Valhalla, a photo from British Columbia, Western

Photographer's Note

Actually this isn't Valahalla, but this is how I would imagine it would look. It's actually another shot from Lake O'Hara, in Yoho National Park. The sheer walls of rock that surround this little valley have to be seen to be believed, and the pools of water make some great reflections. When I travelled there last summer I was only there for a little more than 24 hours, but I got an incredible number of good shots in that time, and I have posted 17 of them on TE - that must be a one day record!

lucasgalodoido, jmcl, singuanti, asajernigan, ls7902, danielswalsh, gildasjan, Fis2, wilkinsonsg, sabyasachi1212, keribar, vero07, gneufeld, robiuk, josepmarin, erdna, ChrisJ, pierrefonds, cobbydale, plimrn, nmess, pedrocarmo, Stan, aznegrao, maximage, Rodrigues, Sonata11 has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

lucasgalodoido (21030) 2007-03-06 21:05

Olá Alvin!
Bonita imagem, a pureza da água é impressionante, e o rflexo também! A nitidez e as cores ficaram ótimas, além do lugar, que é muito belo!
Parabéns e Abraço!

excited (143) 2007-03-06 21:30

great pov,comp,light,color,really well done,thanks scott

Daveburrows (267) 2007-03-06 21:49 [Comment]

Show Comment

jmcl (14535) 2007-03-06 21:50

Hi Alvin,

Wonderful composition down the valley between the mountains ... the reflection is stunning .. the near detail to the distant depth is tremendous.

beautiful ...

take care,

John

zenskat (656) 2007-03-06 21:51

Hi Alvin, lovely shot, the mountains in the background v impressive, with great deatil in foreground. Nice timing with clouds for composition too, cheers, Jez

partha (13775) 2007-03-06 21:55

Hi Alvin.
Great landscape. Composition is perfect. The reflection adds life in it.
A very good shot.
Regards.
Partha

singuanti (15250) 2007-03-06 22:06

Hi Alvin. Yes you seem to have no end to these stunning landscapes! The foreground you included works well and sets up the rest of the shot well. The lake, mountains, trees, and sky are all perfect. Not bad at all Alvin!

Greg1949 (9011) 2007-03-06 22:46

Absolutely beautiful, both the photo and the scene. Nice capture.

Greg

ls7902 (7300) 2007-03-06 22:49

Beautiful landscape with great POV. Regards. Latiff

mewot (69) 2007-03-06 23:43

i agree with you , it looks heavenly. quite amazing and nicely composed shot .

danielswalsh (13591) 2007-03-06 23:47

Great shot Alvin!

Sorry for the long absence here on TE- I've just been too busy to really make much contribution. Besides- I have no chance in hell of catching up to your significant point lead! Hahaha.

This shot is really interesting in that everything up to the treeline looks real against a backdrop which almost seems to be a painting (meant as a compliment). I'm jealous of you having the access to such locations (for me it's a 24hr trip each way! Hahah).

Excellent detail- especially with the hints of it through the reflective waters. Nice one Alvin!
- Dan

mfonda (891) 2007-03-06 23:51

Very well done, Alvin. Great composition, and I love the reflections! Thanks for sharing.

-matt

jjcordier (63074) 2007-03-07 1:27

Alvin
Magnifique paysage et superbe photo avec une très grande profondeur de champ, de très belles couleurs et une composition impeccable.
Amicalement
JJ

Captain (514) 2007-03-07 2:12

All I can say is EXCELLENT.

UnTrained (0) 2007-03-07 2:26

Hi Alvin,
I do not have a personal imagination about Valhalla, but I like your shot. It is a beautiful landscape and you found a very pleasant part to capture. The clear water with its reflections and partly the ground visible leading to the trees around with the mountainline as background is wonderful in light and sharpness.
Lieben Gruss, Ulf

DarkoG (8) 2007-03-07 2:55

VEry beautiful scene. Fine reflection good composition. Clear and fresh with fine details in water. Clouds look very good.

Suppose you did some PP improvement on sky. NEar the highest peek part of edge (dark blue) looks very unnatural and I think it should be cloned. I did it and post workshop with that edge removed.
Regards DArko

[workshop] [compare]

sined (4523) 2007-03-07 3:25

it was a magic day ! i realy love when we can see through the water ... the sky and all the little pebbles coming from the great mountain ...
keep that way Alvin you are a great landscape photographer
Denis

gildasjan (38442) 2007-03-07 3:37

Hello Alvin
Excellent framing,exposure and sharpness.
superb réflets
cheer
Cordially
Gildas

gemlik (983) 2007-03-07 4:10

Hello Alvin,
WOOWW!!!
Great reflection!!
Wonderful view!!
superb colors and contrast with lovely sky-blue
Nice POV and perfect deep of field.
Congratulation,It's a beautiful shot.
Best regards
Bulent

asus_gps (305) 2007-03-07 4:25

hi Alvin!
living on the plain I am always dream about mountain landscapes. your photo is great, really an epic land
regards,
Igor

Robpulp (1043) 2007-03-07 5:11

awsome, really sharp and big vibrant colours. The sky is so clear, how?!

Rob

jonathan_hart (21268) 2007-03-07 5:43

hello
great photo, amazing colors, excellent sharpness, good framing, wonderful composition, the landscape is so great !
regards
jo

jplebrun (21208) 2007-03-07 6:31

Magnifique paysage,donne le goût de partir en voyage.Bonne composition,

TravelerNL (3011) 2007-03-07 8:04

Hi Alvin,
Beautiful impressive landscape here. Good light and natural colors. I like the compo with the big stones in front. Maybe you could have cropped the bottom a centimeter or two to just udner the reflection of the lowest stone on the left.
Regards,
Harko

Fis2 (73646) 2007-03-07 8:08

Witaj Alvin!
Excellent shot. Wonderful place. I like the frame and super colors. Water make impression.
Regards
Krzysztof

setenay (7654) 2007-03-07 8:49

Hi Alvin,
perfect shot,great composition with wonderful sky,lake's colors and reflection.Congratulation.
Best wishes
setenay

ElAprendiz (30) 2007-03-07 8:57

Hello Alvin
A pretty landscape, plenty of color, light, clearness and contrast. The vertical format is very suitable, to take to us in depth, from the details of the first plane to that wonderful blue sky of intense. Congratulations.
John

sacavem (18586) 2007-03-07 11:43

Hi Alvin,

That I envy has of these landscapes of the Canada.

Excellent composition, very nice colours, sharpness and great reflection!Wonderful view of landscape!good snapshot and good lightenning.

Best regards and a good week.
filipe

Zelanda (5692) 2007-03-07 12:43

Hola Alvin
Impresionante paisaje (no coment, This whole is already had)
Saludos cordiales
Zelanda

wilkinsonsg (8662) 2007-03-07 13:29

Looks like the home of the gods to me ;)

sabyasachi1212 (19739) 2007-03-07 13:35

Hi Alvin,
Never mind the sun my friend, even without it your pictures are so sharp and colourful that I at times can't help but be envious;)
With Greetings from India
Sabyasachi

keribar (43841) 2007-03-07 14:24

Hello Alvin,
I wish I had more favorite points for this one. Again you have posted an incredible landscape of the great Canadian Rockies. I may have told you this before, but I'll ask again, any plan for a book ?

Friendly regards - Izzet

vero07 (1781) 2007-03-07 16:09

Hi Alvin,
Precious photo with lovely colours.
Landscape is very nice. The definition is perfect and the reflection too.
Very good shot.
v.

gneufeld (15870) 2007-03-07 16:21

Hi Alvin
What a gorgeous shot - incredibly clear with wonderful colors, reflections. Your POV is perfect with excellent depth of field with the rock/water feature in the foreground, the trees in the mid area with mountains and clouds as the backdrop. One's eye cannot escape feasting on the whole scene. Great work and thanks for sharing. Gerald

robiuk (10805) 2007-03-07 18:27

It's a beautiful lake, Alvin and I'm
not surprised you photographed it so
many times!
I feel just right knowing that there
are still places on Earth where you
see rocks from the bottom of the waterbed.
Robi

cdmonson (4303) 2007-03-07 19:29

If this is Valhalla, get me there as quickly as possible! This is an absolutely beautiful shot of an absolutely beautiful place Alvin. I love the light in this shot. It looks like it was slightly behind the clouds? Colors are fantastic, subject is great, and I think you may hold the TE record for productive days. Certainly beats mine!

Clark

PixelTerror (0) 2007-03-08 3:27

Hi Alvin,
The places are rare where you can get so many nice shots in so little time but my experience tells they are more often in the mountains, or maybe I just feel more inspired there... and you were here much inspired by the beauty of this scenery, again this one has superb depth thanks to the framing and the foreground, lovely colors and beautiful clouds in the sky.
Have a nice day,
Jean-Yves

anesugur (18757) 2007-03-08 5:13

Hi Alvin,
Very good POV, nice colors and sharpness.
Very well seen and done.
Congratulations. Uğur

nwoehnl (122) 2007-03-08 8:36

Another strong scenic photo from Yoho, Alvin, a fine tribute to the beauty of the place. Not much to fault from a technical perspective, and one more time I notice that you consistently make good use of the vertical format to bring extra depth to your presentations of Rocky Mountain sceneries.

Gustaw (21670) 2007-03-08 13:20

Hi, my friend!
It is very interesting view. Beautiful nature view. Nice composition and good conception. I like your mountains, sky, rocks.
Marek

josepmarin (55209) 2007-03-08 13:47

Hi Alvin,
Excellent composition in vertical format of this beautiful landscape of postcard. The splendid natural beauty of the Rocky Mountains in Canada, in combination with the slender trees and with the water of the lake like a mirror reflecting the whole set they form a spectacular image.
Great shot.
Regards,
Josep

erdna (5707) 2007-03-08 15:22

Hi Alvin! This place is incredibly beautiful so is your superb photograph. You must have special eyes and hands in producing these artistic works. I prefer the square format. As you mentioned it is more stable and I agree with you.

I have been away for 1.5 months. I am just easing back on my computer chair.

Regards,
Andre'

danyy (0) 2007-03-08 17:12

Bonjour Alvin,
comme je l'ai déjà dit, vous êtes quelques uns à nous faire profiter de cette magnifique région du continent nord américain.
Beau en toutes saisons, sauvage, acccidenté, mélange d'eau de forêts et de rocs.
Une photo qui englobe bien tous ces élements sous un magnifique ciel.
Regards.
Daniel.

mumek (20192) 2007-03-08 19:15

Hi Alvin!
Another great picture from your gallery. As usual super pov, excellent quality of the photo and beautiful natural colours.Very well done
regards
ziggy

maphoto (8082) 2007-03-08 21:56

Hi Alvin, again a great presentation and a wonderful landscape, colorful with the trees, rocks, sky and clouds. The lake completes the scene perfectly, well done !

Ann75 (0) 2007-03-08 22:46

Hello Alvin,

Another stunning shot of Lake O'Hara and the surrounding scenery. You must have had a very succesful 24 hours there as each shot is amazing. I like the different layers in this one, starting with the rocks and water in the foreground leading to some sort of cliffs with trees on top, the beautiful peaks in the background and this amazing sky as a back drop! Excellent work, Alvin!!

Greetings,
Ann

vagabondtravels (6505) 2007-03-09 9:02

Hi Alvin

Very sharp with great colors. The reflection is so sharp. Very clean water. This really makes me miss home. Well done.
Ben

ChrisJ (87654) 2007-03-09 11:04

Hi Alvin

I like the transparency of the fg water, & superb clarity & translucence. Wonderful colour, & a marvellous view of the majestic bg maountains. Tfs!

t0mmm1 (5440) 2007-03-09 11:45

Wow Alvin, nobody can compete with you and your landscape shots, wow! This is really impressive. Surelly the land is wonderful in Canada, but you really know how to show it in such a wonderful way... I like it very much.
Tomi

pierrefonds (48675) 2007-03-09 15:50

Hi Alvin,

A nice photo of lake O'Hara and of the Rocky mountains, the photo has a good composition, DOF and nice colors. Have a nice weekend.

Pierre

cobbydale (1958) 2007-03-09 19:42

Wow what a stunning photo Alvin! The resolution is superb, the mountains look so sharp against the sky. Excellent composition/POV with the eye being drawn into the shot via the diagonal row of rocks in the water, and led to the distant valley. Adding to my faves!
TFS. Leon.

MIG13 (0) 2007-03-09 21:34

Nice and original composition, Alvin, showing great colours and reflections! A wonderful landscape! Well done! TFS! Regards! Miguel.

plimrn (21344) 2007-03-09 22:52

Hi Alvin,
I do agree with your assessment of the place. With the reflections and the rocks, it looks like the lake is filled with gold. I do think that limiting access is the only way to allow people a real experience of nature; unless you climb away from everyone like Robert. HLJ, pat

nmess (2301) 2007-03-09 23:46

I've never been to B.C. but have been to the border and north to Alaska. Your pictures are inspiring me to put this wonderful place on my itenary for the future. I find the catch of reflection, while seeing the gravel and rock in the water interesting and what can I say about the background, except superb.

rhizomes (15343) 2007-03-10 12:22

Hi Alvin,
Very well composed picture ! This landscape is very nice and your picture plays with the reflections and the colors in an interesting way !
Christophe

themarcside (53) 2007-03-10 17:05

I like the top part of the picture, including the rocks in the water. But I find the lower part too distracting because the ground of the lake is fighting for attention with the reflections. Also it doesn't provide as good a frame as the rocks in the middle.

I think if you'd crop the lower 30% away it would make for a more pleasing composition (and I have done this in a workshop).

Also, there seems to be a slight one- ore two-pixel "bevel" around the image that to me is not necessary.

[workshop] [compare]

pedrocarmo (1289) 2007-03-10 17:08

Overwhelming landscape. Very very beutifull site.
You catured very well all the magik of the place.
Great POV, DOF, colours and detail.
Well done

Stan (2770) 2007-03-10 18:14

Bonsoir Alvin,
What a wonderful landscape! Nice vertical composition, the light is just perfect. Great sharpness. Well done!
Serge

brevbrev14 (140) 2007-03-11 4:28

Hi Alvin, absolutely all your style here!
great image with a great reflection and stunning colours!
i like a lot to see this wonderful place...i would be there... :)
ciao!
Valeria

Bluejeans (64241) 2007-03-12 15:16

Ola Alvin que paisagem fabulosa , que belesa , fantastica!!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

capthaddock (28790) 2007-03-12 16:20

Hi Alvin - this is a high altitude counterpart to all those paradise shots showing tropical beaches, I personally find the temperatures easier to tolerate in the mountains.

aznegrao (10296) 2007-03-12 18:14

Is a beautiful picture Alvin, congratulations.
Lovely a classical vertical picture and nice natural colors.

Thanks.
FRiend.
aznegrao.

maximage (15535) 2007-03-12 18:45

Bonjour Alvin,
Tout simplement superbe!!!
Amitiés.
max

Rodrigues (1035) 2007-03-14 5:25

Lake O'Hara it's relly beautifull!
From a compositional POV it's just perfect. The underwater rock details in the foreground, the wet look in the rocks just behind and the pines making a transition (for contrast)for the coming of the impressive mountain range behind, all leading to what seems to be a passage far away.

It just misses one or two Valkyries bathing in the water ;-)

porto62 (2313) 2007-03-15 22:27

Hi Alvin your a great artist,your photos are very impressive particularly this one, every thing is perfect on this one,great sharpness,DOF,POV,colours, name it TFS

tehanu_f (6896) 2007-04-05 2:54

Hi Alvin,
This is a beautiful shot as all the people above have already stated. I've noticed almost all the photos from Canada are amazing. It is either because you Canadians are very good photographers or because this country offers such perfect views that it is impossible to take bad photos! I must soon visit B.Columbia especially! )))
All the photographs in your portfolio are beautiful. Congrats.
Fusun

presidente (1122) 2007-04-12 17:17

Hi Alvin,
amazing landscape with lovely colors and beautiful clouds in the sky. Perfect DOF.
I like the reflection in the picture till the rocks.
IMO I would have cropped the lower part of the lake 'cause it distract me from the rest of the picture ground with its reflections.
Andrea

hatti52 (12784) 2007-04-14 4:48

Hello Alvin
Great shot.it is like a painting.
Depth,colours,sharpness and reflection is very nice
well done
regards

rabani (9645) 2007-04-17 2:06

If this is not Valahalla, probably it is a good candidate to be. This is a good place to be Valahalla.

westozman (3193) 2007-04-17 8:39

Hello Alvin
You've outdone yourself with this magnificent shot, my friend: a superb setting, great equipment, and a true artist's eye with the composition. Top marks, mate!
Best wishes,
Jeff

xramm (1831) 2010-07-12 4:35

Hi Alvin.
Excellent and rich details inside frame. Good POV!
Regards,
Hakki

EmEeEliiessessa (51) 2011-01-15 8:25

This is fantastic. The composition combined with these bold colors makes quite the statement.

FISCHER (441) 2011-06-21 10:24

Bonjour Alvin

very beautiful lanscape indeed, especially because the marvelous colour, light and sharp details of the foreground

best regards
Olivier