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Must See: Montana Fall Road Trip - 2022

Wild Goose Overlook - St. Mary's Lake - East Side Going to the Sun Road - Glacier National Park Fall is like the blissful sunset of a beautiful day. The colors of the year blazing into brilliant reds and oranges. The weather holding out the last vestiges of warmth. And all the world seems to be curling up over a cozy mug of hot chocolate in the waning light. Just before the cold night of winter settles in. I love fall. And everything that it brings with it. Especially, I love the mountains in fall. How they can go from striking to moody in a matter of moments. And, (even) most especially, I love Glacier National Park in the fall. It is spectacle for the senses. Bright colors. Cool breezes. Altitudes and reflections. Hiking. Grazing moose. Scampering bears.  Head out highway 2 toward West Glacier and you are astounded by the sheer mountainous walls marking the entrance to the park. But, before you do that, my wife reminds me in one of those step on the brakes sort of ways, you absol

MidWeek Edit: Jefferson Memorial at Dawn

Here in Midweek Edits, I take a look back at a random BKP favorite and re-imagine it. This week's shot is dawn over the Jefferson Memorial and the Tidal Basin. I like this early spring shot from 2012 because it juxtaposes the beauty and consistency of the sunrise against the leafless trees. Get prints of this MidWeek edit at Brad Kehr Photography Prints.

Jefferson Memorial at Dawn during the Cherry Blossom Festival - Washington, DC
Jefferson Memorial - SOOC
In the initial edit, I figured, like sauce on Czech food, the colors of a sunrise should be rich and thick.

Jefferson Memorial at Dawn during the Cherry Blossom Festival - Washington, DC
Jefferson Memorial - Original Edit

While it is definitely vibrant, in this re-imagining, I thought it detracted from the composition a bit. So I wanted to focus in on the individual elements. In Adobe Lightroom, I upped the exposure by a stop, dropped out the blacks, and added a ton of brightness. I then dropped both the Highlights and Lights by 20 in the ToneCurve and did a black and white conversion emphasizing blue and magenta. Next I added SplitToning with slight greens in the highlights and slight blues in the shadows. Finally, I did a lens correction and added a slight shadow vignette. Here is the result:

Jefferson Memorial at Dawn during the Cherry Blossom Festival - Washington, DC
Jefferson Memorial - Re-Imagined
 Thoughts? Questions? Put them in the comments below.


Brad Kehr is a photographer specializing in weddings, events, portraits, and landscapes. He enjoys exploring DC and sharing what he finds through the lens. You can catch his website at www.bradkehrphotography.com, follow him on Twitter (@bradkehrphoto), or find him on Facebook.

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