Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
Water streams fast through this narrow gorge with depths from ankle to thighs. While not actually raining its very wet in there so the process is set up the shot, wipe the lens, capture, repeat.
Specific Feedback
General feedback please but I’ve got mixed C&C so far on the “blurred” foreground. Some hate it, some not. To me its a bit odd to look at but its a function of the varying depth and flow.
Technical Details
5Ds + 16-35mm f4 L @ 16mm, f8, ISO 100, 2.5s. Most PP in ACR with a crop and sharpening in PS.
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Interesting take on the blurred foreground Mark. At first glance it was a distraction but after taking a bit more time to study the image and then the realization hits that this is just a deeper section of the creek vs the shallower/clearer portion. For me this works just fine, (not sure what you would do to change that anyway). I did take the liberty to work your image in LR with some masking to bring up the lights and general exposure a tad in the canyon/foreground portion of the image. I was attempting to give a bit more attention to the foreground/creek and add some detail to the dark canyon. This looks like an amazing place to shoot, in spite of the damp environmental issues to contend with! I really like what you came up with here!
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I would have thought this was Zion at first glace with the exception of the color of the rocks but nonetheless, a beautiful creek to walk up and a very interesting image you’ve composed. I think overall this is well executed. Ideally, I would like to see framing on the lower left side of the image as the water flow seems to go out the side of the frame on the left but otherwise, the balance is really good. The colors on the greens look great to my eye. I tried warming and cooling them and always came right back to zero. There is a little bit of blue and purple in the water particularly in the LLC, the bottom of the frame in the water and just under the large rock on the left side of the frame that could be removed. The spot lighting is gorgeous but I would maybe tone that bright spot just a tiny bit in the very top center of the frame. You might also bring the blacks up just a smidgen but I love the mood the darkness brings to the image. This makes me feel like I’m walking up the river, my feet getting wet while I shiver just a little bit from the cold rushing water longing to reach the sunlit patch ahead in the bend of the river and curious what lays ahead around the corners.
I don’t see any issue with it at all. Like you said, it’s an function of varying depth and flow and short of freezing the water movement all together with a very fast shutter speed, I don’t think there’s anything you could have done about this. And freezing the water would look terrible IMHO.
I played with this a little bit in LR and although I’m not at all convinced of the crop I chose, here is what I came up with:
Cropped
Uncropped
I lifted the black point slightly, Burned that bright spot in the top of the frame, and worked hard to try and darken the left side of the image so the eye doesn’t wander out of the frame where the water leaves out of the left side of the frame. I also cropped off the bottom (definitely not sure about that crop though). I removed the purple/blue cast in sections of the water and dodged the water slightly in the center of the frame as a leading line. As always, these are just my interpretations and if this isn’t the direction you want to go, simply round file this. Terrific image, Mark.
2 Likes
There’s that moment of about a half-second where you start to think “Aww, the poor guy really screwed up a great shot,” but then the lightbulb goes on and you realize why the varied blur and it’s awesome. Count me in the group that really likes it.
Some great thoughts above. My only suggestion would be to have shot a second shot with a faster shutter speed so the vegetation didn’t have motion blur, and then to blend that in with the water texture you have here.
All the nits aside, this is a very good image Mark.
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Keith, thanks for the C&C and the edit. I’ll go back and see if I can improve things.
David, ditto above. This was taken in NZ last month.
John, again, thanks for the C&C.
The slow shutter speed was due to the light, or lack of. Apart from being cold and wet in there, it was pretty dark too. I try to avoid higher ISO in landscape photography although the 5Ds seems fine up to 800.
This is the same spot, just turned around 180° and now taken looking “into” the gorge/cave/grotto. The same “issue” with the water. Blurred where its shallow and fast, clearer where its deep and slow.
