Description:This was taken a couple of weeks ago on a two day trip to the Blackwater Falls SP,. WV area. During our stay Mike and I visited both Douglas Falls and Blackwater. It had rained quite a bit during the night so the water flows were just about perfect although a little muddy. It was beginning to clear off and the sun was going in and out of the clouds so I just waited until the light was what I wanted.
Specific Feedback Requested:All C&C welcome.
Pertinent technical details or techniques:Nikon D800, Nikon 17-35 @ 22mm, f 16 @ 0.8 sec, ISO 800, CPL, cable release & tripod
Is this a composite? (focus stacks or exposure blends are not considered composites)
No
If you would like your image to be eligible for a feature on the NPN Instagram (@NaturePhotoNet), add the tag ‘ig’ and leave your Instagram username below.
That looks like it makes a heck of a roar. Photographing waterfalls this big this close is so enveloping. I always have a paranoia of being startled by someone I can’t hear coming and dumping my rig into the water.
I really like the power implied here. The laurel on the left is a thing of beauty, but I’m not sure about the LRC. I keep looking for something to be there. Have you played with darkening the rock there at all? I think it may help keep attention from going there. I also might try bringing the yellow in the water down. I know it’s tannic and muddy, but it looks a little odd. Possibly a monochrome conversion would be dramatic as well. A terrific scene. The rocky ledges are especially emblematic of the eastern mountains.
It must have been great to be there and photograph this scene. There’s a lot of power expressed. The yellow in the water and the green in the surroundings are a nice contrast, as is the flowing water and solidity of the rocks.
To my eye, the color of the water is a little too gold and strong. I wonder what it would look like to crop a little off the bottom. It seems like there is a little too much blank space in the rock and water flow at the bottom. It just kind of holds my eye there.
Beautiful image Ed. TME very well balanced and can feel the power. THe tree in UL isadds a lot of interest but only appreciated in the larger version. I do agree about the level of gold in the water. Very nice comp.
The shutter speed gods were good to you. The ‘strings’ of water are well defined and form a strong part of the composition. The composition is in itself very strong with the near to far perspective perfectly connected. Your landscapes are usually warm as I recall. This is no exception and I like your color cast. I do agree with everyone that the yellow in the water is over the top.
Hi Ed I guess I’m the wierd one, but I really like the water the way it is! I love the brownish colors flowing in it, it just gives it a very warm, inviting look. I really like the composition as well. Beautiful capture!
Ed, This is a wonderful looking falls and you did a great job capturing it. The shutter speed you used worked out so nice and I like this comp very much. I do agree the water looks pretty yellow and I know you said it had rained a lot which would make the water muddy.
Hi Ed, what a catch. This is really nice. The composition works nicely and keeps my eye wandering around. Like Kris, I thought that B&W would work nicely. I downloaded the image, converted it to B&W, added a touch of clarity, and a very slight vignette. It really made the scene more dramatic I think…but then, I am a fan of B&W.
Many thanks to @Kris_Smith , @Chris_Baird, @Mario_Cornacchione, @Igor_Doncov, @Vanessa_Hill, @Nick_Bristol and @David_Bostock for taking a moment to leave a thought as it is always appreciated. I had tried to do something with the water color; with no success; before posting as I thought it might be a problem for some folks. It would have been nice if it was clear, but it didn’t really bother me as I just accepted it for what it was. I almost went with a B&W version, but decided to go with the color at the last minute. Anyway here is a B&W as @David_Bostock suggested. What do you folks think?
Thanks for taking the time to do a rework @Igor_Doncov. I really like what you have done here. If you don’t mind exactly how did you reduce the yellow in the water as I had no luck.
I’m no pro at this. I just added an HSL layer and played with the saturation and luminosity of the yellow and red colors. Then I used the brush (black) to erase everything but the water. I’m sure there are more sophisticated way to do it with the TK panel.
Oh. The small really yellow part of the water in the right area required an additional layer to reduce it further.
Ed, I prefer this image in color over B&W, for the lush greens in the foliage and the mossy rocks.
Your personal style is generally to go warm with your images, which in most cases is perfectly fine. But here the warm style combined with the tannins in the water creates an unpleasant look in the water. Here is my stab at a color rework. I cooled the image very slightly overall using a TK Neutralize Color Cast at lower opacity. I then used a PS Color balance layer to reduce red (ie add cyan), and then masked that into only the water. In theory you could leave the rest of the image alone, and just reduce red in the water, but I though that looked too strange, and slightly cooled the land as well to balance the color temp a little better between water and land.
Nice shot, Ed. Wish I hadn’t been too lazy to make the hike. The composition is first rate and I like the flow of the water through the image. The greens are superb. Maybe one day we’ll also catch the rhoadies in bloom. The B&W version doesn’t do much for me. I’m not as bothered by the tannin in the water as others are, but @Igor_Doncov and @Ed_McGuirk posted some excellent reworks IMHO.
@Michael_Lowe : Next time I will nag you until you go to shut me up. @Ed_McGuirk and @Igor_Doncov: Sorry I did not reply to you guys sooner as I was away with my brother Mike for a few days. I really appreciate you both taking the time to do a rework with detailed instructions. Hopefully I can emulate your results. I do tend to go a little warm with my images.
