This is another photo from the series of experiments at a waterfall in Sardinia. I took photos of this waterfall the “normal” way quite often - wide-angle-lens to get it all, with and without ND6x. I’m not unhappy with that, but always thought, there should be more in it, some way to catch the peaceful and mysterious atmosphere of the place. So I left the wide-angle at home and tried with different lenses and filters for a new approach. This one was taken at 200mm with the tripod in the little pond below the waterfall. I’m absolutely uncertain, whether to like the result or to delete it and desperately longing for feedback.
What I do like is the firework impression, the colors. What I don’t like, is, that it’s all more or less in one plane, no depth.
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
Is the composition interesting or boring?
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
Single shot, Canon EOS 5D III, 100-400mm @200mm, f11, 1/10 sec, ISO200, CPL, tripod. Only standard processing and a little cropping via Lightroom on a calibrated monitor, no additional saturation added - contrast and saturation are due to the CPL.
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Please don’t delete it. The light is truly gorgeous. This is what the Renaissance painters referred to as “chiaroscuro” - the creation of depth and volume through deep contrast. The light on the water itself is spectacular with hints of oranges, reds and greens. But what makes this image so compelling is the way the light hits the cavern walls, just suggesting space and volume. If you’re not averse to cloning, I would agree with Igor and remove the red bit on the upper right of the frame. This is the kind of image that I would be inclined to print small so as to draw the reader in close.
Yes please don’t delete this image, it is quite interesting. I’m not familiar with this location, thus I have no pre-conceived notions of what it should or shouldn’t look like, or how other photographers have typically shot it. Thus I evaluate this image on it’s own, reacting only to the composition, light and processing. As Kerry pointed out the strong lighting creates depth and substance. I’d be very happy to have this image in my collection, but I would clone away the orange bit in the URC.
Based on your image title of “Fireworks”, here is an alternate interpretation to consider that emphasizes the fireworks. Did a crop to eliminate bright areas not near the fireworks, and did some burning of darks, and dodging of lights to make the fireworks stand out even more. I think some simplification enhances the fireworks.
Beautiful. I would agree about cloning the red bit (or desaturate it if you are adverse to cloning). It is a nicely stunning image and a great and unusual look at a waterfall.
Thank you Igor, Kerry and Harley about your suggestion to remove the red leave. It’s amazing, I’m so familiar with the place, for me this leave was just a natural ingredient of the scene, I wasn’t paying much attention to till you mentioned it.
You’re right, it looks better without. Here’s the rework.
Thank you, Ed,
this is definitely more fireworks, I can see that. The wider 2:3 version is more a waterfall shining out of a dark cave. I like both of them
The rework looks good to me. You brought down the highlights on the right just a tad as far as I can tell and that makes a difference. I prefer the original crop. This image grows on you as I begin to better understand what you were after.
Excellent Michaela I love the effect and the darkness and above all the delicate rainbow of colours within the original crop is best for me as I love the texture and shine off the rock next to the splash zone. A really well used shorter exposure time.
This image is beautiful! I love how the eye is drawn to the water spray and light through the darkening of the edges. You have captured a truly unique perspective of a waterfall!
