The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
First, I want to wish everyone a very Happy New Year! This image is a very popular waterfall and summer swimming hole in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas. Unfortunately, as is frequently the case, it was an extremely dry autumn with very little rainfall. Consequently, this image was taken under low flow conditions. Often, I find it necessary to use a longer shutter speed than I normally would to enhance what little flow there is. I this case it was a trickle. I really like how the rock ledge in the FG and the autumn colors on the left frame the waterfall. Yes, the water is actually that color. It is characteristic of Ozark Mountain streams.
Specific Feedback
Unfortunately, this some slight movement of the leaves on the left side due to the longer shutter speed, but I can live with it. There is also some sheen or glare on the rocks above the waterfall. I would normally have used a CPL to eliminate the sheen, but the colors were already saturated, so I didn’t want to saturate them even more. I suppose I could have reduced the sheen in post. Any thoughts on the composition, and the overall post processing?
Technical Details
Camera settings used: 35mm, f11, 2.0 secs, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe LRC and PS.
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
I like the shot. I agree with you about the framing of the falls. Well done. I’m surprised you have that much DOF with a 35mm lens @ f/11. I do find the leaf movement in the ULC to be a little distracting. Not a deal breaker IMHO. I would probably dodge the shadows under the ledge just a tad. Not much. The falls where it contacts the water is clipped. Sometimes not much you can do about it. Maybe raise the ISO a little to shorten the SS, but then you might not get the texture you want in the falls.
Regarding the CPL, storage is cheap vs film. I always experiment and take some pics without and some with turning the polarizer to various strengths.
I am really enjoying exploring this image! It has a real nice balance of flowing water, emerald pool nicely framed by the rock ledges and fall foliage on the trees. The brown fall leaves just add that final touch that winter will be here soon! Only thing I would change is to clone out/remove what appears to be railing ends or fence board ends sticking out from the lower portion of the tree trunk. Other than that, this is just a fantastic image!
Interesting (and nice) color, oddly like glacial water. I like the framing here, with a peek along the shelf beyond the falls. I like low flow images for the greater detail, but the pleasing arc of the water shows it isn’t exactly a trickle. I wonder if the motion blur on the leaves could be fixed with layering and masking a second exposure with higher SS but the same exposure – and noise reduction to match the rest of the image. Very pleasing scene!!
That’s a real eye-catcher Steven. I’ve never been to your state, and love seeing images from there. I too like the framing that the ledge and color provide, and some great suggestions above on small tweaks to improve an already wonderful image.
I’m curious what the scene looked like to the right. For some reason, as waterfalls crowd the downstream edge they start to feel tight too me. This one’s just fine as is if the right wasn’t as attractive, but if it continued the theme here and was this attractive more room on the right would be a final tweak to play with.
I like your use of the vegetation to create a natural frame, Steven. What a beautiful location and the low water flow makes no difference to me. The color pallet seems to be just about right and the fall colors make all the difference. You might still be able to tone down the hottest whites but it really doesn’t bother me anyway. The OOF leaves and branches are distracting but enough to ruin this beautiful image. Next time you could take a long exposure of the water to create your desired effect and then without moving the camera take a second exposure with a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the blowing branches and leaves and then blend them in PS with a mask. When you’re in the moment it’s sometimes hard to remember to do this. This just happened to me on my last trip. I forgot do do what I just suggested to you. Oh well. Next time!
As far as the framing, I would love to see a little room at the bottom of the image if you have it. It feels a little out of balance with the rest of the frame. I totally get it if there was no room for added added foreground pixels but if you do have them I’d love see more of it included.
I agree with Michael about dodging the shadows under the ledge just a tad.
@David_Haynes, thank you for the comments and suggestion. You are correct, I could have blended two shots, one with a slower SS and one with a faster SS, but at the time I didn’t think of it. I do have more pixels at the foreground, I cropped quite a bit off, maybe too much. @Don_Peters, thank you for compliment, @John_Williams, thank you for your comments and suggestions. Under normal flow, the waterfall extends across the entire ledge, but it was not very attractive to the right without any flow, @Diane_Miller, thank you for your compliment and suggestions. I agree, combining two images at different SS would fix the motion blur, but at the time, I didn’t think of it, @Keith_Flood, thank you for your comments and your compliment. The boards on the tree tell a story. The locals use the boards to climb out of the pool because they will repeatedly jump off the top of the waterfall when they swim in warmer months, @Michael_Lowe, thank you for your comments and suggestions, these are things I need to strive to remember when I’m shooting waterfall scenes.
I love the image for its tone and hues. I suspect you could have sped up the exposure a bit by increasing the ISO and even opening up the aperture to f/8 or f/9. The blurred leaves are a bit distracting but I feel your pain. I love long exposures of water, but it’s very rarely perfectly calm near falling water! I wonder if the composition would be slightly more compelling by having gone with a standard 2:3 horizontal with the falls slightly to the left of center?
