The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
This is an image of Blackwater Falls in Blackwater Falls SP in WV. When shooting waterfalls; or water for that matter; I try to remember to vary the SS and see which version I like the best. Usually; but not always; my happy spot is around 1/2 to 1/10th of a second. In this particular case three seconds seemed to work best for me as I think the silky ephemeral look of the water cascading over the rock ledge seemed to compliment the rising light mist/fog that was forming along the Blackwater River.
Specific Feedback
The composition is fairly centered. Does that work? How does the B&W conversion work? Anything else you notice please feel free to mention it.
Technical Details
Nikon Z 7, Nikon Z 24-200 @ 103 mm, f 11 @ 3 sec, ISO 100, Kase magnetic CPL, cable release & tripod.
I really like the rising mist in the upper part of the river before the falls and the whole mood/vibe that I get from this image. I even like the slow 3 second shutter speed which I’m generally not a fan of. But unbeknownst to me, I can’t tell you why.
But really, for me it’s the ribbons of water creating contrasting white and dark streaks in the falls that capture my attention. I particularly like that boulder in the middle of the waterfall with all of the beautiful ribbons of water falling over it and around it.
I’m not sure about the angled bottom part of the falls. It’s also the brightest part of the image and catches the eye. PErhaps darkening it would help but the angle itself is throwing me off. I very much like the rest of the image and can certainly see your intent with this. The black and white conversion is beautifully done. It’s funny but when seeing the small thumbnail, I immediately saw that the right side of the frame was lighter than the left side of the frame and I noticed that dark boulder along the top left portion of the frame. But, seeing it full view, those little distractions seems to just melt into the image and are not very noticeable. So take that for what it’s worth. Probably nothing. LOL
Just for kicks I went ahead and cropped into the the section of the image that I’m enamored with. Clearly not your intention but showing you what I find really engaging with this image. I don’t know about this crop but this is the section I just love.
Very nicely done. The conversion looks good. As for the composition, I’m a little unsettled by the lower left corner and the off set water line (i.e the right being closer to the frame than the left), but that’s not necessarily a negative thing. It gives the image a bit of tension, a sense that we are there, perched, looking at it, unable to get comfortable. I don’t know whether that makes sense, but that’s my somatic impression.
As for David’s crop, that was not the part I was initially drawn to, but now that he has isolated, I think you have a wonderful two-fer here. Full landscape shot and an intimate portrait.
Wonderful, full-frame view of the falls. I don’t mind it being centered, especially given the equal space all around. It does feel a little tight, but then again that might be your intent. For me, you have included just enough around the frame so that it feels comfortable and on purpose.
I like all kinds of shutter speeds and water effects, including the longer exposures. (More likely a result of years of large format being forced to like silky water with long exposures at f/32… Seriously though, the longer exposure and texture work very well with the cascades of water.
Processing, contrast all look good. I don’t know if this helps, hurts or makes no difference, but I was thinking the bottom water where all the cascades are gathered was a bit brighter than the actual vertical cascades - and I’m sure naturally that way. I’m wondering if flipping the luminosity by burning the bottom water and either globally or masking the main cascades a little brighter, would make a difference. Just a thought.
I really like your centered, more intimate closeup composition of Blackwater Falls, Ed. The spacing around the outer edges is pretty even. B&W looks great. The SS is spot on for this falls, imho. I think Blackwater is ill suited and looks terrible with faster, frozen shutter speeds. Thosae types of speeds are more suited to the high, powerful falls such as those in Yosemite. The only small nit I have is I would clone out that dark square just left of center at the top of the falls. It’s an eye catcher. More so on the thumbnail than the larger version.
Seriously though, the longer exposure and texture work very well with the cascades of water.
