Interesting Photo of the Day: Magical Moment at Lake Irwin

Interesting Photos

When we look at landscape photos, we know the images have often been manipulated in some way. If the artist’s intention is to make art, then we expect he will tweak it to make the image more beautiful. But not everyone agrees with this notion. Photographer Ben Strauss‘s following image, taken at Lake Irwin, sparked an interesting discussion, since he edited the natural landscape to make it look better. Can you guess what his alteration was?

“Magical Moment at Lake Irwin” by Ben Strauss (Via Reddit. Click image to see full size.)

The image is a result of a six-shot vertical panorama that he stitched together in Photoshop. He shot each of the images at 28mm, f/11, 1/40th of a second and ISO 400. In the process, since the mountains in the distance appeared small, he had to stretch them to make them look taller.

If you look at this from an artist’s perspective, it is absolutely fine. The taller mountains in the background do a great job of balancing the beautiful Aster flowers in the foreground. There’s absolutely no harm done. The problem only arises if you are using the image for some sort of documentation.

The way he has composed the image is fairly basic, yet the result is surreal. The vibrant flowers in the foreground pull the viewers right into the image and toward Lake Irwin in the midground. Then there are the mountains in the background kissed with a magical golden light. The place in itself looks mystical and gives a feeling of calmness. Imagine camping and waking up to this view.

What’s your opinion on altering landscapes for an art piece?