Tema con Variazioni: Mount Si

After much waiting and some trials and tribulations, I finally got out on a photo trip! Today's theme was Mount Si, as I thought it might be pretty with all of the snow we've had in recent weeks; I visited a few different spots in the North Bend/Snoqualmie areas looking for views. I was having a devil of a time with skies, as I always do, but I can often improve things in Lightroom. So these images have some work ahead of them, in terms of white balance and exposure.

This first one, looking over a lake between North Bend and Snoqualmie, actually looks quite a bit different than I had planned, due to the wind. I had hoped that the lake would be still, giving the opportunity for more tranquil waters and possible a reflection of the mountain itself. As it is, the waves are choppy, so I'm not sure whether this picture says what I'd like it to say. But it's still interesting, and I timed the sunrise well, at the very least. A couple seconds later and the sun was too bright, making some ugly flares.

Here's a more basic shot of the mountain and some trees. I thought the bare trees and the mountain actually made for an interesting color contrast. Since the sun was mostly behind Mount Si and to the side, the mountain face didn't overexpose and had a cool blue shading.

This second one is looking up the Snoqualmie River itself at the mountain. I used a relatively narrow aperture, f/25, to get as much of the gravel bar in focus as I could. The sky on the right is overexposed and needs some work.

Lastly, another version of the bare-trees-and-mountain idea. The moss on the maple trunk was a much more vivid green to the naked eye, so perhaps some playing around in Lightroom would make this a more interesting image.