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Mountain and road #2

Mountain and road, Hochalpenstrasse, Austria

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The story behind this image

Mean, moody and magnificent.

This view of the amazing 'Hochalpenstrasse' (high alpine road) in Austria was taken under lowering skies on our way back down from visiting the Grossglockner glacier.

This was the last day of moderately good weather that Liz and I enjoyed during our holiday there last summer. The following day we decided on a strenous mountain hike and got absolutely soaked and frozen. No photos from that escapade as I never even took my camera out of the LowePro!

No such problems here though, as I could photograph from the comparative shelter of the side of the road, with the car close by in case a downpour rolled over us.

And what a scene, made better by the dramatic clouds and stark contrasts.

This kind of image just cries out to me for a monochrome treatment. I tried processing it in colour, but it just looked dingy. Severe black and white worked much better, with tones alone bringing out the sheer majesty of the view.

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Image data


Filename - mountain road 02.jpg

Camera - Canon 5D

Lens - 24-105mm zoom @ 24mm

Exposure - 1/50sec @ f11, ISO100

Location - Hochalpenstrasse, Austria

This image - 800x533px JPEG

Conversion - ACR & PS-CS2

Comments - ND grad filter used to control contrast