The rock that now is the riverbed at Breakwater falls is dated to 2 billion years old and was once part of a mountain range. The way the strata are now laid vertically is fascinating and I just loved how the rock curves away out of sight under the water in this little canyon.
Specific Feedback Requested
General impressions, feedback and suggestions welcome.
Technical Details
Tripod & CPL carefully turned to show what’s down there
Lr for a lot of work with masking to tone down the rock since it had some shine on it that persisted even with the polarizer in this position. Added some texture & clarity. Calibration & HSL panels to manage color - used a mask with color intersect to reduce highlights on the pine needles since they suffered the same fate as the rock with the polarizer all the way on.
Photoshop for some distraction removal and work with luminosity masks to bring out contours in the rock itself. Also deepened some of the shadow area in the lower corners to add mystery.
Fascinating place, Kris. You sure seem to have a wide range of terrain up there with wonderful possibilities for photographers like yourself. I also love how you have captured the first photo, allowing the rock below the surface to reveal itself. Looks like your post processing was worth the effort. Very nicely seen and captured.
Kristen,What a world you live in with such great image possibilities . I like the larger one where I can see what I am looking at.But that is because I am not familiar with this environment. Great image , a lot to see, no comments.
The fact that you saw this image from the larger image posted is amazing. Great use of the polarizer to reveal the depths below the waters surface. I really love the the left portion of this and I think a vertical of just the first 40% or so of the left side of the image could stand on its own but I also love the little patch of needles sliding down the rock face in the right portion of the image.
I love the larger image and think you could make use of it by cropping off some of the left side and going to a vertical.
Thanks @Eva_McDermott, @Ronald_Murphy, @linda_mellor, @Ben_van_der_Sande and @David_Haynes - for a fly over state that practically everyone ignores, it’s pretty great. As a matter of fact a lot of the midwest is and I really want to explore more of it. I’m glad you like the small and the wider view. I’ll hit you with some cascade photos tomorrow. Gotta shake things up!
I love the idea of this image. The idea being of having two parts, the rocks and the dark water with needles below. I felt that the horizontal was diffusing the concept and it also was getting lighter as you went to the right. So I tried to isolate just a few needles in the blackness to make them more poignant. By reducing the amount of rock I felt you get greater emotional impact. And make no mistake about it, this image has a great amount of emotion. Kudos for seeing this image in amongst everything else that was there.
I really like this. The pool feels like it has a lot more depth due to the light falloff than it actually has and lends a more mysterious feel to it. I also like the texture of the rocks. Maybe the area with the pine needles feels a bit hot and could use a bit of desaturation in the yellows.
Thanks @Igor_Doncov & @DvirBarkay for your insight and input. It was very hard picking out just a little of this rock formation to show. I originally wanted to try to encapsulate the whole of it, but that was just impossible. Picking out just a slice of it was hard, but the flow and curving qualities of the rock, especially at the waterline, seemed to be a good way to limit choice and refine the subject. Cropping the lighter bit helps in one way, but I think it reduced the curvaceous quality that I sought. Not a wrong interpretation, but a totally different one. I’m of two minds about the pine needles so I will have a look. Seriously, thanks guys for chiming in.
Love this Kris. Great vision here. I also really like the broader view which makes your tighter vision even more impressive.
No nits or suggestions really. I do think Igor’s crop is a viable one. I mention because what pops out immediate in that crop is how the rock extends in to the depths of the darkness… in the original horizontal it’s a bit simpler with emphasis on the rock detail and it’s interaction with the water. But for sure I get sense of the abyss with Igor’s crop. Hope that makes sense.
Thanks @Lon_Overacker & @Diane_Miller - and I didn’t even get all the way down the falls. Was on a time table so maybe next time. So much to see and explore.
So I’m looking at the photo before reading the caption and thinking to myself ‘it’s great how the rock just fades away under the water’ Got a good laugh as I read your caption.
Beautiful image. I agree with others that your wider view is stunning too. My only comment is that I agree with Igor that the lightening of the rock on the right is distracting. I liked Igor’s crop but I bet just darkening your original image on the right would also work. Great eye
Thanks @John_Moses for adding your ideas - they go along with the general assessment so I’ve darkened the light area on the right and posted a new shot.
Oh, yes, the submerged part of the outcrop is so very mysterious. That mystery is a lovely contrast to the cheery leaves and needles. This looks like a very cool spot - I’m looking forward to more photos from here!
I was thinking that a bit more detail on the submerged rocks would be nice, along with a lessening of emphasis on the upper rocks (even though they are quite interesting). Here’s my idea - brought up the shadows on the submerged bits, lowered the exposure/lights on the exposed bits. It still feels mysterious to me, but maybe I brought up the shadows too much for your taste.
