Raging Potomac with Mistbow

Critique Style Requested: Standard

The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.

Description

I make a particular effort to visit Great Falls on the Potomac during high water events as the splashing gets wild. Picking the right time of the day and the day of the year also means that mist bows appear. Here’s a view from early this spring when the river was well above minimum flood stage, but not so high that the walkway to the overlook from the MD side was closed.

Specific Feedback

It took some color adjustment to keep the water its “normal” flood stage brown rather than going golden. I like the amount of splashing action and, of course, the color added by the mistbow.

Technical Details

R5, 100-500 @ 300, 1/13 s, f/20, iso 100, tripod, polarizer and 4 stop ND filter. This shutter speed gave me the splashing action that I wanted, along with some smoothing. The polarizer helps separate the mistbow from it’s surroundings.


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What a treat, Mark. This makes me wish I had gone there while we lived in Northern Virginia for years. I feel like I missed something. I love the motion of the water and the bow mist. Quite a treat.