Trial Lake, Utah with Marsh Marigolds

I visited the mountains around Salt Lake City for the American Birding Association Convention in July of this year. We saw a lot of great birds, but, for me the most amazing part of the trip was the wildflowers. Everywhere we went in the mountains we found the meadows in bloom. This is Trial Lake, at about 10,500 feet in the Uinta Mountains to the west of Salt Lake City. The flowers are Marsh Marigold, growing in a boggy area where a stream trickled down to the lake.

I had a difficult choice in framing here. I wanted a carpet of flowers in the foreground with the mountain (Wilson Peak) dominating the background, but the tall tree on the left was an issue. I tried shots with the full tree, but that made the peak too distant, and I tried zooming in and cropping out the tree, but that left me with a compressed and unsatisfying spread of flowers. This was a compromise, with the tree cut off, but…

Sony H50 at about 31mm equiv. F5.6 @ 1/500th @ ISO 100. Programed Auto.

The image required very little Lightroom processing. A touch of Clarity and Vibrance, and the Sharpen Landscapes preset. 

From the Utah Vistas Gallery.