There's a Hole in the Sky

There is a Hole in the SkyA small spotlight of sunlight moves across an autumn valley to illuminate a small group of aspen trees at their peak of fall color near Crested Butte, Colorado.

About nine years ago I was driving back to Crested Butte from Gunnison, Colorado. The sky was mostly cloudy but there were a few holes allowing spots of sunlight to race across the valley floor. I came upon this patch of intense, late fall, colored aspen trees and thought to myself...wouldn't it be cool if I could catch a patch of sunlight on just those trees. So, I set up the tripod, my trusty Nikon D800, and my 300mm lens and I waited. And waited. And waited some more. But the magic finally happened! That spot of sunlight landed just where I needed it.

When I got home and looked at the image I was extremely disappointed. It was very soft. Not out-of-focus soft. It was blurry. In my haste and excitement I had not used great technique required when using long telephoto lenses. I had not used my cable release. I had not locked the mirror up. I had not used a fast enough shutter speed. I worked on the image a bunch over the years but there was no real solution that would make it sharp enough to print. But, I did save the original RAW file.

Let's jump ahead 9 years which, in technology, seems like a lifetime. Now there's some software that can, potentially, make my blurry photo sharp. Enter Topaz Sharpen AI. I have only used this software a few times but it can easily pay for itself if it only saves a few images. Like so many types of software, its default values seem to be a little over-the-top and, in this case, too sharp. But it's adjustable. After trying different settings for an hour or so I finally ended up with an image that was sharp enough to print. Saved by technology. And, it only took 9 years.

I'm happy to have "There's a Hole in the Sky" as a print-worthy photograph that I can offer to my clients. I really do love the image. I hope you do too. Let me know if I can print one for you.