Morning, Great Falls

Image Critiques Weekly Challenge
1

Great Falls.jpg
Great Falls.jpg2000×1333 1.38 MB

Critique Style Requested: Standard

The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.

Description

This is an older image of mine that has hung on my wall for awhile. It is of Great Falls, a waterfall on the Potomac between Maryland and Virginia, just outside of Washington DC. There are parks on both sides of the falls with good views. I took this image from the Virginia side. Many of the landscape images I have are from areas not local to me. I’ve always like this one because the location is 30 minutes from my house. Its a surprising scene to find so near a major East Coast city, and the falls can look very different depending on time of year and water flow. It can also be a site of sports photography as white water kayakers make their way down the falls

Specific Feedback

I wish that I had taken a slightly wider view of the scene so that the curve of the river on the right hand side was not cut off. I did take some wider views, at a slightly later time, but the light was not as good. The image is from a 3 photo HDR stack, but I tried not to overdo the HDR.

Technical Details

Canon 5D Mark II with 24-105 lens at 45 mm and f/16. A 3 image HDR stack processed in Lightroom

2

I lived in the DMV for a couple of years, and Great Falls was one of my standard places to go hiking. Never saw it this quiet, though!

I particularly like that plume of mist, and the sunlight against the ridge in the background. Thank you for sharing!

3

Great Falls is pretty busy, but I was there at around 7:00 AM on a cold October morning. The funny thing was that after I set up my tripod, anther photographer showed up, and as soon as she saw me she sighed and said “I thought I was the only one with this idea”

4

Will, this is a fine look at GF with a good water level and the nicely lit fall colors on the distant ridge. I’m not sure you could do an early morning shot like this now, since they’ve added a gate to the entrance road.