Moon Fury – Patagonia, Argentina by DaveMorrow

Want to watch me edit this photo? Click the link below and check out the free video:
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*About the Shot*
The 96% Moon lights the entire landscape just downstream from the looming Fitz Roy Massif.

During a trip here in March of 2015 I was able to capture this scene while standing knee deep in the freezing cold waters of this stream which are fed by glaciers less than 2 miles West of where I stood.

Just hours before one of the best sunsets I’ve ever seen covered this landscape with a pink and orange glow. The sky, filled with lenticular clouds, was so saturated during sunset that it’s nearly impossible to edit the photos… I’m working on it tho!

Look closely at this scene and you’ll notice the lenticular clouds moving slowly through the sky over a long exposure time of 30 seconds. Small star trails also can be seen streaking behind the clouds.

After shooting this location for an hour or so we headed back to our tents which were right down the river in secluded grove of trees which provided a little bit of wind protection.

During the night the wind was so strong that my one man tent nearly folded flat on the group with me inside. Good times!

Enjoy,
Dave

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Walking the Forests at Twlight – Mount Rainier National Park by DaveMorrow

I found this waterfall while wandering the woods near Mount Rainier one foggy morning.

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Just Me & the Milky Way – Rialto Beach, Washington by DaveMorrow

A massive sea stack, the Milky Way & I on the wild Pacific Coast of Washington State taken on a beautiful night in late August of 2014.

Learn to take star, Milky Way & night sky photos of your own using my free tutorials & eBook linked below:
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Thanks for Looking,
Dave

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The Other Side: Moonrise Over the Cuernos by DaveMorrow

Please view full size on black for this photo:)

One of my main goals when visiting Patagonia was to come back with not only good shots, but unique shots.

When researching for the trip the same photos / views seemed to pop up again and again and again and again and again…. yes that many times.

None the less, there is so much to shoot in this vast expanse of land that not coming back with unique stuff is a sin.

This specific shot comes from the French Valley which is a 2 day hike from civilization. The moon is just starting to come up behind the mountains adding an intense amount of light & glow to the clouds & landscape.

The evening before we hiked to this location in 50 mile per hour winds & snow. After scouting some stuff out, it was time to set up camp and sleep.

The next morning we woke at 5AM and started the freezing cold 2 hour ( 1500 foot gain ) trek back to this location with even worse conditions. Strong wind & snow. The clouds seen in this photo dissipated within a few minutes due to the strong gusts and new clouds moved through the range of peaks.

The moon light was intense & sunrise was a dud. Thankfully I was able to capture this shot:)

The image comes from 2 RAW files, one exposed for the highlights and focused approx. 2/3 into the landscape. The glow you see on the horizon is the moon coming up over the peaks.

The second RAW file was refocused on the immediate foreground with the ISO increased to capture the moving plants in still frame with lower exposure time.

Focus stacking was used to blend both photos together. More on focus stacking here –> http://ift.tt/1pz5HFa

From there I finished out the editing process using some of the techniques shown in the following video.

PS: You can watch me edit a night sky photo from start to finish using Lightroom & Photoshop in the following video. Click the link and enjoy
http://ift.tt/1KufTFR

Thanks in advance for any comments. Just landed in Italy for a 10 day / non-photography vacation with the family and won’t have internet.

Cheers,
Dave

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The True Divide – Patagonia, Chile by DaveMorrow

Learn How I Captured & Edited This Photo in My Latest Free Video Tutorial Linked Below.

After spending over a month backpacking through Patagonia ( 3 weeks alone / 1 week with friends ) I was burnt out, sick ( food poison ), and ready to get some rest.

None the less there were still a few things left to do. First off, I had to shoot this view. I know everyone shoots this view, but it’s bad ass.

I rented a Toyota Hilux in Puerto Natales for the last 3 days of my trip to knock off some well known spots such as this, and do some off road exploring to some really remote & unique locations.

The first night in the Hilux I slept a few miles out from this location. At 5AM my watch alarm went off & I was up. It was nice not having to tear down my tent for the 32nd morning in a row.

Anyways… after hiking out, the sunrise looked like it was going to be a dud. Then I realized that this is Patagonia… BOOM, light. Everywhere. Such a fun sunrise to shoot!

For this specific shot I used some perspective blending techniques which can be found in the video linked below.

In short perspective blending allows you to take two different photos of nearly the same composition. Using wide angle distortion you can blend these photos to look much better than a standard wide angle view.

If you’re interested in seeing how I edited this photo using the perspective blending technique click on the following link & check it out on YouTube –> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1eH57Uh8_4

I’ve also just released a bunch of new photos on my website for those interested –> http://ift.tt/VhmZl1

Enjoy,
Dave

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In the Beginning – Patagonia, Argentina by DaveMorrow

The center peak in this photo is Cerro Torre which is also one of the most amazing mountains I’ve ever seen. Rising 3,128 m / 10,262 ft the range straddles the border between Argentina and Chile.

The shot you see here was taken from Argentina, but most climbing routes start from the glacier field on the back side in Chile.

I camped out here for 3 days under perfectly clear skies waiting for twilight then sunrise each morning. On the last day light cloud cover filled the sky and I was able to capture this image.

Some days the lake is filled with ice, others it melts off and you won’t see much at all.

During the night glaciers can be heard crashing down the massive glacier field seen in the left of the photo. My camp was setup within a close 5 minute walk from this location so it was quite easy to explore the entire valley looking for compositions and new places to shoot.

Enjoy & Thanks for Looking,
Dave

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Pinnacle of Light – Patagonia, Argentina by DaveMorrow

Although usually don’t say this, viewing full size on black is 100% necessary! Do it!

I spent 7 days in this specific area searching for compositions and waiting for decent conditions.

On the upside it’s autumn in S. America so waking up at 6AM and still catching twilight was a complete luxury.

The downside was that there are constantly new weather systems that move across and sit over the Andes Range so getting clear skies, or great light in general can require a wait.

There are so many compositions to explore up this river valley alone including the glacial lake which sits directly under the glacier you can see in the top middle of the photo.

After making my way up into this section of the river I didn’t see anyone for 3 days straight, although there are so very popular hikes that intersect this location just 3 miles down the trail.

All and all this is one of my favorite shots I came back with.
The photo comes from two RAW files both of the exact same composition.

The first was taken for the stars at the very end of twilight. I didn’t want the stars to dominate the scene, but I few were required for the “twilight feel”.

The second was focused for hyper focal near the location where the big tree comes out of the ground.

Exposing for the mountains ( The Fitz Roy Group ) only it was possible to keep the exposure time around 1/5th of a second to provide the water texture seen in the photo.

Both files were hand blended together with the help of luminosity channels and Photoshop blend modes.

After that basic color and and luminance adjustments were made selectively and globally.

Hopefully you enjoy & thanks for looking,

Dave

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