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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...
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MidWeek Edit: A Meditation

Here in Midweek Edits, I take a look back at a random BKP favorite and re-imagine it. This week's shot is from the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. Orthodox Jews regularly go to the last remaining part of the Jewish temple to pray. I love this shot, because I think it captures the history and complexity of the moment. These two Orthodox Jews are likely reading from the Torah in their meditation. The dense, white beards and the scroll speak to ancient history of the Jews. Yet, the very words they are reading point to and are fulfilled in the Christ - in Jesus as seen in the Gospel of Mark. You can get a print of any of the MidWeek Edits found here.

A Meditation - SOOC
As you can see, the SOOC needed some fill light. But, this was not a situation for a flash. Instead, I exposed, as best I could, for the scroll and to minimize blurring from handshake. I shot it with a Canon 40D and EF 24-70mm lens at 70mm, f/2.8, and 1/60sec with an ISO of 400. The result is fine, but I felt it lacked some definition in the detail. So I upped the exposure in Lightroom and adjusted the whitebalance to compensate for some of the yellow light sneaking in from a bare bulb.

A Meditation - Original Edit
As you can see, this brought in cooler blue tones which emphasize the text and the definition in the beards. Yet, I felt like I lost touch with the subjects, because the cooler tones put them at a distance. And, I wanted to bring more intimacy into the photo. So in re-imagining it, I started by leveling the exposure using a graduated filter to open up the upper left side of the image by 1.5 stops - through the two faces. Still in the graduated filter function, I added a touch of brightness. Taking a step back, I realized this was precisely what I was looking for. With a final slight burn in the upper left corner and a dodge across the scroll, the simple edit was finished. Goes to show that less can be more.
A Meditation - Re-imagined.
And, as usual, a bonus Black and White edit.

A Meditation - B&W
Thoughts? Questions? Leave 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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