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michaelanderson — Wisdom and Reflection
Published: 2009-01-10 20:08:50 +0000 UTC; Views: 12200; Favourites: 777; Downloads: 23
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Description
This beautiful mountain is Yungmaijung, a physical manifestation of the bodhisatva of 'Wisdom' in Tibetan Buddhism. After researching the writings of Joseph Rock, I believe this mountain was the inspiration for Karakul Peak and the valley of Shangri La in the famous book 'Lost Horizon'. It is an area mostly unknown to westerners and the peak was unclimbed as of 2008. I double processed a single RAW image to maintain some detail in the shadows.Related content
Comments: 63
"Feature" of this Overwhelming Beauty 
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WOW !! extremely amazing photoo...
incredible..!
love it.
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amazing photo!
just like ~steelangel said, the peak looks like it's on fire.
you caught the perfect moment when the sun rays laid on the peak. with that orange cloud there I imagine a really hot sun, so hot that the ice transforms directly into hot steam!
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Michael, this is truly a stunning image. It's so refreshing to see these Asian mountains...so impressive. The long exposure does really work well to soften the sun-line. Fine work!
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wow, what a mountain! awesome job catching the reflection so well!
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This photo have been featured on Thumbs of the Week 55th .
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You are featured in my journal: [link]
Have a beautiful day,
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All your stuff is so amazing, it must have been wonderful being there for any of them.
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This is spectacular Michael! All your work I have seen so far is! Thanks for sharing!
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looks cool 
The glow between the dark ridge and the snowy mountain looks weird though. I think it's from the processing of the shadow and highlight parts of the raw... but sure there must be way to refine that area on a tighter threshold, isn't it ?
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Wow. That is such a breathtaking view.
Did you climb that mountain?
Must have been so magnificent to stand right at that spot and stare up at that. Your very lucky to have seen that.
Never seen snow before. But if I could climb mountains I would attempt that one.
Such a great picture.
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Michael - terrific shot, and I'm sure you must be very pleased with it - I know I would be! I have some questions - the area looks remote, and I guess you must have walked in to this spot. The movement in the water tells of a long(ish) exposure. Clearly you carry and use a tripod, but what are the exif data on the shot - what camera and lens are you using? I hope you don't mind me asking - but knowing this kind of information means that the viewer can perhaps understand a little more andlearn a little from your technique. It is all very well telling you how wonderful the shot is - I'm sure you know that already!
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Nigel,
Thanks for taking the time to comment. Here's the info: It's a 2 day walk to get to this meadow from a very remote trailhead village on the border of Sichuan and Tibet. I carry a Gitzo mountaineer tripod which is dependable and light but sturdy and indispensible for landscape photography IMO. I camped part of the time and stayed in Yak herder huts part of the time. One of the great things about photographing the Himalaya is the fact that the mountains are so tall the white snow picks up the glow of the pre-sunrise horizon. I wanted a 30 second shutter speed to allow the presunrise glow to advance down the peak during the exposure. At a shorter shutter speed there would be a sharp demarcation between the orange light and the shadow whites. The long exposure gives the peak the 'diffuse' glow. It also gives a gentler appearance to the cloud stream. I used f18 as my aperture based on metering for a 30 second exposure and then used a technique called 'hyperfocal distance' to keep everything sharp from front to back. To employ this technique, you focus on the closest element, then move the lens ring to exactly halfway between the close focus point and infinity. Your 'depth of field' is then both in front of and behind the midfocus point keeping everything within range. It's a great technique. I also used a graduated neutral density filter (like split colorless sunglasses for the lens) and moved it around across the summit to keep the highlights in check. Hope that helps you!!
-Mike
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Mike - that's very interesting, thanks for the detailed response. It's many years now since I walked in the Himalaya - and I walked on the Nepalese side. I wonder if you walk alone, or have a guide or companion. These are incredible places, and making photographs in such remote places must be pure joy. Thanks again - and I'll keep looking to share your window into these magic places...
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Beautiful - this is how multiple processing and HDR should look.
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excellent shot the mountain looks like it is on fire - perfect moment with the cloud there. reflection is amazing - beautiful landscape!
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very stunning nice shot I can not believe the detail you are able to capture
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the feeling of being dwarfed by the landscape in such a glorious moment must be awesome, and I like how this picture managed to convey some of that.
excellent photo
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Stunning, I love the little point of light at the top of the mountain!
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hope you don't mind my saying my thoughts, i liked this because it looked like the reflection image was almost a cat gazing into the water
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Stunning shot, great composition and very tastefully processed.
Alex
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