While at an icy waterfall in a local preserve two Decembers ago I noticed a small area on the side where some icy teeth were growing as the water rushed by below. The color version was ok but thought it would have more impact in B&W.
Specific Feedback Requested
All comments and suggestions welcome and appreciated; thanks for viewing.
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Sony a77M2, ISO 400, 1/60, f6.3, Tamron 16-300 @ 300mm. Tripod mounted. After the B&W conversion, I reduced the overall exposure, and increased contrast, clarity, and dehaze using ACDSee to make the image pop more.
Oh I love ice images like this one and photograph them all the time. This is a great find!
B&W is a good choice, but I’d play with some tighter crops to eliminate some of the surroundings. I think the shutter speed works ok with this one because the water is well below the ice and isn’t competing. If you try it again, maybe a long shutter against the ice. I find the contrast of a long exposure even more effective to bring out the beauty of ice; sometimes a fast shutter speed just pits frozen water against frozen water if you know what I mean.
Thanks Kristen, I’m hoping to return there to see if the same formations come back. I will try your cropping suggestion and a longer shutter speed to smooth out the water.
Jim, I’ve shot formations like this at Great Falls on the Potomac and was there last week hoping for some…to no avail. This is an excellent view where the contrast between the icy “teeth” and the rushing water below works very well. I think that having texture in the water that’s intermediate in detail between the oof rock on the left and the sharp teeth brings the image together nicely.
This is such an interesting photo. It looks like a giant mouth with rows of sharp, ripping teeth. I think BW probably makes it more abstract. The bottom part also makes me pause and examine it. If you hadn’t said that it was water rushing below, I might have thought it was that or frozen water, or snow. Perhaps the left side of the photo could be cropped just a little, maybe just to the curve in the dark area in the lower corner. That dark area seems a little heavy and cropping some out would help without taking anything away from the photo.
Thank you @Mark_Seaver , I’ve been to Great Falls and can well imagine ice formations there, given cold enough weather. This little brook is quite a bit smaller but still provides some interesting winter views.
A very unique ice formation that definitely looks like a row of teeth, Jim! I definitely prefer the cropped version as it puts the focus on the “teeth”.
…thank you ladies!