Still waiting on some snow here in MD so I will go with this intimate scene from the fall of 2022. My brother and I headed over to Susquehanna SP after a night of rain to try and catch some autumn color. We were able to park in a pullout along the road and scramble down to Herring Run. It was very slippery so some care was exercised while climbing over the rocks. There are not many reds in the park, but I quite like the yellows of the fallen leaves against this small cascade we found along Herring Run. Mike and I made a couple of trips to the park during the fall as it is only 30 minutes from my home.
Type of Critique Requested
Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.
Conceptual: Feedback on the message and story conveyed by the image.
Emotional: Feedback on the emotional impact and artistic value of the image.
Technical: Feedback on the technical aspects of the image, such as exposure, color, focus and reproduction of colors and details, post-processing, and print quality.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
All C&C is welcome; anything that comes to mind is fine.
Technical Details
Nikon Z7, Nikon 24-200 @ 59mm, f 11 @ 1 sec, ISO 100, Kase magnetic CPL
Oh, I really love this. It has a feeling of being at night. I don’t know how to explain it. It’s the wonder of looking up at the stars. Maybe that’s silly. Anyway, if there was a way to darken the ulc except for the leaves then the effect would be perfect.
Hi Ed,
what a beautiful small autumn scene. You have chosen a good shutter speed. I like it when there is still some structure in the water.
I agree with @Igor_Doncov about darkening the ULC.
In addition, it seems to me that the white balance is to warm. I would cool it down a little. That will improve the color separation as well.
Ed, I should love to have such fast streaming watering in my surroundings . And make great images of it like this one. It’s strong in composition and all those leaves in the water. Well made!
Lovely water action along with gorgeous colors, and the leaves are definitely a nice touch!
I really like the bonus mini waterfall tucked away in the corner there!
That would be a nice micro scene on it’s own.
Personally, I feel like the color temperature is good as presented but I can understand going to a cooler temperature too, as that’s more a matter of personal taste.
The ULC does seem to draw my attention a bit more than it should but it’s not a big deal really.
I’ve looked at this a few times and each time I keep wanting to rotate it to the left a few degrees.
You’d probably have to use Content Aware Fill in the crop window while doing the rotation “If you decide to try it that is”.
Maybe it’s just me? My wife keeps telling me that my head was screwed on crooked when they put me together
BTW, your choice of shutter speed was spot on for this smooth water scene, IMHO.
Thanks for the story behind this, I love to read the backstories and I hope you get the snow you are hoping for.
I hope we get a little here in NC as well, nothing that will stop our world from turning, just enough to be able to say we had snow, and maybe get a few good snow scene images.
I wish my brother was still around for more adventures like we used to have but I have the memories
Many thanks to everyone @Igor_Doncov , @Jens_Ober , @Ben_van_der_Sande , @linda_mellor and @Merv for your thoughtful C&C; always appreciated. Here is a repost with your suggestions. I tried to burn the rock a little in the ULC, removed 20 points of yellow from the scene and one degree of CCR.
@Merv : It sounds as though you and your brother had some good times with some wonderful memories. I know Mike and I always have a good time on our photo excursions
Beautiful image Ed! Love the flow and the scattered leaves. This is just a wonderful capture of this intimate cascade and surrroundings.
I was hard pressed to think of an suggestions - although even before reading any comments my thought also was to burn a little in that corner.
Then I see your edited version. Wow! You nailed it! I didn’t think there was a need for a color shift or any rotation, but those little tweaks really made a difference. Ok, so now I might as well add this one teanie suggestion. I didn’t notice in the original and not sure why I notice now, but you might consider mitigating the little bit of white water at the top of the frame as the water is flowing in to the scene. Pretty nitpicky, but I could see burning that, painting or some method of reducing the lightness on that top edge. Again, pretty nitpicky…
Thanks for the thoughtful C&C @Lon_Overacker and @Jens_Ober as it is always appreciated.
Lon: Thanks for the welcome back.
Jens: You caught me, I noticed that after reposting and was to lazy to do another.
Don’t come on here much anymore, so just now saw this, Ed. Excellent intimate shot. Perfect framing and SS. The only two nits I have have already been mentioned. The rock in ULC and the white balance.
