This is a picture I made yesterday (10/8/21) in a State Natural Area about 40 miles from my WI home. It was a rainy morning when I decided to head over there just to see how things were looking. My last visit was during the winter but I knew it good be a wonderful place in the fall. I was lucky to have the place to myself for awhile which worked out quite nice. With hip waders on I went as far as I could up the creek into the gorge and ended up making this shot. It is a very interesting place and I had an awesome time in there.
Specific Feedback Requested
All thoughts welcome.
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Image was shot off of a tripod with a Canon 5DMK4, 16-35 F4 L lens at 35mm, ISO 50, F/16, 13 sec. CPL.
Nick this is excellent. The shutter speed was perfect to catch the water flow while still making clear the leaves. The moodiness is also very good. I can’t think of anything I would recommend for a change. Hang this one on the wall and enjoy.
I think this is pretty nice Nick. It’s pretty dark but I think the place calls for that. I might have preferred individual leaves rather than streaks but I suppose there wasn’t enough light for that.
I had to open the larger version to really appreciate this image. The details are lovely. I like the choice of the longer shutter speed to allow the leaf movement in the water. The dark mood is very nice indeed.
David, Igor and Keith, Thanks guys for your thoughts on this one. As always very much appreciated.
Igor, I could have got by with a shorter exposure and that might have worked out nice, but I actually had it in my head that I wanted a long exposure of at least 10 seconds and liked this 13 sec one the best of what I shot. Thank you!
This image is very dynamic. I like the sense of motion here.
From a personal taste perspective I’d be inclined to add a bit of a spot light effect to accentuate the falls area and further pronounce the transition from dark to light. I’d also try colour grading the shadows with a dark cyan to compliment the reds and browns.
Nathan, Thank you! Sounds like interesting suggestions to try and can see that adding to the image. Thanks and if you want to try please feel free to do so. I’m not quite sure how to do the color grading to the shadows.
This is very nice, Nick. I love the diagonals and the layering of the cliff walls. I think the streaks and the leaves work well to emphasize the flow of the river, and also to help pull your eye back to the waterfall. The only thing I might suggest is to burn down the parallelogram shaped rock or stump along the left wall in the back. Its contrast against its dark surroundings make it a bit of an eye magnet for me.
A stunning image Nick, this looks like an emerald version of the Subway in Zion NP, Utah. I love the dark look of the image. Putting in the extra effort to use waders to get this paid off nicely for you. I love sense of depth and motion created by the leaves, they really help put the image over the top. I do agree with @Craig_Moreau about burning the rock to the left of the falls
Here is an interpretation with the colours tuned. I didn’t up adding colour but neutralised the colours and used a mask to limit the neutralisation to the shadows. Hopefully it creates a bit of ‘pop’. This is well within the personal preference category but hopefully another perspective adds some value.
Nathan, That looks great and thank you for doing it! It has a cooler look to me that fits this scene very nicely. Thanks for taking the time! Cheers, Nick
