Wilderness50
Phillip's photograph "Symphony of Light" was on display in the Nation's Capitol at the
Wilderness Forever Exhibit
September 3rd, 2014 through Summer 2015
September 2014 will mark 50 years since the passage of the Wilderness Act-one of America's most successful and enduring pieces of conservation legislation. To celebrate this milestone, Wilderness50, Nature's Best Photography, Esri, and the Smithsonian Institution will showcase an exhibition of juried photography highlighting the beauty, diversity, and longevity of America's wilderness. The exhibition, titled "Wilderness Forever: 50 Years of Protecting America's Wild Places," opens September 3, 2014 at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. and will run until summer 2015.
| "A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain." — The Wilderness Act, 1964 |
Here is a view of the exhibit showing the winning photographs in the "Most Inspirational Moment" category. Phillip's photo is on the left.
Phillip's "Honorable Mention", below, was selected from nearly 5,500 entries and was a "Top 100" pick. More information about the Wilderness Act, the photography competition, and the exhibit can be found at:
Nature's Best Photography
Smithsonian
Wilderness50
Interactive "Wilderness In Context"
All Winning Photographs
Wilderness Information
SYMPHONY OF LIGHT
The Story: After a full day of shooting the fall colors in the aspen groves around Mount Sneffels (Mt. Sneffels Wilderness, CO), a steady rain settled in and it seemed that there would be no more photography that day. However, something pushed me to go to the spot I had picked for sunset just in case. Shortly after I arrived, the storm started to clear and a rainbow appeared in the east and lingered for about half an hour. For 20-25 minutes, the scene remained relatively static with clouds and rainbow barely changing. I watched as other photographers in the area packed up and called it a day. I stayed put thinking of the Yogi Berra quote, "It ain't over till it's over!" A few minutes later, as the sun set in the west, light rays pierced the clouds and lit up the falling rain and the tips of Mount Sneffels with a golden hue. Photography often requires perseverance and patience!
Camera: Canon 5D Mark II; Canon EF24-70mm f/2.8L USM at 32mm; B+W Circular Polarizer; 1.3 sec at f/22; ISO 100; Feisol CT-3442 Carbon Fiber Tripod; Markins Q-Ball Q3 Traveler Ball Head
Image Processing: Raw file was converted to a digital negative (dng) in Lightroom. Processing in Lightroom included adjustments to color, saturation, luminance, color balance, white balance (temperature), application of graduated filters, dust and spot removal, curves adjustments, and tint adjustments. The file was then imported into Photoshop for further dust and spot removal, cropping, and localized curves, exposure, and saturation adjustments.