Here is a shot from this past fall that I have been working on. Any critique is welcomed!
Thanks for checking it out!
Single image 24mm f/8 0.4 sec edited in LR
IG: @upperleft_jeff
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Jeff, I love the S-ing of the water and I really like the choice of the shutter speed here. Two things to nit: I think it’s slightly unfortunate that the waterfall merges with the leaves. It feels like the image will be stronger if they don’t merge. Secondly, I think the brightness on the water right at the base of the waterfall could ever so slightly be toned down to get a little more details.
Thanks for the reply! Both of those suggestions are things that I also thought about. As far as the brightness to the right of the first drop, that was just laziness on my end not to darken it back down after dodging that section of the image. The leaves covering part of the falls I can certainly try and clone out. The ones in the middle of the image I am curious if I should try and take out also…
Jeff, the zig-zag stream works very well. The falls and the mist near that base look good and that bunch of golden leaves make a fine highlight. I also like the touches of blue in the water. Yes, if a lower point of view was possible, getting lower so that the leaves don’t overlap the falls would be nice, but this works well as presented. It looks like you’ve posted this at full size, which makes it easier for someone to download it and use it as their own. The posting suggestions are 1600 - 2000 px on the long side. That makes it harder for someone to steal it and claim it as their own.
Ah thank you! I need to learn how to do that, I read keep it under 10 mb which I am able to get with jpeg. When I export for LR I need to change something…
Jeff, in the box that you show, just pick a number , say 1600, in the “Resize to Fit” box. The drop down will let you select “long edge”, then for internet display set the resolution to 72 pixels per inch. That’s a “standard video display” number.
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The resolution number for images that are posted on the web is completely meaningless. You could set it to 1 or 72 or you could set it to 2000 and the image size will be exactly the same. The only thing that matters is the pixel dimensions.
Thanks, Kieth. So you would agree putting in 1600 on the long edge is the way to go for posting images on NPN as well as any other online post? I want to set myself up for success in the future.
Hi @Jeff_Anderson. Yes, 1600 pixels on the long edge is fine. I post all of mine at 1500, but somewhere in that neighborhood is just fine.
Jeff, I like the zig-zag flow of the river, it adds a very dynamic feeling to the image. I am okay with the merger of the branch and the waterfall. First it is only a slight merger and the falls is not obscured that much at all, and second, I suspect this may have been your only available point of view that retains the strong ziz-zag of the river.
My only suggestion here is to make a slight crop away from the top, to eliminate the bright yellow branch along the frame edge in the URC. I think this would make the larger branch even more effective as a framing element.
I agree with Adhika on the leaves/branch Jeff, it would be much stronger if they weren’t in the way.
A lower point of view would of course solve that. I believe I know where you are at, by the big tree? If so there is only so far down you can go. If you climb down lower, then of course you will lose some of your S curve. Maybe you could clone the branches out? I have been there 15-20 times and each time I have never gotten any detail out of the water at the base of the falls, I don’t think it is possible nor needed. With all that said I think if you clone out the branch with the leaves, that will elevate the shot greatly. Because personally I really like the colors and everything else about the shot.
Thanks, Ed! I cropped in like you said to take away the extra yellow foliage in the URC and really smooths out the border of the image. This is something I have been working on, thanks for noticing it!
Hey, Greg! Thanks for the feedback. Yeah at that tree I was as low as I could get, perhaps I could have put on my 15mm lens on to get more separation from the upper tier and the yellow leaves cutting in. This was my second time here, the first time I shot down low and enjoyed it, but this time I really wanted to get the higher perspective. I tried cloning out some of the distraction but was not able to very smoothly, I think I’m okay leaving it as it doesn’t bother me that much overall.
Yeah it can be tricky and does take a lot of work in the very small pixel territory, lining things, changing opacity then going back over it again. Unfortunately I have way to much practice with it.
Hi @Jeff_Anderson, i really like this image. From composition to tones, all works well. Very inspiring for me. Thanks for sharing.
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@masdamb thank you for the kind words! I really appreciate it.