Hiking in the Hautes Pyrenées, june 2019

[Chataignier]

Hiking above Lac de Gaube in the Hautes Pyrenées last june.

[Shadowman]

Nicely seen and captured.

[Wavelength]

Wonderful!!!

[Manfred M]

David - Another lovely scene in the mountains.

What is not working all that well for me is the large dark mass on the right hand side of the image. If it were my shot, I would dodge that part of the image to even out the tonality.

[Chataignier]

Thanks for the comments, I dont think I've ever been quite so exhausted as that day when we climbed several thousand feet carrying a ton of photo gear. Fabulous views though !

[Manfred M]

Thanks for the comments, I dont think I've ever been quite so exhausted as that day when we climbed several thousand feet carrying a ton of photo gear. Fabulous views though !

All I will say is that I can relate. I did something similar when we trekked for 5 days in Nepal; I had some panorama gear along - tripod, mFT camera and two lenses, L bracket, indexing head and long focus rail so that I could do a shot of the Anapurna Massif (after 3-1/2 days of trekking).

It seemed like a brilliant idea when I planned it, a really stupid idea while I was doing it and something I won't ever do again, now that I look back on it!

[William W]

Great shot.

We all see (artistic) interpretations differently: the 1/3 :: 2/3 composition of shadow area and direct sunlight really suits this picture - a strong Juxtaposition enhancing a rugged landscape - and accordingly that works well for my eye.

***

. . . I dont think I've ever been quite so exhausted as that day when we climbed several thousand feet carrying a ton of photo gear. Fabulous views though !

However, the main reason for me taking the time to comment in detail is because there are some technical aspects I noted:

Fuji X-T3; Fuji XF 55 to 200 F/3.5~4.8 R LM OIS; F/7.1 @ 1/3000s @ ISO320; AV Priority; CWA Metering

Firstly and importantly, this is yet another example of how well we can create work with a “kit lens”.

And secondly, especially (as you mentioned the physical effort of the hike) how efficient it is to select a lightweight APS-C Camera and one (or two) ‘kit’ Zoom Lens(es) with stabilization, or similar, for walking, trekking and hiking.

On those notes with a view to optimizing performance:

1. Concerning the camera, I am not 100% sure of what you might gain apropos DR, and lose apropos noise, but I would bet this way - I’d selected the base ISO160 and not ISO320

2. Concerning the lens, with it zoomed to FL = 100mm it’s maximum aperture is around F/5.

F/7.1 is not all that much stopped down relative to F/5.

I’ve used several APS-C “kit zoom lenses”, different brands, all relatively recent models and one thing that they all have in common is that their sweet spot is closer to F/11 than F/8, especially as you get closer to the telephoto end of the zoom where it is typical that they all lose general IQ at the larger apertures – (it’s intrinsic to the design of attaining a 4x zoom at a reasonable cost).

So, that’s my background thinking to this bottom line –

If I were with you hiking and you gave me a go at your gear, I’d switch to ISO160, and if you asked me to use Av Priority, I’d set F/11.

There’s heaps of latitude in the Shutter Speed.

I reckon if you really got a cracker shot that you wanted to enlarge to 20 x 24 and hang at home, you’d be better placed to do that with a little bit more finessing of the technical stuff; and on that note – just in case I ever do get one that’s worth hanging in my Family Room - I also always Bracket on Exposure (Shutter Speed) ±⅔Stop.

CWA works for me, AND it is important to know HOW your particular camera’s meter thinks - I know how my camera's meters think, and that’s the reason why CWA works for me - and the Exposure Bracket, though not often necessary, is simply, low cost yet very efficient and effective, insurance.

WW

[William W]

All I will say is that I can relate. I did something similar when we trekked for 5 days in Nepal; I had some panorama gear along - tripod, mFT camera and two lenses, L bracket, indexing head and long focus rail so that I could do a shot of the Anapurna Massif (after 3-1/2 days of trekking).

It seemed like a brilliant idea when I planned it, a really stupid idea while I was doing it and something I won't ever do again, now that I look back on it!

Oh dear Manfred!

You were writing as I was writing, so I made all those comments about gear selection for trekking, without the knowledge of your 'ordeal' - I guess you've just underscored my point: quite often, less is more.

regards

Bill

[Manfred M]

Oh dear Manfred!

You were writing as I was writing, so I made all those comments about gear selection for trekking, without the knowledge of your 'ordeal' - I guess you've just underscored my point: quite often, less is more.

regards

Bill

In this case it was worth it to me and to my wife. Both of us had just retired from work and had both recovered enough from major surgery to want to accomplish something that involved stamina, will-power and a bit of bullheadedness. It was a bit of "now or never"; I had just turned 60.

Shots taken after sunrise from Poon Hill (altitude 3210m / 10530 ft) like this one of Annapurna South plus many more including a panorama of the Annapurna Massif are something we will always remember.

[Chataignier]

@william : Thanks for your remarks - I can not give any good reason for having selected ISO320 when there was clearly masses of light available - put it down to being overwhelmed by the landscape and also knackered. Clearly the lower ISO would have been possible and better.

However, I take issue with your description of the Fuji 55-200 as a "kit" lens. Of course it's not up to the standard of a prime lens, but it is very good as you can see from this shot and the stabilisation is astounding. Amongst the Fuji medium range zooms only the 50-140 f2.8 is considered superior.
Here is a quote from Gary Wolstenholme's independent review published on Ephotozine :

At 55mm, sharpness in the centre of the frame at maximum aperture is already outstanding, with the clarity towards the edges falling just short of excellent. Stopping down to between f/4 and f/8 raises sharpness towards the edges to excellent levels, whilst maintaining outstanding clarity in the centre of the frame.

Zooming to 100mm results in an overall reduction in sharpness across the frame. Still, sharpness is very good in the centre of the frame at maximum aperture and good towards the edges of the frame. Peak sharpness is achieved with the aperture stopped down to f/8 for this focal length. Here clarity is excellent across the frame.

Finally, at 200mm there is a further, slight reduction in clarity. At maximum aperture, sharpness approaches very good in the centre of the frame and is good towards the edges of the frame. Peak sharpness is again achieved at f/8.

[selig1656]

Terrific capture.