A small bend in an offshoot of the Zanskar River, Zanskar Valley, Ladakh, India.
The Zanskar Valley is generally dry, windy, harsh and barren. The Zanskar River cuts a green swathe through the valley, with grasses and flowering plants providing a splash of colour close to the water. During the summer, melting snow and glacial ice cause the river to rise, forming pools and rivulets around which a local mini-ecosystem starts to thrive. This picture was taken at one such spot, where a bend in a rivulet provided a nice foreground against the mountains behind.
I invite comments, suggestions and a discussion on this picture from the FStoppers community. Thank you.
I love it! The low-key tones of the image remind me of a scene that looks like it comes straight out of the movie, Prometheus. Very moody, lots of great texture, fantastic composition.
Additionally, with your description of the river and surrounding ecosystems, I'd love to see a shot where we can see some more of those vegetation colors! The darker tones in this one don't let us appreciate the color and plant growth that you described.
Either way, I do love this shot!
Thank you for your kind comments, Rex.
This shot was taken at a time and in light that did not bring out the colours of the place that well. I'll check if I have more shots that show the colours better.
About the local ecosystem I was referring to, the valley at this location is at 13,000 feet above sea level, above the tree line. The only vegetation that I saw here grew no more than a few inches off the ground. A few grasses and flowering plants, all of which provided fodder for the local sheep, goats and dzos (a cross between a yak and a cow).
Hi Rex,
I'm attaching a couple of pics here that show the local flora in the Zanskar Valley. The first one, with the marshy foreground is in the same area where I made the 'Prometheus' shot. The second one was made the following day, further into Zanskar.
Sid
The foreground in Royal Purple is a little too underexposed for me. You have a really distinct separation line between mountains and sky and the dark foreground leading up to the mountains. An ND filter on the front of your lens would have helped balance the contrast between the mountains and foreground more.
Thanks for your comment, Stuart. I see what you mean. But perhaps this also has to do with different hues in the foreground and mountains that show up differently in the light conditions I shot in. Please take a look at the first image in the comment above. This was taken from roughly the same location, and looking in the same direction as 'Royal Purple'. You can see the distinct separation between the valley and the mountains in this picture too. But yes, maybe a more gentle gradation of exposure from background to foreground would have been more compelling.
My guess is that your eyes adjusted to the night darkness and that you eventually, as your eyes adjusted, did see detail in the foreground. Your camera can't make the adjustment that your eyes can. Therefore, if you want your image to reflect what your eyes saw, not necessarily what your camera sensor was limited to seeing, you must help the image out with either an ND filter to adjust contrast between sky and foreground or multiple exposures later blended together in Photoshop. Or, you can be very happy with an image that reflects the limited tonal range of your camera.
No complaints here. I love the "mysterious" exposure level you went with.