The Flickr Sentinelpoint Image Generatr

Captured in Yosemite National Park.

A conversion to black & white using Silver Efex Pro 2. I was able to use different settings on the color filters to bring out a rich, deep tonal contrast including darkening of the blue skies above Yosemite Valley.

One of the many dozen views I captured that Wednesday afternoon in Yosemite National Park. With some of the extra images I captured, it gave me a chance to work with filters and recipes in Silver Efex Pro 2.

I know I'd commented with another image on those typical postcard image captures. Another photographer on Flickr had commented that really doesn't matter. Every moment is unique and deserves to be captured. So in that spirit, this image is about a moment in black and white with some post production work done to bring out a rich tonal contrast. One could look across the valley and see the textures and shades of tones in the trees and nearby mountainsides. Above were deep blue skies and some puffy clouds...and yes, a lone contrail.

A roadside stop along Big Oak Flat Rd looking to the east to far off peaks of the Yosemite Valley mountain range. What I liked about this image was capturing those folds of the earth as the view stretched off to Half Dome, a little over 10 miles away. Nearby was trees and other vegetation and then came the ridgelines, hillsides and granite rocks leading off to mountain peaks in Yosemite Valley. But it wasn't so wide-angle that it flattened out all those beautiful mountain peaks. It was zooming in just enough to capture the surrounding valleys and mountain peaks while keeping a little bit of the skies above with some of the puffy clouds.

Sometimes converting an image to black & white brings out a drama not quite seen with color images. That's what this image became when I converted it to black and white in Silver Efex Pro 2 and then adjusted some color filters to bring out more of a darker total contrast for the final image.

I've always found it amazing just how far we can see and recognize objects or landmarks. In this case, Half Dome is about 10.7 miles (measured straight line on Google Maps) but is quickly seen and easily taken in for a view from so far away.

For the image, I wasn't too certain on the dynamic range of this setting. The clouds and skies above seemed quite bright and losing them would seem to ruin an image with just a blah skies above. The near landscape was in definitely in shadows and somewhat dark, so I decided to take five bracketed TIFF images and use Aurora HDR to combine them for an HDR image. I later imported that TIFF image into Capture NX2 to work with control points for this final image captured of Half Dome and El Capitan from miles away...

For many of the other images at Tunnel View, I attempted to capture more of a wider angle feel to this amazing, wondrous valley. Here though, I decided to zoom in, capturing a little bit of El Capitan and the other side of the Yosemite Valley. But what I really wanted to focus on was that...almost tunnel like view to Half Dome and Clouds Rest..that just happen to have clouds above it for this image setting.

A Wide Angle Setting at Tunnel View to Take in Yosemite Valley. I captured the original image for this on my Nikon D800E while taking in views one late afternoon at the overlook for Tunnel View in Yosemite National Park. No matter how many times I'd read or seen images of this location, it just couldn't prepare my mind for the amazing splendor while standing and taking in this view! And I had a chance to enjoy it many times in May 2016! Rolling hillsides of trees stretched on and on up Yosemite Valley with El Capitan looming large on one side and Bridalveil Fall, Cathedral Rocks, Half Dome, and other peaks of the
Sierra Nevada on the other. Blue skies complement the beautiful setting of this national park. That's the story behind this image capture. The original image is location here on Flickr (www.flickr.com/photos/14723335@N05/32035480430/in/album-7...).

Now to the painting...I'm definitely having a better feel for using broader painting strokes and working with the contrasts between highlights, midtowns and shadows to bring out details and shapes in a digital painting. You'll notice that more with the trees and outlining their shapes. In some areas, I attempted to outline a general shape; in other, more of a brush strokes to show an outline of color contrasts. Those different styles of painting trees were how I finally set in my mind to paint this amazing valley. Up close I felt would be a better place to show that tree outline. Far up the valley, a change of colors seemed more appropriate. I continued to focus for the mountain portion of the painting with broader strokes, letting highlights, midtones and shadows shape the outlines. The last part was more work on painting the blue skies and clouds that were present that afternoon...and even one lone contrail of a jet airplane!

In the right middle foreground of the painting, you'll find that stick figure image of me "hiking" with my Cubbies hat, loving my time in Yosemite National Park :-)

Most of the day I'd experienced overcast skies so seeing this afternoon view with blue skies was a sight. Sunset wasn't too far away so one could see the shadows here and there across Yosemite Valley, even as the golden hour light added a more vibrant color to the trees and mountainsides.

For this image, I metered the exposure for the highlights of the nearby peaks not wanting to clip any highlights when I late processed the image. I knew I'd be able to pull out the nearby shadowed area. I later used some color control point and a Polarizer CEP filter in Capture NX2 for the final image.

What I visualized was a setting of just wonder that any have see. Around me that late afternoon were other groups of photographers, talking this and that about different equipment and experiences they'd had. Another group was taking what seemed like wedding photos. All though were taking in this amazing and wondrous view of Yosemite.

At the crack of dawn at Yosemite National Park. The view down the Gates of the Valley was overcast. The sun tried to break thru to no avail on this spring morning, it did glow in the distance far beyond the clouds. The previous winter was a good year, the snow melt raised the water level down the Merced covering all the rocks and boulders.

Happy Thanksgivings.

Mill Creek
Jefferson National Forest
Narrows, Virginia USA

This is a picture from my hike up the 12,527 foot Sentinel Point located in Horsethief Park, Colorado. This is a difficult hike that was 9.2 miles long with 3,373 feet of elevation gain. You can read more about my hike at the link.

View from Sentinel Dome - Yosemite National Park

View from Sentinel Dome - Yosemite National Park