With all the national and provincial parks shut due to covid I’ve had to stay local and look for scenes in my local forest. Hopefully things open up again when the snow pack melts and I can get out shooting some larger falls.
I went for a smooth texture for the water in this shot. The creek was slow moving and I felt there wasn’t enough flow for textured water. I went low key when processing as this was a partially clouded day and there was limited light penetrating the forest canopy. Any thoughts or comments are welcome.
What technical feedback would you like if any? Any
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
Any
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
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@nathankleinphotos
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Looks nice and serene, a wonderfully peaceful spot to hang out. The image looks really good, lots of depth and nicely composed. I like silky water, so that works for me. No suggestions here.
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I really like the concept here, but I do find the blocked shadows somewhat offsetting. The image offers a lovely composition. I downloaded it tried to unblock some of the shadows and had a little success using Lum. Masks darks 5, darks 4, and darks 3 (at a lower %). I didn’t spend much time on it, but I feel it would be worth a re-editing effort. Looking back, I don’t think I would have done the darks 3.
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Thanks Bill,
Looking at your revision there seems to be blurring in the shadows which you’ve recovered. Did you apply a blurring filter? If not it must have been through my processing which the shadows hid.
I actually did a bit of boring around the sides of this image to hide detail but I think it’s great to see other artists perspectives and it provides a good conversation.
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I love the silky water Nathan and the composition works well. I like Bill’s revision where he unblocked the shadows.
@Nathan_Klein. No, I didn’t blur anything, just used TK’s Lum. Masks.
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Wow Nathan, You found a nice stetting and a beautiful way to convey its charm to us. Perfect treatment of the water, to my eyes and ears … yes I can hear it! I very much enjoy the subdued lighting of the forest in back; (maybe burn the hemlock branch a bit).
Gotta say, though, that very dark log butt in the middle of that white feathery water is an eye-catcher. I de-polarized it by dodging it a bunch, and it seems to my eye to be a better visual neighbor to the waterfall.
Thanks Dick,
I think you’re right about the polarization. My polarizer filter is broken and it definitely would have helped to reduce the glare off the rocks if I had one with me in the field.
Nathan, I love your composition here, it does a great job of simplifying what appears to be a very chaotic environment. I also like the in-your face inclusion of the large rock in the LRC, and then how you connected it to the falls by using the log. This image is nowhere near as interesting without the large rock in the LRC, great vision on your part to incorporate it in the comp this way.
This is really well done Nathan. I’m not usually a fan of water shot with long exposure but here it works beautifully. It looks like a veil, with a richness of tones. I agree with @Ed_McGuirk that the foreground rock adds a lot to the composition. What I find a bit peculiar is the way that one rock seems suspended like that above the water. Or maybe that’s a log that we’re seeing straight on.
Thanks Igor,
I think it is the angle of the blog in the frame that gives that optical illusion.
I think somewhere between Bill’s redo and the original would be perfect. I really like inky blacks but I think there are too many spots that draw the eye. Wonderful scene and I too can hear the water and the birds chirping. You have incredible scenery close to home. You are very lucky!
