I was very fortunate to hit the peak of fall color last year at Blackwater Falls State Park in West Virginia. I waited until around 10AM so the light hit the mountain just right to showcase the amazing colors.
Comments and critiques appreciated.
Specific Feedback Requested
There are many compositions to be made at Lindy Point . I like to experiment with various amounts of rock in the foreground. Is the rock on the right too much ? I like the large, medium, and small rock groups in the foreground.
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Nikon D750, Nikon 16-35 and tripod. ISO 100, F14, 1/50th
Really beautiful sweeping landscape! Love the cloud shadows on the mountains to the left and really love the big rocks /boulders. Having the big lookout rock/cliff in the foreground gives a perspective of being there and coming to this overlook to catch the view! Nice fall colors.
What a great location, and the color looks to be full peak too. I do not think the rock on the right is too much if your concern is if it makes the image too right heavy. I think the comp is balanced well enough, the stronger color and contrast on the left side helps to balance the rock in the LRC. Maybe you could crop a very small slice off the right side if you are still concerned. Also if you want to further reduce the visual weight of the rock in the LRC, I would suggest a slight burning of the midtones in the LRC rock to draw less attention there.
For 10:00 am light, this image still has good color and contrast, so good job on the processing. I think this would also make a good image in B&W, where you could push the contrast a bit further than you can in color.
Man that’s some color! Following the valley down from the skyline, I find that prominent thumb of rock to block my view a bit. I don’t know what was available there, but would be interested to compare a view with that rock shifted right, so that the valley fed into the gap between the thumb and the rock on the right.
If you selectively added red to the fall foliage and the sky, I think it gives a little more pop?
Thanks for the great comments and suggestions. Also the B&W version never entered my mind so that was awesome. This is a really beautiful spot in West Virginia and worth a visit. Here is a slightly different view with a lot less rock foreground.
This is amazingly perfect! Same place but such a different look and feel! Now that cliff is actually pointing towards the valley, which makes my eyes look more at the whole scene into the distance. (even though I like the rocks too) And there’s even some clouds in the sky. This could be a photo in a tour book for that area!
