effective it is at revealing detail that is otherwise obscured by the haze.

Totally agree Mike. I almost automatically use a tiny bit of the dehaze slider (in the range of 5 - 10) on every landscape I do where the temperatures are above freezing. There is always a little bit of moisture in the air that knocks down the details in the image.

The problem with the haze slider is that at more aggressive settings, the image will start taking on a bit of a blue colour cast. So in this image, I was fighting the blue in the shaded areas as well as the blue introduced by the dehaze functionaity.

[Manfred M]

Interesting. There also seems to be a wire loop on the left end. Anyway, not important. Great photo! Best regards - Sam

You have better eyes than I do Sam. All I see is rock, trees, snow and sky.

In this part of the world, there are no roads per se, just ancient foot paths that link numerous small villages that are spread throughout the mountains. There is electricity in some of the villages and there is telecommunications equipment (primarily microwave relay towers) in the area, but that is not visible from the vantage point I took the shot from (but it would be to the left and well out of the frame).