The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I have always enjoyed capturing images of waterfalls; although I have to say it has been a little while as my attention lately has gravitated toward scenes of woodlands during the early spring or late autumn when the trees are somewhat bare of their colorful leaves. This image is an intimate view of the base of Elakala Falls in Blackwater Falls SP in WV. Elakala is a picturesque 35’ waterfall of which I have several images that I am quite happy with. On our last visit I thought why not keep the wide angle in the bag and try some more intimate scenes with the telephoto and this is one of the results. I tried varying SS and decided that I liked 0.5 seconds the best as it provided a slightly silky look while retaining some details in the water.
Specific Feedback
Does the composition look balanced? I thought about cropping a little more from the left side, but I did not want that pointed rock to be to close to the middle of the frame. Anything else you notice please feel free to mention it.
Technical Details
Nikon Z 7, Nikon Z 24-200 @ 105 mm, f 11 @ 0.5 sec, ISO 200, Kase magnetic CPL, cable release & tripod
That said, I think a few tweaks might help. Lightening some of the shadowed areas at the top improved the balance for me. The waterline at the bottom didn’t look quite straight and I straightened it. The orange water at the bottom didn’t seem to fit the rest of the image. I cropped it out and slightly darkened the highlights in that area. I hope you don’t mind my playing with it.
I really like the mystical (or mistical) feeling of this image, Ed. I don’t see any problem with where your cropped the sides, but when I look at this image, it’s all about the looks of the falling water and what’s behind it. I know “they” say you should anchor the image, but in this case, I think you could lose the strip of water at the bottom and let the falls go on forever.
Ed, this is a nicely mystical look with the various “lines” of falling water and all of the greens. My first thought is to burn-in slightly the bright strip of water along the bottom for a bit more detail there. I do agree with @Don_Peters that some dodging of the darkest bits at the top looks good. I’d also suggest cloning out the tiny bit of sharp green and the bright white below it, near the bottom right corner. An excellent outtake for an oft photographed falls.
The original image is really nice and shows the peaceful nature of the scene. I do agree with Don’s tweaks. I believe they take the image up a notch. Your seeing here Ed, is spot on. Nicely done,
-P
I appreciate everyone @Don_Peters, @Dennis_Plank, @Mark_Seaver, @John_Williams and @Preston_Birdwell for taking a moment of your time to leave your thoughts on this image; always appreciated.
Don: I don’t mind at all; I quite like your tweaks.
Dennis: Thanks for the crop idea; always good to have a twofer.
Mark: You are right. I completely missed that.
John: I am glad you spotted that leaf. I had thought about cloning it out, but decided to leave it as I liked it.
Preston: I too like the peaceful vibe of the falling water.
Ed, I really like the intimate vibe of this Elakala closeup. At first glance I was leanig toward deleting that light colored leaf, but then after reading @John_Williams comment I changed my mind. It adds a nice little story to the image. I would crop off the brown at the bottom. Also that one little sliver of green rock on the BR. That’s one of the things I don’t like about this falls and the next one down, namely the brown sand/dirt. Nice one.
I just love about a half a second for falling water and the texture in this image is really great. Since this is just an intimate section of the falls I really feel like you don’t need the brownish water along the bottom of the falls as it just doesn’t work well for me. However, if you did want to keep a landing spot in the image I like what @Don_Peters did to the bottom of the image and to the top of the image. This is wonderfully serene and I usually don’t get that feeling from the rush of a waterfall but I think it’s all of the light tones in the image and the very low contrast that make it feel that way to me.
Just the right SS. I like Don"s version but can also see cropping the bottom of his and as Dennis says: “Let the falls go on forever.” One tiny nit : the almost horizontal splash in the URC draws my attention a little.
Hi Ed,
Gorgeous image. I love the structure of the falls, the layers of rock and champagne fountain effect of the water’s flow down and across the scene. I’m torn on the lighter version Don shared above. In some ways, it brings things out, but as an Oregonian, I’m a fool for a bit of darkness in such scenes. I do like the idea of getting rid of the water at the bottom.
I like the telephoto detail shot, I’ve been doing a lot of that lately myself just to try to see a scene differently. It looks well balanced to me side to side. I do like Don’s crop on the top and bottom. The SS you selected seems to be perfect. Beautifully seen!
