Mount McKinley (Denali)
by Mark ~ October 4th, 2009. Filed under: Destinations, Lightroom, landscape, nature photography, processing.
Mount Denali
With only 2.5 days around Denali, I suppose I had to be prepared for never actually seeing the highest point in North America. Cloud cover, rain and fog were all my enemies of getting a peek. This is one morning from within Denali National Park, with a clear view and some nice morning light shining on Mount McKinley (Denali). Talk about luck.
This photograph is not a blend of exposures, nor was I able to use a graduated neutral density filter on my 200-400 zoom lens. I used the graduated density tool in Lightroom 2 to address the brightness of the sky and to bring out detail in the mountain. I then used another at the bottom to balance the exposure of the foreground with the back. Just another set of tools to rely upon in realizing possibilities. The image was finally brought into Photoshop for slight adjustments with luminosity masks.
As I learned a bit more about this mountain, I read that a record setting windchill of -118.1 deg F was recorded by an automated weather station located around 19,000 feet. This was only with a “gentle breeze” of 18.4 mph. Temperatures can plummet below -95 deg F according to the park service literature. Storm gusts of 150 mph. Hmmm – need a few more layers to brave that one.
Denali is also featured in this past week’s excellent series on PBS by filmmaker Ken Burns : The National Parks: America’s Best Idea. Some of you have mentioned watching it in previous comments. They now have video clips online which provide a better look at the history of this majestic feature of North America, the surrounding National Park, and its wildlife. The entire series is very well done, and an excellent education about our park system.
Adolph Murie and the Story of Wolves in the Parks
October 4th, 2009 at
The color is in this is crazy. I thought I saw some amazing color in the Appalachians a few years ago but not like that.
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Mark Reply:
October 4th, 2009 at
Thanks Richard.
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October 4th, 2009 at
Gotta love the graduated density tool
Gorgeous Mark, although I’m not keen on the thought of -95 degrees. lol. brrrrrrrr…. Suck beautiful light on that peaking mountain. I want to see this show about Denali now!
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Mark Reply:
October 4th, 2009 at
Thanks Amber. Much of it is online now. You can find more from the links I posted above.
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October 4th, 2009 at
Another wonderful shot Mark and great job on bringing out those mountain details. I’ve been in -40 deg F (wind chill -60) and I don’t care to go any colder, or even that cold again! You start loosing exposed body parts in those temperatures–no thanks.
What were the temperatures where you were shooting from?
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Mark Reply:
October 4th, 2009 at
Earl – it was probably in the high 30s/low 40s this particular morning. There was actually frost in some of the areas nearby. Can’t say I have even been in -20. So -95 – heck – its just another number to me.
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October 4th, 2009 at
Hey Mark,
You’re a lucky man .. to get this view with such a short trip is wild. My first time in the park I spent 12 days hiking around in the rain, hoping for a glimpse, before it popped out thru the clouds for about an hour. Course, not everyone gets to see Gulo gulo on their first trip to AK either!
Denali’s a treat to see, and this photo does it great justice. Lovely. Congrats.
Cheers
Carl
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October 4th, 2009 at
Hey Mark – looks like your timing was perfect! I love that colorful tundra.
Ron
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October 4th, 2009 at
Wow…Awesome!
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October 4th, 2009 at
[...] Read more: Graf Nature Photography | Notes from the woods » Mount McKinley … [...]
October 5th, 2009 at
WOW!! Spectacular colors and spectacular image. Don’t you just love it when everything comes together!
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October 6th, 2009 at
The colors are stunning and I particularly enjoyed knowing the story behind the photograph. I have never been to Alaska and what I know about it would easily fit on the head of a pin. Furthermore with the possibility of temperatures like the ones being described here, I am not likely to learn much first-hand. I would have loved the picture without the background story, but it helps me appreciate your good fortune (along with skill, obviously) and my good luck in getting to share it. Being able to extract information with all those keen Adobe tools is darned nice, isn’t it?
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Mark Reply:
October 7th, 2009 at
Thank you for the comments Anita. I know all of these great tools can’t really rescue a horribly bad image, but they certainly do help in making good images better!
I don’t have any plans for those temperatures either!
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October 8th, 2009 at
Hey Mark,
You got back 2 weeks before me, before I even started my ‘bear trip’ .. and I’ve already posted 3 bears to my blog .. dude, come on man, it’s been too long. More bears!
Cheers
Carl
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Mark Reply:
October 9th, 2009 at
Soon my friend – soon. ok – maybe today.
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October 11th, 2009 at
What a wonderful image and scene Mark, must have been a humbling experience to witness such a beautiful scene !!
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Mark Reply:
October 17th, 2009 at
Hey Bernie, sorry – your comments were getting flagged by my spam filter for some reason. I think I rescued all of them – unless you are trying to sell me pills, watches, or smuggle money out of Nigeria.
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October 12th, 2009 at
Stunning image Mark. I haven’t seen an image of Denali quite like this one. You definitely got a unique view and photo. On a more sentimental note… I distinctly remember seeing Mt. McKinley as a kid from Anchorage on rare ultra-clear days. It’s an amazing mountain to see. I still want to explore Denali National Park for an extended period… it’s been long over due. Congrats on the great photo!
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October 13th, 2009 at
What a fantastic image. This is really art. Wonderful and unusual composition – and the light, wow. One to be proud of for sure.
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October 16th, 2009 at
Been there. Done that. A Gorgeous place. I lived in Anchorage for about four-five years and I had a year-to-year reservation for the (then) tent only 7 space, Savage River Campground In Denali National Park. I can’t even count the number of weekends I spent there.
J
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October 17th, 2009 at
Thanks guys.
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November 2nd, 2009 at
That’s awesome; love the contrast between the mountains.
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