I haven’t posted an imge in a while because I did not have anything new to post. However, I was stumbling through my scan file archive from 2013 and found this one. For some reason, I never processed it until now.
I struggled in post with the whitewater, even with TK lights masks. I am not sure more work would make much difference, but I do like the trees and the reflection.
Chamonix 4x5
Nikkor 300 mm
Astia 100F
Any thoughts you may have are always appreciated. 
–P
Preston, I think all the colors are spot on in this beautiful image. The only thing that attracts my attention in a negative way. Are the darks at the left and right in the low parts of the image. I should make them a bit less dark. great work !!
Nice! That’s quite a luminescent tree. The whitewater is a tad distracting but not in a overpowering way. I’m not much in PP, so can’t offer advice in that regard.
Hey Preston,
Great to see a post from you! I think this works quite beautifully. The luminosity in the trees (alder? cottonwood? 50-50 shot) is wonderful as is the processing, colors, sat in general. The reflect is sweet.
The bright water I’m torn with. My first impression on that was a patch of snow, but quickly realized it’s the water. Interesting though, and I’ve been finding this true in other images, in the smaller preview, the brightness is more of a distraction. However, in the larger view, a little detail does emerge and it feels like more a part of the scene and less of a distraction. If that makes sense. And to that end, as much as I’d hate cropping the reflection… a little crop off the water brings the viewer closer to the bright ripples and I think shows better. Nice job btw mitigating those highlights.
Glad you found this one and shared.
Lon
Preston, I find myself glued to the bright golds in the cottonwood, The tree is well balanced by the darker orange one on the left. And, the skinny tree to the right with barely any leaves left on it has just enough to compliment the main subject. The whitewater looks good to me. It has nice texture and definition and is certainly not blown out in any way. The image appears to have been shot on transparency film with a large format camera. Thanks for this post.
Love the way the light is catching the tree Preston. The tree is bright enough, that the water doesn’t drag me away too much.
Preston, I love the backlight on the tree, and the way it makes some of the individual leaves jump out from the darker background. I also like the abstract softness of the reflection. Both the yellow and green colors are rich, but natural looking. The processing of yellow’s luminosity can be hard sometimes, but your processing here looks very well handled.
The bright patch of water is not a distraction to me. As others have noted the yellow tree has such strong visual weight that it outweighs the bright water .
Preston, the glowing fall colors and their reflection look great. While the white water is still white, it’s tamed sufficiently to fit well with the rest of the scene.
Nicely composed and processed, Preston. The yellow highlights look about perfect to me as does the dark green shadow areas. Would have been a challenge with Velvia. I don’t have a problem with the whitewater being a distraction but the color balance looks off to me. Maybe too warm. I would work to eliminate the color cast in the water highlights bringing to a more neutral tone.
I love the rich colors and abstract reflection Preston. The white water is not a distraction to me.
Thank you for your comments, everyone!
@Dave_Dillemuth: I might look at that color balance. Thanks for noting it.
–P
