Muddy Elakala

You have to climb over numerous rocks and felled trees to get down to the lovely Elakala Falls, but it is so worth it IMO. It had rained the night before so the water flows were a bit muddy although still quite nice; in fact the best I have seen on my visits to Blackwater SP in WV.

As always thanks for taking a moment to leave your thoughts.

Specific Feedback Requested

All C&C welcome.

Technical Details

Is this a composite: No
Nikon D800, Nikon 17-35 @ 22mm, f 16 @ 0.8 sec, ISO 800, CPL, cable release & tripod.

I remember when you put this up. Really eye-catching and dynamic. The water was really moving for it to look like this with a .8 second shutter speed. Is it really muddy or just tannic? Either way it’s worth the mad scramble.

Ed, this is great! The little kiss of backlight in the greenery on the left is top notch! My only suggestion would be to try to add some contrast in the URC. The rest of the scene the blacks are pretty deep, but there they seem to be much lighter. I don’t think it needs to be a perfect match, but something a bit closer might balance it out. I THINK, based on my one trip there, that the light filters over that edge and washes out the contrast in that spot, it might catch some of the spray coming off the falls, at least thats how I recall it.

Either way, this is great!

Thanks @_Kris; glad you enjoyed the image. This was actually .8 sec SS. I had to double check the SS myself before posting as I thought this looked more like something at 1/8 sec. The water was muddy from all the rain in addition to the tannin in the water.

Wonderful image. I missed it the first time around, so including this in 2021 highlights is a treat. Did you add brightness to the amber-colored water? For me, that glowing water is a real plus.

Thanks so much @David_Wallace and @Dick_Knudson for your thoughts; always appreciated.

@David_Wallace : You are right about about the spray coming off of the falls. This particular day was mostly sunny with some clouds so I would just sit and wait for the clouds to pass in front of the sun. It did produce some nice light on greenery as you mentioned. I’ll try a little more contrast in that are by the falls.

@Dick_Knudson : Nothing added to the water; I just tried different SS then checked the file to see which water textures I liked the best. This was the one I liked best because of the swirl under the rock.

Looks great, Ed, your ss captured the motion in the water very well while the mix of greens in the rocks and trees complement the golden brown water well.

I just got to this and glad I did – it’s gorgeous, with the composition worth the trouble, wonderful light and very nice motion blur in the water!

Agreed, this was certainly worth the effort. You can just feel the raw power of the stream and falls here, you have created a very dynamic image Ed. I love how there are scattered splashes of green in the moss and plants as your eye moves up the stream. My only suggested tweak would be a slight burning of the rock in the LRC, to create some vignetting there.