Rainforest Stream

This image was taken on a workshop in Olympic NP in the fall. This is a very small stream in the Sol Duc River Valley and the rainy overcast day provided great color and soft lighting.

Specific Feedback Requested

Feedback on composition in general and how I can make small landscapes like this better tell a story or evoke a feeling.

Technical Details

24-70 mm f/2.8 lens @ 70mm. 13 sec @ f/22, ISO 100. Minimal processing with highlights/shadows, temperature/tint. No adjustments to vibrance/saturation (believe it or not). Should I have brought the saturation down from the original exposure? It seems like there are competing schools of thought on making an image “dramatic” v. “natural” or how captured originally.

Hi Robert. The water is so nice and smooth. Green of the moss is also nice and the composition just takes you bouncing along from rock to rock. If there were something to change, maybe a bit of crop on the top edge? That section is not contributing as much to the photo. Great shot!

Hi Robert, it’s great to see that little stream coming back. It was washed out several years ago in a wild storm. All the beautiful moss was washed away. I like this comp very much. Nicely seen.

Thanks; I agree with your crop suggestion.

Thank you very much.

Robert

I like this set of cascades. There is a lot of interest here. I envision some color adjustments and a crop from the top of the frame. I would definitely desaturate the greens and yellows. There’s a slight tinge of blue in the cascades and some clipped highlights in the water as well. The last thing I would do is desaturate the reds/oranges.

I am attaching a quick rough and dirty edit of what I was seeing with some quick touch ups.

Hope this helps!

DT

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Thanks for your comments, David. I will keep learning.

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