Mine Panorama Photo

Photographer’s Note

A panorama of the Bingham Canyon Copper Mine must necessarily orient itself vertically! The trucks you see in the lower right are not normal trucks. Each is at least 20 feet high. They seemed to make such little progress and go so slow, but when I saw one a little closer, it was moving at a fairly good clip for something carrying a few tons of rock.

The main road you see is about half way down the pit. It is a large road equivalent to a 4 lane highway (remember the big trucks?).

In processing this image, I had to deal with considerable haze because the far end of the photo is about 2 miles away. First, I boosted the contrast and saturation a little. Then I used unsharp mask with a very high pixel radius (60) and low percentage (30%), which did wonders in eliminating haze. I used unsharp mask again with a low pixel radius (0.2) and a higher percentage (200%) to actually sharpen it.

Un panorama de la mine de cuivre de gorge de Bingham doit nécessairement s'orienter verticalement ! Les camions que vous voyez dans la droite inférieure ne sont pas les camions normaux. Chacun est au moins de 20 pieds de haut. Ils ont semblé accomplir à un tel peu le progrès et disparaître si lents, mais quand j'ai vu un plus étroit, il se déplaçait à un vitesse assez bon pour quelque chose portant quelques tonnes de roche.

La route principale que vous voyez est environ la voie moitié en bas du puits. C'est une grande route équivalente à un omnibus de 4 ruelles (rappelez-vous les grands camions ?).

En traitant cette image, j'ai dû traiter la brume considérable parce que l'extrémité lointaine de la photo est environ 2 milles de distance. D'abord, j'ai amplifié le contraste et la saturation. Alors j'ai utilisé le masque unsharp avec un rayon très élevé de Pixel (60) et le bas pourcentage (30%), qui des merveilles en éliminant la brume. J'avais l'habitude le masque unsharp encore avec un bas rayon de Pixel (0.2) et un pourcentage plus élevé (200%) pour l'affiler réellement.

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Critiques | Translate

torben (3084) 2003-10-18 14:47

Ahh - a perfect picture. Good composition with the meandering "valley" down the middle and the road doing the same movement just horizontaly. The contrast between the terrasses and the untouched mountain. Great texture and rich colour. Bravo

Darren (6815) 2003-10-18 14:48

This is excellent David. Although the trucks are so tiny, they dont' serve perfectly as context clues about the size, one we stop to think we can sort of get our minds around how freaking big this site is(maybe I shouldn't speak for everyone, excuse me). The lighting, coloring and toning are all excellent here too. I think this is a good job with a difficult task.

I don't know that it will ever be able to properly convey scale on something so large, as big things(the trucks) become tiny details. Perhaps you could have a Hollywood studio build a Godzilla robot stading 50 or 60 feet high? Oh right, that is all CGI now ;)

Didi (35680) 2003-10-18 15:55

Là on remarque bien la grandeur de cette mine. Jolie composition avec une belle pespective. Panorama grandiose, mais ce qui ne m'empêche pas de dire dommage d'avoir saccagé cette montagne.

joseelias (367) 2003-10-18 16:05

Impressive shot, again. It's the one I like best because it has lot of interesting elements (all those I've already talked on the other pictures).

Good note also.

chrischris (859) 2003-10-18 17:04

Great shot. Perfect sharpness (very good work of post-processing) and DOF, your shot is very attractive. The black border enhances your composition. Instructive note too. Congratulations. (I've read some notes about scale questions relative to a previous shot about this mine : no problem anymore now).

Motrem (2392) 2003-10-18 20:51

Bravo! You have realize my desire and take up the challenge! I am enchanted to see this famous hole about which you so much spoke to us. We have in more lorries so that we notice the perspective of the depth. Really very well centred to an excellent contrast. A bravo big, 9 on 10.
Bravo! Vous avez réalisez mon désir et relever le défi! Je suis enchantée de voir ce fameux trou dont vous nous avez tant parlé. Nous avons en plus les camions pour que l'on constate la perspective de la profondeur. Vraiment très bien cadré avec un excellent contraste. Un gros bravo, 9 sur 10.

maciekda (19587) 2003-10-19 3:16

this is definitely an interesting picture, the place looks really impresive, all those "stairs"... really well captured

digitalpix (215) 2003-10-19 7:12

Well composed! Good example of the "rule of thirds". From left to right, the horizontal lines break to diagonal, leading your eye from the massive cuts in the earth to the tiny (visually)trucks climing the grade in the lower right corner of the picture.

Good exposure considering the tonal range of the subject.

Also a good example of what us humans are doing to out earth!

cdewet (0) 2003-10-19 9:07

Yes David, this place things in perspective, the site is humongous, and the colours great. Do you have a shot of the truck and someone next t the wheels to realy show the guys the scale?

henrye (3498) 2003-10-20 5:04

An impressive photo! The scale of everything is just amazing. Great colors and detail, and good composition.

dovi (1068) 2003-10-21 3:38

This is a very good shot of a very unique place, still it cannot convey the complete scenery of this huge place (it is actually impossible...), I know this since I visited the open mine last year. (I was lucky to have some business in Sandy for 3 years).

CoolDan (2490) 2003-10-26 14:28