This is a single exposure from 3 years ago this summer. I never liked the way it looked and the water level is much lower than some of the great shots out there , so I just forgot it. I decided to revisit it after seeing multiple pictures on social media lately. Maybe I am to harsh because I have visited this place in it’s better days. So will listen to any critiques to make this a better looking shot.
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
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I think you nailed it. I’ve been there several times and never knew what to do about that log but you’ve used it beautifully. I would have chosen a faster shutter speed but this is in my opinion one of the few where a slower speed works well due to the lacy look it creates due to smaller water in the fall. Don’t know what to suggest. Add a bit more space to the right of large rock? Dodge the darkness a tad in the llc? Part of the beauty, however, is some of the darkness.
Its lovely. Assuming it is possible I think I would recover a tad more detail in the base and perhaps the lower left corner is a bit void of interest so it might be possible to crop a touch off the base to reduce this area without compromising the rest of the foreground rocks.
I agree with @Igor_Doncov, I think you more or less nailed the composition. I have not visited this location, but I can see how the log is a major issue, but it looks like you figured out a a very effective way to deal with it in this composition, I’m not you could have done a better job dealing with the log.
I agree with @Ian_Cameron about a crop for the bottom to address the LLC. This gets into subjective personal taste, but the whites in the water look slightly too cool to me, I wouldn’t want them neutral white either, just slightly less cool. I would also suggest burning down the falls in the top center, it is slightly too hot for my taste. If you don’t mind, here is a rework reflecting my comments, including warming up the highlights, a crop, and burning the top center. I think the warmer highlights does some nice things on the moss as well as the water.
Can we suggest taking a chainsaw in there to move the twig?
I like the warmer highlights Ed added. I know that trick but dont often employ it when I should. Don’t remember enough.
I am jealous of the Gorge. I need to get up there to shoot it, never been. I like the lower water levels. I have seen many photos with the water level up on this one and I like the lacy look of the small rivulets a bit more actually.
Thanks @Drew_Armstrong, @Nathan_Klein, @Ed_McGuirk, @Ian_Cameron, @Igor_Doncov for the great input. I do like that crop that Ed suggests and will do that. I bet I am not the only photographer that would like that “twig” gone. Unfortunately there are way to many falls around here with that problem. Maybe we could get some approved volunteers to do that. Making the upper falls a little hotter than needed is my way of hiding those twigs in plain site. In this case I had to do considerable amount of burning to about a 1/4 of that log. It is well worn out by many a butts posing on it over the years. As a result what I do is take down the “shine” on the log then over illuminate around it , hopefully making the eye spend less time looking at it. Sometimes it works better than others. Thanks for the input. I will put the suggestions to work.
Interesting comments: I guess I’m the only one who actually likes the log being there!
For me, it makes the image more interesting, and more real than the typical waterfall image.
I like it just as it is.
