I’d love anything, particularly though I’m having issues trying to work out (maybe because I’ve been looking at this for too long) how to dodge and burn so that the composition looks nicer and bring down brights is areas like the middle right without sacrificing a dramatic contrasty shot.
The other thing I wanted feedback on is whether or not I’m going in the correct direction regarding the colour and if it’s giving off a moody/dark feel
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
Yep go for it
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
4 shots taken in the same place at about 0.5sec shutter, manually masked in within Photoshop then basic adjustments, masking with TK actions, camera raw & dodging/burning
Hi @dalegphoto , i love so much the composition, it’s very balanced in my opinion. I like the water flow, really helps the composition creating leading lines. Regarding processing, i like the foreground, but i would add some vignette to the sky to lead the eye into the frame. Thanks for sharing.
You’ve got an interesting long line of moving water into the frame! Moody and dark it is! I’m not sure about the branch filling so much of the frame, but that’s personal taste. The sky could use some contrast to add some interest, though there is mainly just cloud cover. I would like a vignette like @masdamb mentioned too, it will help to balance the image.
Adjusting the brightest waves and splashes will not kill the mood I think. I think I would even try to dodge some of the interesting lines a bit more, I think it will work.
Nice moody presentation!
The bluish colour gives this image a moody feel for me as does the contrast.
Personally and I know this is subjective the branch is a minor distraction. Without it the flow of the water would guide my eye through the frame towards the headland at the back.
For me some of the brights appear a little unnatural. For example the pool of water near the rocks is brighter than the rolling whitewater at the top of the frame which gives an illusion of a light source being under the water similar to an algae glow. I would reduce some of those bright brights.
I like the shutter time that you’ve chosen for this shot.
I like the composition, and I like the contrasty, blue mood of your processing. The image has a wild and stormy feeling to it. The shutter speed used here did a great job with the look of the flowing water. I agree with many of the comments you already have received, this image can be taken up a notch with some more dodging and burning to improve tonal balance. A stronger vignette in the sky would help. Burn down the brightest highlights in water, but dodge some of the other white streaks that are not bright, for some better tonal balance of the lights. I would also burn down the white water behind the tree, to place more emphasis on the tree.
Here is a rework with a directional stab at doing this.
I like very much the way the branch seems to strike out against the flow of the waters and how the quiet sky and distant hill offset the drama of the body of the image. The overall tonality - quite dark with flashes of light - sets up a strong mood.
