This was taken in an area of fairly heavy bush. The stream is quite small but rises quickly after a rain. A cloudy but bright day gave rise to the somewhat vivid colours that attracted me at the time.
Any comments or criticism welcome. I’m on a steep learning curve so don’t be shy!
0.8s, f25, ISO 200
50 mm
LR, slight crop and reduced brightness of the water just beneath the small falls.
Phil, this is a wonderful composition. I really like the lower right rock balanced against the upper left one. The shutter speed looks fine to me too.
Two things I would recommend. The water is a bit too blue/cyan looking. If you were to take use the white balance tool, grab the color picker, and click it on the “whitest” area of the water, I think you’ll get a pleasing color balance all around. Also, I noticed a couple of dust bunnies in the white water. Easily taken care of.
This is nice, Phil, and those two little changes will put this over the top.
Thanks David. I had reduced the blue a bit as there was quite a blue cast under clouds at the time the shot was taken, but after adjusting the white balance as you suggested the result is way better. Took me a while to find the dust spots though! Think I got them. Thanks for your help…much appreciated.
Phil, that looks way better. Awesome image.
Wonderful textures here Phil. I actually don’t mind the blue in the water. I would try reducing it a bit in the whites. I would crop the rocks at the top. With the falls also being there it’s a high contrast area and really draws attention to the edge of the frame. Nice colour contrast.
Cheers Andre. Yes, I tried that crop you suggest and it was 50:50 for me. In the end I went for the version with the rocky area at top left to balance the colour of the other rock. However I do think that version may also create a distraction and somewhat of a to and fro effect. Overall, once I see them together I think I do prefer your version.
Phil,
From you description, sounds like you did a great job isolating this intimate little scene. You’ve included enough of that wet rock and leaves to let the viewer know you intented to have this anchor your composition. The cascade and water look wonderful! (more on the color in a sec)
The difficulty I have is the tall vertical and the sense I get of a great distance separating the rock at the bottom with the cascading water at the top. Yeah, there is great texture and interest in the water in between, but I’m not really connecting the colors of the rock at the bottom with the wee bit of rock at top. So… I’m really likking Andre’s crop. That nails the composition for me.
Regarding the color in the water, I agree with Andre also. Blue DOES exist in most scenes especially where there lacks direct sunlight. And so I think the rework removing the blue went a bit too far. I agree with Andre in that reducing the blue in the water highlights is fine, but I like having some of the “glacier” blue in the pool of water that separates the bottom rock and the top cascade.
Lon
Thankyou Lon (and Andre again) for your very helpful comments. This is what I like about NPN… the diversity of viewpoints and subsequent comments. It helps a lot when there are more comments, and those that simply agree or disagree with earlier suggestions are also very helpful. While sometimes it may seem that just posting an agreement, like, or dislike, regarding earlier suggestions, is pointless, to me anyway it is very helpful in assessing the image.
I find that after selecting and processing an image I that I am then a bit closed-minded in my view of that image. When a suggestion for some change is then made, and I try it, I often find that the result is a distinct improvment and leave it at that. However when other differing suggestions then arrive, I can look at the image more critically and with a fresh perspective.
All comments, good, bad, ugly, and repetitive are thus very useful, and I appreciate the effort and help. Cheers.
I’ve incorporated your commnents Andre and Lon and I like the result (until a different comment arrives…just kidding). Cheers.
After the rain (and after the edits)
