Reflection Lake, Sunset, Lassen Volcanic National Park

My recent week-long trip to Yosemite began with the drive from Seattle down to Northern California the first day. When we moved north to Seattle we made a brief visit to Lassen Volcanic National Park, and it made a big impression, so it was a natural choice for our first stop returning to California. We had relatively little time within the park, but had sufficient time to return to Reflection Lake near the park's north entrance for sunset.

I initially started getting this image ready to share online because I was drawn to it's intensely saturated colors. As I began getting it ready I recalled comments I'd read recently about the aesthetic of digital photography as it currently stands, with over-the-top color saturation and contrast. Fuji Velvia slide film (which I love) received similar criticism when it first came out (and today by some), but I do sometimes see digital images that are like Velvia on steroids. In the end, I dialed back the color saturation somewhat in this image, and kept the overall image contrast relatively moderate. Generally speaking, I am hoping to produce images that I'll still enjoy 10 years from now, rather than images that will be 'dated' by poor processing decisions.

Regarding the photograph itself, this was taken from the far side of the lake, looking back towards Lassen Peak. Rather than try to take in the entire scene I wanted only to emphasize the still reflections, so I left the sky and mountains out of frame. Unfortunately a road passes behind some of these trees and I had to crop my image slightly to exclude a road-sign at the right of the frame. I may have another post or two from Lassen, but I should be getting into the actual Yosemite photographs soon.

Nikon D90 | Nikon 105 Micro | f/11 | 0.1s | ISO200 | Tripod

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