25 Cent View, a photo from Oregon, West

Photographer's Note

This is a shot from Crater Lake National Park. This lake occupies where once a volcano existed, Mt. Mazama. But around 8,000 years ago it blew the top part of the mountain away. The island in the middle of the shot, Wizard Island, is where the cone remains. This is the deepest lake in the US (7th in the world) at almost 2,000 feet deep. The massive hole left by the explosion has filled with rainwater and snowmelt over thousands of years. There are no streams draining into it which gives the clarity and deep blue.

I called this "25 Cent View" because since 1999 the U.S. Mint has been producing special state quarters in the order they joined the Union. This is the same view found on the Oregon version of the quarter. In fact this quarter is in heavy circulation right now and isn't rare at all. If you check out the link I’ve provided you’ll see how close it is.

I did do more editing than normal on this shot. I am going to upload a workshop of the shot I was originally going to post. But I accidentally found that if you lighten the shadows a large amount, around 40% that you reveal some good color. I did absolutely no saturation boost at all. To get this like this I did the following:

I didn't mean to shoot this at ISO 400, but I did so I ran it through Noiseware just to be on the safe side even though I didn't see any noise.
Shadows/highlights tool +40 shadows
mid-tone contrast +10
contrast/brightness (minor tweaks)
auto levels
magic selection tool on the water then I ran smart blur (to reduce some choppiness in the water)
USM 0.3 pixel at 200%

Tue, rajhema, Galmeida, weswang, john_c, alainh, jpages, huynt, carmem_busko, PJE, Xalkida, ChrisJ, cessy, nwoehnl, MarekP, Emile, aloyho, Steft, capthaddock, Mishe, katya11, alekpet, polongi, martou, ramesh_lalwani, plimrn, guitianmiranda has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Tue (91648) 2005-10-02 11:02

Hej Stephen,
Another wonderful picture. The colours, especially the strong blue are great. The composition with the trees on both sides of the picture is also good, well done.
Hilsner,
Lars

rajhema (1873) 2005-10-02 11:04

Cool formation. I happened to fly by this lake and also drove by i-5. but I could never visit this place. Crater shape is very visible from the air. Beautiful colors stephen

Galmeida (12559) 2005-10-02 11:08

Hi Stephen,
Today you din't sleep ;))) It's near midday but is Sunday! I will one of the first to make the well done critique to your fine pictures and work. I like as you know to take ladscape pictures of all the world if I could but Sea with me, as they say and Nature earth sureally with you. EXCELENT and Spendid way of view and capture in a quality frame. Satured colors and a PP with I consider with no so few changings.

Very good work and very well reduced for post. Good compositio and a wonderful nature picture.

Congratulations.
Fernando

MvS (4163) 2005-10-02 11:13

Stunning shot Stephen. Colours are great and the variations of blue in the water is so good. The water and land are so nice that the sky has a bit of a problem to match it though. Good note.
Thanks,
Magnus

leonorkuhn (16237) 2005-10-02 11:22

Hi Stephen,
Very nice shot. Wonderful landscape. Excellent POV. Great colours, light and sharpness. Well done!
Leonor

jocasta007 (0) 2005-10-02 11:46

fantastic what a beautiful vista. the water looks almost unreal. well done.

toni_al (15875) 2005-10-02 12:28

Hi Stephen
Trиs belle vue de ce lac, des couleurs intenses, et un superbe cadrage.
@+ Toni

john_c (24666) 2005-10-02 12:37

Hi Stephen,
A superb rendering of this famous scene. The colours are scintillating, the framing superb. I have studied your note and the scene at some length and am wondering whether the polarizer here might accentuate the deep blue too much - not that my eyes are complaining! You did a great job in PP and I like the gradations in water hue better than the WS. First rate work, Steve. Well done.
John

danyy (0) 2005-10-02 12:56

Bonjour Stephen,
dire que cette vue est superbe, grandiose et sйduisante, c'est inutile, tout le monde le voit au premier coup d'oiel.
Cadrage et POV exceptionnels, la photo semble sas dйfaut, pas de grain, pas de trace de compression.
Du tout bon job.
Regards.
Daniel.

barrufeto_77 (28888) 2005-10-02 13:01

Hi Stephen.

Brilliant POV and colors. The island in the middle of the crater is superb.

Thanks for sharing!

alainh (33209) 2005-10-02 16:06

hello Stephen
a fantastic picture you make here. excelent shot, a good post-traitment give us this splendid painting.
what a great blue.
congratulations
alain

jjbach (9326) 2005-10-02 16:26

Ohh Steve, this is absolutely stunning.
Bravo, I'm very impressed with this wonderful view. Colours, lighting and sharpness are amazing. Congratulations, splendid shot, one of my favorites!!

Regards John

anesugur (18789) 2005-10-02 17:11

Very nice and clear picture.
Fantastic colors and a superb composition.
Thanks for sharing. Uğur

jpages (1670) 2005-10-02 18:21

Hi Stephen,
Impressive view! really very amazing to see. Very good combination of the natural elements, the trees, the island, the blue water, the piece of sky and the crater, all seems to be in order. Good post process work, to increase the beauty of the place.
It has remembered me the Kyklade Greek island of Santorini, also a crater of a vulcano, and the sea water in it.
Best regards,
Jaume

Cormac (26565) 2005-10-02 19:30

Hi Stephen - This may be a classic view of the lake, but wow, the color and the clarity make this stunning! The blue is incredible, and the shot is so well balanced, with the trees on each side and the island in the middle, that I find this very eye catching. Excellent work, and a good tip about the shadows.

poulinp (4528) 2005-10-02 19:48

Wow Stephen, I don't know what you did during your vacations, but your photographs looks now better than ever! Superb view, very sharp, and I like the perfect calm blue water. Great composition too.

huynt (5081) 2005-10-02 20:26

Hi Stephen
what a great view but only 50cent! Bravo for excellent composition. I like the green color of lake a nd sky. Well doen. Thansk for sharing. huy

carmem_busko (3718) 2005-10-02 21:42

A well sharpende scene, with beautiful colors... nice use of polarizer.
cheers... and thank you!

carmem

PJE (20758) 2005-10-02 23:50

Wewll Stephen it looks like alot of Trekkers love htis and I am no exception to this viwing. I have heard of Crater Lake in a newspaper and knew you were heading up to see this. It is so gorgous and a real feast for the eyes. A lovely tree on the right for balance ..this scene is very well presented/

Xalkida (11744) 2005-10-03 0:40

Hi Stephen

This view worths more than 25c of course. It's fantastic. Great vivid colors, very fine lighting, good depth and a very fine framing. An overall pleasant shot!

ChrisJ (171302) 2005-10-03 3:42

Hi Stephen

Superb color & sharpness, & a fantastic vantage point. I like the graphism of the dark pine trees. Good work!

PixelTerror (0) 2005-10-03 4:36

Hi Steve,
Definitely woth much more than 25 cents, what a PoV !
Splendid overlooking position and scenery, I think it's the water I prefer here, it looks so still it could be ice and its color allows for excellent contrasts with the surroundings elements, I love such views !
Have a nice day,
Jean-Yves

feather (51130) 2005-10-03 4:49

Excellent image Stephen, and a good idea for a title. Superb view and well composed. Your PP work is well done and explained. All we amateurs do in PP is what professionals have done in darkrooms for years. There is no need to apologise; all you've done is to enhance a well-taken image. It's not like you've pasted trees on that weren't actually there.
Kath

cessy (13647) 2005-10-03 5:28

wooww.. Steve. the blue water is awesome
infact it's extraordinaire
very nice capture of the crater
very well done

nwoehnl (122) 2005-10-03 7:08

Hi Steve. Crater Lake is one of the most magical places I have ever seen, and I am glad to see it again in your photo. The classical framing is well made, and the deep blue color of the lake is truly shown. I would love to see the lake in winter one day, going with a snowmobile on a road closed for cars ... As you know, I will not hesitate to point at what I consider flaws even if a picture has already received myriads of praise by others ... but I won't do that here as this one is flawless :-P

weswang (18247) 2005-10-03 11:02

Hi Mr. Steve, I planned to be there many times. I did not get a chance to go. Thank you for the wonderful picture. It helped me making mind of this is a must visit place for me.
A wonderful picture with a beautiful composition and excellent color contrast. Well done.

MarekP (4750) 2005-10-03 14:23

Hi Stephen,
What a splendind country! Blue colour of the lake is stunning as well as the shape of the island and mountains in background. Great scenery indeed. Very well done!

Thanks,
Marek

Kenny10pin (19301) 2005-10-03 22:09

great shot here, I like the little island, te view is tremendous, the colours are beautiful too, well done

AmiBe (6042) 2005-10-04 2:09

Fantastic Stephen !
Wooooow, what a great landscape !
I like the way you composed the picture with the big tree to fill the right part.
Colors are excellent.
Well done !

jhm (211734) 2005-10-04 8:09

Hi Stephen,
Crater Lake National Park give a feeling of calm, certainly through the wind quiet day, the curve around the lake with the vegetation, and the island in the middle give a completely lovely composition.
Best regards,
John.

jemaflor (146360) 2005-10-04 12:24

Hi Stephen,
incredible landscape, very well presented, perfect large panorama and light and colours. Well captured and thanks for sharing.

dsidwell (9783) 2005-10-04 19:31

This is really an amazing shot, Stephen. I love the clean texture of the water! It looks like some things are just a bit oversharpened again, but the colors, tones and composition are just fantastic!

maphoto (8082) 2005-10-04 23:35

Beautiful landscape and colors Stephen, wonderful point of view, the lake is simply gorgeous, very good work.

quantabeh (5205) 2005-10-05 0:01

oh wow wowo wow. I have never seen a lake so calm and so so so blue. certainly the pp has helped create a certain effect but I think it must have been relatively calm to begin with. It's simply sheer beauty. I love the scarce plant coverage around the lake. Just lovely.
ps. Just saw the workshop. yeah I must say the pp work really enhances the colors. nice work
also I just loved comparing it to the mint.
Behrang

Emile (20352) 2005-10-05 1:32

Hola Stephen.
This is a very impressive shot. Beautiful place. You did a great work, excellent sharpness and the lake colors is superb.
Nice contrasts and composition.
This what i call a number one picture.
Very well done.

aloyho (6798) 2005-10-05 8:56

Hi Stephen,
The PP is superb and I liken it to an artist perfecting his creation - lightening, darkening, smoothening and whatever that needs perfecting. Its the ability to identify those parts and knowing exactly how much to alter that counts and you have done just that. Very impressive!! Regards.

Mafo (1339) 2005-10-07 6:28

Hello Stephen!
It is nice panoramic view with deep blue color, interesting composition and good sharpnes!
Regarda

mumek (20226) 2005-10-09 10:23

Good morning Stephen!
What can I say more about your picture? It is a fantastic work. For me everything is very good, but composition with the pine tree on the right side of the picture is super. Thanks for the note.Congratulation.
regards
ziggy

Steft (6109) 2005-10-09 13:54

Hello Stephen,
Very nice photo of the beautiful rough American nature. The water is so very neat and blue. Wonderful wide composition.
Thanks,
Stef

tityop (6225) 2005-10-13 2:21

Wooooo celle ci est encore plus belle que la prйcйdente !!!
La couleur de l'eau est une pure merveille.
Les arbres offrent un super premier plan, BravO!!!!
Amicalement Thierry

capthaddock (28790) 2005-10-23 7:54

Hi Stephen - breathtaking view of one of the most impressive landscapes in the world, the blue is unbelievable and having been there a few times I know it's very real, and great note.

RegisMinot (1543) 2005-10-26 19:37

Hi Steve.
I am back to TE and discover how much prolific you have been. This picture is really nice with this island in the middle of this blue water, like an island in the middle of an oceanic bay.

Mishe (3533) 2005-10-28 10:13

Hi dear Steve!
Extraordinary picture.
Thanks for sharing.
All the best,
Mishe.

katya11 (334) 2005-10-28 19:58

Stephen,
I live near Crater Lake and it is a beautiful sight to behold. This photo does look very much like the stamp and the quarter. Very good angle and composition. I especially like the addition of the tree on the right. Maybe a bit too much post-processing work for my liking, the colors look surreal.
Thanks for sharing,
Katie

Leonie (8809) 2005-11-09 5:45

Hi again!
I have to catch up a bit on your gallery...due to my latest absence and being busy.. :oP What a wonderful view here! The colour of the water is stunning and the wilderness of the place breathtaking! Beautiful!

THanks for sharing... .. Lйonie

alekpet (4663) 2005-11-09 7:46

Hi Stephen.
Great imagination to copy the 25c image.
You've done a nice workshop to your own photo to corect the unclean parts.
In my opinion this is true art.

Aleks

martou (1660) 2006-01-05 18:29

hi Stephen,
wow, superb POV for this amazing place,
I like this litle island, good work, bravo Martin

ramesh_lalwani (3213) 2006-01-28 3:22

Hi steve
very soothing blue water and sky.Note also is very informative.TFS
Ramesh

plimrn (21344) 2006-09-14 1:12

Hi Steve,
Your Crater Lake shots are some of the best on TE. Framing, color and detail are all excellent. When I started a series on the Cascade Lakes Loop, I scattered off in to the Cascade Range. I was impressed that most of this range is recorded well here on TE;
so I've started a theme I've titled Cascade Mountain Range. I’ve already added your Crater Lake photos to this theme. I'm entering the photos in order: South to North so I'll be adding a lot more of yours. Unless of course you object. I'll be adding Mt Hood photos tonight after I run our of smiles. Regards, Pat

ppetretta (153) 2007-01-05 10:40

Awesome place, great shot. Love the colors and the fact that I gave you 100pts.

gneufeld (15890) 2007-10-03 15:53

Hi Stephen,
What a spectacular image of a spectacular place! I've not yet visited here, but will someday. The colors you present are stunning and the photograph displays excellent balance - maybe this is more like a million dollar view than a 25 cent view - but thanks for your explanation of that. Nice work and TFS. Gerald