There is a lake in the Uintah Mountains in Utah, USA. It is called Mirror Lake. Settled in a valley with mountains all around, the water will get very still and reflect the stars. I took this image for a Photography competition called the Photography Decathlon (more on that in the next post).
I submitted it to a competition and won first place! This image is about 180 single images stacked on top of one another in photoshop. The entire sequence is about 3-4 hours long.
Leave some comments on what you think. 
about your Mirror Lake photography, I must say that you really did one extraordinary shot, my friend! You did give me the excitement for me to include that wonderful jewel on my travel bucket list. With your shot, you captured the perfect angle reflection of that mountain together with the water and Hayden Peak. And with your masterpiece, it truly illustrates the place's perfect sanctity for getting disconnected from the outside world into finding one's self through nature's beautiful serenity. I thank you for capturing that image and sharing with everyone, you perfectly showcase the beauty of the Mirror Lake. One more thing, through your picture I can't wait to savor those pine trees, experience the wildlife, and most of all dangle my fingers on the cold water of the lake. I can't wait what you have experienced their when you captured that beauty in JPEG form, I can't wait to breathe the fresh and cool air of Mirror Lake in Uintah Mountains in Utah, USA.
CHEERS TO MORE WONDERFUL SHOT MY FRIEND!
Voted!
voted
voted
Voted! :)
Still one of my faves - it's on my wall! :D
I wish I could have this hanging on my wall as well. ;)
I'm guessing that could be arranged? :)
Hi! Thank you for your comment! If you would like a print we can get you one :)
Yes, that would be awesome. How would you recommend doing it? I'm based in Germany so shipping might be an issue. Do you sell them in digital format?
Firstly
@brandongarrett i would like to welcome you to this great platform where blogging actually pays
Secondly,
The picture looks surreal with an hypnotic calming effect
Thirdly
I have got to say being new on steemit might be tough and you might think of quitting. i would advice you dont cause Steemit is the future. We have lots of people who are helping newbies like you feel welcome in this community.
Lastly
Wanna let you know, if you can spend that much hours on the image spending it on steemit also and you would be amazed by the results you get
Sidenote
Put this at the back of you mind, you would need it to survive in the community
Persistence
Patience
Hardwork
Non-plagairised post
Comment without tweeting
Thank you for your advice! I am excited to get started on Steemit.
This is a lovely (180 image, image) it looks as if you created a black hole in the universe.
Have you thought about submitting your art to @mariannewest’s freewriting challenge? She uses images and prompts to encourage people to write. I’ve participated in a few and they are really plumping up my blog with lots of awesome original writing.
I look forward to seeing more of your work, I’ve followed you.
-stopped by from @danielsaori minnow support project
Oh...dude...you need to be tagging this with #photofeed!
is that the best one these days?
Yes, it appears to be - it's just getting started.
Awesome work Brandon!
I have selected your post in my weekly Comment Challenge. I have re-steemed and given you a full upvote. I hope I will be able to bring you some attention.
I see you have a lot of potentials and you could do great on Steemit. With the help of your external websites and a more detailed introduction post, you could get an amazing start on this platform.
Please ask if you have any questions how to go about things. I hope you will also get lots of advice from my comment challenge.
SteemOn!!
WOW, I didn't realize the impact that you would have on this post. 56 comments from the nicest people, leaving genuine comments. I appreciate you helping me out.
Brandon
My pleasure! I was hoping I could have brought some more high paying votes, but it will come with time. Early on the most important thing is to network and build connections with like-minded people.
I hope you take my advice and consider a new introduction post. There are several posts giving advice how to best layout such post, here is one example I could find: https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@shayne/steemit-new-user-tips-introduceyourself-introduction-post
Also go to the Trending page for the introduceyourself to get some inspiration: https://steemit.com/trending/introduceyourself
Please let me know if you have any questions.
At first glance of the photo @brandongarrett took it looks like one of the best long-exposure shots I’ve ever seen! One of those shots where you would have had to let the camera take in the night sky all night long in order to capture all the details of this photo. It wasn’t until reading the caption that I realized it was actually 180 photoshopped images into one. It’s truly magnificent what you’ve been able to create and thankful you’ve decided to share your work with us here on steemit. Like you’ve probably already have come to notice but one of the best ways to get your name out there is by entering contest like the one you already won. Your work speaks volumes by itself. Keep doing work like this and you will continue to find much success. Photography contest are bounityful here on steemit so my advice would to be, enter as many as you can and then just give the rest time. Success doesn’t just happen over night, as neither did that picture you’ve created. It takes hard work but most importantly time. I look forward to seeing more of your photos here in the future!
Kind regards from a fellow steemian,
Tyler
@brandongarrett its a great photo you got there, first i am amazed how you managed to capture this. You surely have a hand and mind of an artist for photography is a art. The way you angle your shot gives it more way striking than typical long exposure shot, you use the lake to add more excitement on the way you want the shot to be seen by us. As a traveler I envy you for this. Thanks for sharing this wonderful imagery of yours. I hope more to come :)
With everyone now in a competition to leave the most poignant or interesting comment on your work, it almost seems a little redundant just saying 'well done' and 'great photo''. I am not a great wordsmith but your photography speaks for itself and I don't have the words. Thank you for giving us all the chance to see it.
I have the same issue when saying Thank You. ;)
Nature's finest arts!
congratulation for winning the contest sir
hope to see it myself someday
VOTED
One of my favorites from the Photography Decathlon competition that year!!
This still looks unreal to me @brandongarrett. Haha.
You did a very nice work with the photography. Around what time of the day did you take the shot?
I am glad @danielsaori really gave a boost to this. I am phoning in from his blog.
My comment on the picture is:
"Wow, what a beautiful picture! Its hard to believe its real, its very very cool. It reminds me of wormholes in space and this is one of the portals to enter!"
Good job and I'm glad @danielsaori picked your post for this weeks contest. It is our first partnered contest ever for #newbieresteemday and its fantastic that we get to help a newbie at the same time. I will be resteeming it and letting all of our members know. Great work and welcome to steemit!!! You are going to do very well here, I'm sure of it :)
Now to all my fellow Newbie Resteem Initiative members, lets get the word out about this awesome post by:
#1 voting on it (if you like it),
#2 resteeming it if you want it on your feed (and want to help a fellow newbie), and
#3 commenting on it to both get noticed here (and make some connections) and to also enter your comment in the contest "Steemit Comment Challenge #15 - $20SBD Giveaway".
And don't forget that if you enter your comment also in the Comment Challenge and your "Reputation score" is under 40 (a pure newbie), you will be guaranteed to get an upvote of at least $0.05 just for joining @danielsaori's contest.
So don't wait, it is fast... It is easy... It is fun... And it is also a way to meet new people and earn a little upvotes and SBD in the process! :)
@brandongarrett
Welcome to steemit! I am brand new to steemit too. Though sometimes it can seem really hard to get noticed on here, what I like most about it is the community. I've only been here a month, and I have already made friends with people that are amazing and really do good in the world.
As for this photo, WOW! It's majestic! And you have some serious photoshop skills and patience! This photo is one I would have as a print on my wall. I really do like it. It reminds me of how abundant and incredible this world is.
Again, glad you are here on steemit! :)
Amy Honey
Hello @brandongarrett. We got in to Steemit almost at the same time. I hope that you are enjoying it as much as I do. I came in from @danielsaori. Your photo is awesome! It deserved to get the first place. What I see is that I am about to be teleported to a new dimension. In maybe 5 seconds, LOL! The work of your hands is amazing! Many should see this. #newbieresteemday
The picture looks surrealistic. It must have been an amazing moment to be there and see this with your own eyes. I think it’s every photographer’s dream to get a chance to make a photo like this.
It’s obvious you’re a person that has a good eye for the beauty of naure (and probably for loads of other things too), and now I’m curious about the person behind the picture. I hope you’re planning on writing an introductory post to give us, other Steemians, the chance to find out more about the person - or maybe I should say: the artist - that is able to recognize and capture such a wonderful moment in such a way that people all around the globe can share in the experience.
Can’t wait to see/read more of you.
P.S.: posting a good, informative introductory post in which you let others know who you are could be the start of a great (and profitable) SteemIt career. If you’d like to find out more on how to write an introductory post that will lead to interesting and engaging connections with other people on the platform, you might want to take a look at @jerrybanfield’s tutorial ‘Earn Steem With SteemIt’ which is available for free for members of this platform. In it, you’ll find loads of information that can help you to make this post with this fantastic picture the first one of many top quality and highly rewarded SteemIt posts. (You can get the link to Jerry’s free tutorial from my blog post ‘Free SteemIt Tutorials For Minnows’)
Lovely photo. It somehow reminds me of Van Gogh's painting Starry Night. Now I'm looking forward to see more from you. If you want to read orignal writing and listen to original music you can visit my blog. Thank you @metzli for pointing the way here.
What was your reward for getting 1st place? Congratulations!
It's a hell of a picture.
enchanting photo's, when I first saw, it looks like I'm falling at the deep deep hole going back to the future. Yeah, a "time machine" and I'm so happy if it's become real. I traveling the day way back Nov 12, 2017...to save one young man that I miss so much. A unique images you create @brandongarett enjoyable piece and deserve to win. I can't wait for your next post, welcome to the steemit family, I had a vision that you gave a great contribution to this platform. Good luck Brandon and I resteem it as part of my #newbieresteemday.😊
Voted
Wowww....this is so so cool, the water getting still and reflecting the stars is a wonderful sight to behold. You did very well with ur photography...i mean making it look like its in vortex. Indeed you are great at what you do, u deserved the first position. Congratulations. Just followed you and i hope to see more great stuff btw'''Welcome to steemit. I'm saving this picture, can i?
The eye is drawn naturally to the center of this celestial sphere and an immediate thought may be what's beyond? This is not looking out, but looking from within. I feel safe knowing our ancient ancestors are still watching over us and when the time is right they are here to help. Well deserved placing first place. Patience paid off my friend @brandongarrett
Wow that's a lot of work and an awesome result! You deserve to win that competition.
This photo gives me mixed feelings: hypnotic, dreamy, scary and maybe because I think too much so I will just tell you what it did to my imagination ;)
This photo is the Earth's secret passage to 2 different dimensions. The upper hole is the gateway to immortality while the lower hole is the passage to death. The gateway to immortality is the most coveted door for those who have found this secret. But to get there, you have to go through a series of obstacles and reach the gatekeeper who holds a ball of light which is key to the the upper hole of immortality. If you are successful, the ball will let you fly to the upper hole and you return as an immortal coming from the lower hole. However , if you fail the obstacles on the way, the lower hole will suck you to your death.
PS. I found this through @danielsaori's comment challenge. You've done a really good job and you are now noticed. Hope you can join us in our efforts to support each other as newbies. You can also check @davemccoy's #newbieresteemday initiative. Thanks :)
This is indeed a fantastic work. Mirror lake?
I wonder how amazing it is to be in such a kind of place. Witnessing the beauty of nature that mirrors on the lake must be very fascinating and relaxing. I am a nature lover myself and would love to be able to visit a mirror lake too.
Welcome to steemit and hope you'll enjoy it here. I have read your introductory post too, a life full of adventure is just wow! With just the kind of interests that you have, if you keep posting about them no wonder you'll have a lot of followers and supporters.
Steem on! With a photo of the nature and making it this extraordinary requires amazing skill. With a quality work like this, success in this community will never be impossible for you.
before i comment
You have been resteemed as part of #newbieresteemday ... I made today my #newbieresteemday, and invite you and others to do the same. To learn more: Come Join Us!!! (Newbie Resteem Initiative)
@originalworks
first welcome to steemit. this is very good and an awesome way to look at nature. if we can analyze things from different perspectives, we can see the beauty that is created all around us. your picture makes our world look so small, like we could just walk right off the planet on that bridge thru the galaxy and see what lies in the unknown.
This is sublime! It doesn't happen often that a photo knocks my socks of...
Partly because I usually wear flipflops, but mainly cause this type of quality is rare.
Not only does it have movement, but the movement of the earth and the universe,
you made visible something that's always there,
but rarely seen. It's like an allusion to the greatest force that's always there, but rarely consciously observed...
God
Impressive, I love the blue hues and the little blue light on the right, the one that makes it perfectly imperfect and breaks the symmetry.
No wonder you won Brad,
this image is all kinds of awesome.
Let it be a confirmation that you excel at what you do, and let it motivate you to keep doing what you do.
I in any case will be following your journey with pleasure, Bravo!
I'm artist too and I also like to mix a lot of space and stars in my work, I took the liberty of sharing one of my pieces with you here.
Please feel free to come see my page, your feedback would be greatly appreciated ✊🏽
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Nice but i want you to write a introduxtuon post about your life and what lead you to steemit.
Oh my god! It's BEAUTIFUL! it almost looks like it could be a digital painting!
I actually quite recently had gone through several similar photographs (without the lake though) and was planning to capture something similar myself. But the addition of the Mirror lake just increased the surreality and charm of the technique. Great job man, This photograph is beautiful, mesmerizing and thought-provoking. you definitely deserved to win that Photography Decathlon. I look forward to your posts now, you have earned a follower, my friend. :)
When I first saw the photogrpah I thought it was a painting by Van Gogh! It resembles so much his "Starry night over the Rhône". As if the Dutch painter came to 21st century, abandoned the paintbrushes and took the camera. Are you sure you are not him? 😉
What a wonderful and an enchanted photo.I see like a hole in a deep water dragging me deep inside.I feel like i am in the midst of my sleep dreaming going down to the deep part of the of the universe,It is scary when you really find real in your bare eyes.I cant hold on to myself,as if when i wll be there i will shout out loud to ask help to my mother and calling the name of God for i am so hopeless when i will be falling down on that place.So i relized that you can help in this platform digging in steemit beyond.Thank you @brandongarett for it.Congratulation as you win.
I am a newbie untalented thank you this #steemitcommentchallenge and #newbieresteemday
This photo is astonishing, i got mindblown at the first glance of it. It looks like a deep hole in the atmosphere in an unknown planet. At the same time looks like a zoomed eyeball...
Even though i'am not a fan of Photoshop. I see nothing but rich creativity and if you keep up with such hardwork and creativity on steemit.. the sky is the limit, trust me.
A big welcome to you @brandongarrett to the steemit family.
This is an amazing photo @brandongarrett. It reminds me of those cartoons I watched while younger, where at night, a portal connecting earth and alien world would gradually open, and then an alien would enter into earth, from their world, through that portal. The portal usually looked like this photo.
While reading the post, when I got to this part,
The entire sequence is about 3-4 hours long, my Jaws dropped, because that line showed me the Raw Passion you have for photography. Great job.
Whenever I come in contact with people with passion, what I try to do is to assist them as much as I can, coupled with the fact that as a newbie, it can be really difficult to get much upvotes on your post (as evident in this 'first place image' post), leaving contests as your best chance of getting a good reward, even as you build your blogging skills and content.
Below are 3 of the photography contests I know you can take part in and win prices while you also contribute content to the steemit community:
The new weekly 📷 Photochallenge hosted by @betterthanhome
7 World's Continents Photo Challenge by
@czechglobalhosts
MyPictureDay Challenge by @timsaid
Wishing you more success in these contests, and hopefully you'll continue to grow here on steemit, even to the point where you'll host your own contests to encourage newbies. All the best.
Hello fellow minnow in steemit community. You remind me of my ex-classmate in med school. He's also great at taking the moments out of every good scenery. To explain as to why he's an ex-classmate, he just recently quit med school, just this year to focus on something he likes. Taking the moments out of every good scenery. So, welcome and enjoy on doing what you like. You can do it!
Even though I dont know much about photography,I must commend you for this one. Would also like to congratulateyou on your getting first place in the contest.
It is very nice that you joined steemit, not only will you be able to show your nice works but also get to meet professionals in photography from whom you can gain a lot.
The lake is really a sight to behold and I wish I will be able to see it someday.
my advice for you is to keep working on your skills and I know by doing that,you will get to the top in no time.
Nice work dear!
#steemitcommentchallenge
If God had platform shoes this would be the official interstellar Disco Club. It's not very often a still photo almost makes you fall out of your chair, amazing artwork @brandongarrett anonymity is hard to keep with work like this. Welcome to the community we are lucky to have you here sir!
Hello @brandongarrett ... Welcome to steemit.. am sure you'll enjoy it here!
"Mirror lake" is quite impressive... the amount of time and creativity you put into this piece... You surely earned the first spot!
Been a perfect photographer doesn't just mean holding a camera and taking random shots, one has to be creative and always think outside the box, your "mirror lake" work is an example of that.
The way you mixed photography and art i most say this is perfectly unexpected. :))
I'll be looking out for more of your works .. hopefully i'll learn one or more things from you
Happy Steeming @brandongarrett .. Cheers!!!
Well I like the design. I've seen this design in caves around the world in documentaries. When I look at it I can feel it has a spiritual significance. Great post. Almost hypnotizing!! Joy
#comment contest
Awesome shot! It feels like a surreal painting, an image straight out of a painterly dream. This image has so many great elements, and yet: it doesn't feel cluttered or chaotic. Every element is under control.
The composition is very smart: it allows room for both the reflection and the sky and the dividing line between the two (the mountains and trees) sits at a nice resting place. The lines in the reflection on the left and on the right also point straight to the middle of the vortex, so they act as leading lines, leading the eye of the viewer straight to the core of the image.
The pattern of the trees on camera right provide a dynamic rhythm to the picture. Thanks to the reflection in the water, it kind of looks like a sound wave!
The colors are superb as well. It feels like a magical blue hour moment. There are so many wonderful tones of blue in this image!
This makes it all the more stunning. It is awe-inspiring how much time and effort it took to make this image come to life.
It takes a photographer's eye to see the potential of this place and previsualize the final image. It takes a creative mind to think about how to put it together. It takes skill to pull it off. This image shows that you are a true artist: you have the photographer's eye, the creative mind, and the skills to create a masterpiece.
Congratulations on the win in the competition!!
Voted
congratulations @brandongarrett . you really got the skills of a pro..😉..seems like you're enjoying here in steemit. Your photo looks like a portal to another world I have never been before hehe.. sounds exciting,surprising and a kind of mysterious also..thanks for sharing your talent and keep on sharing you talent to inspire or bring people to a different spectra in life...👌👍👍
It looks so amazing. Looks like Starry Night by Van Gogh. It gives a different kind of moving effect. I don't know more what to say I am so impressed.
Following you to see more of your wonderful works.
Hey Brandon, this is a lovely photo. And the best part about the image is the elements properly captured. You seem to have a timing on this. And it worked out perfectly. I am not really a photographer and just do most of the image capture on my phone. So it feels good to see some of the images such as this and we get to see the land we usually don't have the chance to travel :)
Rydhi
xox
this is amazing, i have never seen such beautiful pictures, is this real? If you are right, you are entitled to engage in highly talented and professional photographic words, continue to work with a strong passion, and continue to produce beautiful natural works, I am sure in time you will get many followers who continue to want to see your best work @brandongarrett in steemit.
Ha! Space Odyssey 2001 revisited! Where do I begin? You have created way more than a stacked image. There is depth, mystery, excitement and a sense of adventure in this.
An intensity of atmosphere, even a hint of nervous anxiety, as though you might be scooped up into that tiny lit up craft and be sucked into another dimension. Did it beam light when touched? Seemed like it did.
There is that 'as above so below' micro / macro duality thing going on, and the darkness of the lanscape reinforces the feeling of being being but a dot in a grander scheme stretching to infinity.
I think it's amazing what you've done here. Really glad you decided to share your talent with us on steemit. I look forward to your next post and you just earned a new follower :)
Voted
Fantastic star trails! Love the reflections too
so many images but the lake looks just lake a real life lake went placid and still to create the mirror effect. "I have loved to canoe across the dark mirror of northern lakes, paddling with an inside flick of the blade, leaving a trail of twisting whirlpools in my wake."