This was a tiny little waterfall that you usually see in a mountain stream. I just like the way it looked and wanted to practice shooting water.
Anything, should it be cropped ? I tried a few different crops but felt like it didn’t work.
Is this a composite: No
Nikon D3400
ISO 1600
70mm
f/4.5
1/30
Handheld vertically.
Nice little falls! You might crop a little off the top and left side. But here’s a thought: you could have cleaned it up a bit by removing some of the natural debris. I’m torn about this. What is your opinion, and how do others feel?
Hi @Ronald_Murphy! Thanks for looking and your feedback! I tried cropping from the top, maybe I did too much, I’ll try again with your suggestion on the top and left side. I’m really not sure what I think about ‘cleaning’ it up, as the sticks and leaves are actually the cause of some of the shape of the falls. I really honestly don’t have much experience in processing so I don’t even know where I would begin with that? I’d be afraid it wouldn’t look natural. As soon as I can get my new LR up and running I can try and give it a go but I really don’t know what to get rid of? I’m open to any suggestions…
Actually, I meant at the time you were there. Cleaning up the area.
@Ronald_Murphy Ohh! Ha! Like literally! I guess I could’ve gotten in the water and taken some of the sticks and leaves out. Maybe if I’m ever in a situation like that again I could try that.
I agree that it looks messy. The composition is weak in terms of spatial design. The best way to shoot this would be to focus on just the area where the water is falling because there are some strong shapes there. Subject focus, not lens focus. Also use a greater f stop for a greater DOF.
The term I use for cleaning up is “gardening”, because physically removing distractions is like pulling weeds out of the flower bed. The water does look nice, but all these weeds (sticks) create distractions that overwhelm the subject. Yes the sticks create some of the flows, but there are so many of them they greatly diminish the impact of the waterfall. Less is more, there is just too much clutter here to engage with the subject. For example, the area above the falls doesn’t add a lot to the story, but it introduces that bright stick which is the second brightest thing after the waterfall. Bright objects in corners or along frame edges are a recipe for distractions.
Processing and cloning doesn’t solve these types of distraction problems. Recognizing them in the field does though. Sometimes you can remove them, and sometimes the distractions are so overwhelming that you just pass on the scene and find another one to shoot instead.
Thank you @Ed_McGuirk and @Igor_Doncov for looking and your inputs and feedback. It really was just a practice at slow shutter speed to capture water and I personally liked the scene when I was there. But I appreciate your looking at the whole image as a whole package! Thank you!
This image makes me thirsty! You captured the water so that it looks so cool and refreshing!
Thanks @Mark_Muller for your feedback! You’re too kind. But I’m glad you like the exposure of the water.
