Yellowstone Hot Spring

[Teton Chuck]

This photo of Palette Spring in Yellowstone National Park was taken a couple of days ago. The chalky white rock is travertine, a common deposit of hot springs. The grey rock is also travertine but is not wet. The orange colors and some of the pink hues are a result of the microorganisms that live in the hot water. Look carefully and you will see snow where the heat does not penetrate the rock sufficiently to cause it to melt. Yellowstone this time of year is quiet and peaceful with very few people.

[Mike Buckley]

You really nailed this, Chuck. I wonder, though, if you forgot to sharpen it when you downsized it for display here. Regardless, try adding LCE instead of regular sharpening to help increase the clarity, punch and detail. Again, a really nice photo!

[NorthernFocus]

Nice composition. I was there a couple of years ago and didn't come away with any shots of the springs that I was satisfied with. Harder than it looks to capture. Agree with prior post to tweek the techs a bit but the comp is nice.

[Donald]

You really nailed this, Chuck.

I agree.

The tone, texture and colour are wonderful. I agree with Dan as well - To actually get a good image of such a scene looks as if it should easy, but in reality is much more challenging: How do you make a lump of rock look interesting? To me it's that old thing about looking and seeing.

[Mike Buckley]

To actually get a good image of such a scene looks as if it should easy, but in reality is much more challenging

That's an understatement that is especially perplexing when shooting something that is so interesting as layers of travertine. The physical scene is so gorgeous yet the photos so often are not so. Chuck's image notably brings many elements together to make it interesting yet without being confusing or distracting.

[Shadowman]

Very nice, obviously too craggy for skiing but could you imagine coming off that ridge with the pool of ice below.

[Teton Chuck]

Mike, Dan, Donald and John, thank you for the comments. I am attaching another photo here that may be a tad sharper. Part of the softness comes from the fact that steam is rising from the little ponds over the right half of the photo. The area directly above the blue pond is water running over rock. It is spread out so that is another source of softness.

By the way John, almost all of the photo is rock, so skiing off would be tough. And the pool of ice is actually boiling water. A ski trip off the top might result in human soup.

Please check this one out to see if it is any sharper. Thanks again for the evaluation and feedback.

[Mike Buckley]

I like the crop in the second one better but I don't see any difference in sharpness. I saw the effect of the water and steam in the first one, which is why I suggested adding some LCE rather than traditional sharpening.

I'll be happy to delete this version if you prefer, as I'm providing it only so you can go back and forth in the Lytebox to see the difference with LCE added and determine whether you like it. I didn't even take the 30 seconds that would have been necessary to eliminate the halo created on the large rock on the left. I applied LCE to everything except the sky, which in my mind works better when being applied to the full-size original rather than a small file such as this one.

[Marie Hass]

Chuck, I love the Yellowstones and really like this picture.

Mike, I love the modifications you have done and I hope Chuck does too. The only other thing that bothers me a bit is that the image looks to need a degree or 2 of clockwise rotation?

Marie

[Teton Chuck]

Mike, I like your changes. No need to remove your version. Others may benefit as well.

So now I need help. What is LCE? I would like to learn more about it. Thanks for your help.

[Teton Chuck]

Marie, thanks for the comments. You may be right about the rotation. I used a level on the camera but that does not always mean that the photo looks right. I will play with it some more. Appreciate your comments.

[Nat]

What an awesome shot....I love it. It must be quiet and beautiful to be there in person!

[Mike Buckley]

LCE means Local Contrast Enhancement, which is explained very well in a CiC tutorial found here.