Teton’s Last Light

SWF…………………………….. (It’s our 100^th Post)

After Sunset – Lake Jackson
Grand Teton National Park
(Click on the photo for a full page of blue)
(I used a telephoto to zoom in on the mountains and reflections)
No color enhancement, levels adjustment only.

Some of the best photos are made just before sunrise and just after sunset. In this case the sun was well down behind the mountains. The bight glitter patch on the lake is caused by a notch in the mountains to the left, allowing just enough light to illuminate the tops of really small ripples on the lake. This brightness is an optical illusion and caused by the longer exposure. In reality, it is like moonlight reflections that appear brighter than they really are.

I don’t think there is a name for the shades of blue in this photograph. I just know that I like them. By the way, in this photo, you get double your Skywatch due to the sky reflections in the water. If you go there to photograph this, climb up on the picnic table and set up your tripod there. That's what I did.

Since you will be using a tripod, use a small aperture (high f/number) to get best depth of field. Use RAW if your camera supports it. Digital is cheap, so make lots of photos. Use a broad range of shutter speeds. For some good information (tutorial) on early or late photography, see some of Jim’s recent posts over at Transient Light Photography. He does great work.

If there are no clouds to make oranges, expect blues. It may look black or really dark to the eye, but the sky color is still there in incredible shades of blues. In this case, it wasn’t that dark and you can still see some color in the near trees from the back lighting.

To participate in Sky Watch Friday visit Wiggers World.

Troy and Martha