This cliff is very near the house, but it rarely reflects very well - a warm December afternoon is best. A faintly visible movement of the water reminds me where the river is.
Specific Feedback Requested
The rock is mostly beige, but I thought a B and W treatment would emphasize the lines better. There are many ways of processing this, so any suggestions for alternatives would be very welcome.
Technical Details
D7100 + Tamron 150-600 (@600mm) 1/640 f8 ISO 800
In PS I went to the B & W adjustment and played with the colour sliders. Then I adjusted the B & W image with Shadows and Highlights. In Nik Silver Efex Pro I used the “Wet Rocks” filter - and finally lightened the shadows a little more.
Ola suggested a more 3D treatment, so I went into Nik HDR Efex and made this version:
Very nice and engaging. I am NOT very skilled at B&W adjustments; that said, I’d love to see the little tree pop out just a bit more. Also, is it just me and too many cups of coffee this morning or does the horizontal line drop to the right just a wee bit?! Regardless, I find mirror images often challenging but this is busy enough my eye is very occupied.
This is very cool, Mike. This really is a great abstract. Honestly, I’m not that interested in the tree or any of the details in particular. What I’m seeing is a field of texture and tone. Black and white is a daring but perfect choice. I’ve also just had my morning coffee but I don’t think the tilt to the right is the caffeine. I assume it isn’t intentional.
The middle part of the reflection is absolutely mesmerizing. It’s almost like one of those magic eye posters and I keep trying to see the hidden picture. Great choice for b&w, too. The horizon does seem tilted to me as the others have mentioned. Ordinarily I’d love the inclusion of the tree, but I don’t think it’s adding much here since it blends so well. If you could use it to illustrate the similar way the cracks and the branches are formed, that might work. Or if it had leaves on it to make it stand out as a living thing, that would, too, but as is I’m not sure you need it. If you have other views of different sections of this cliff and reflection, those might work, but this has a great center to it so I guess I can ignore the tree. Super scene.
Hi Mike,
This is just so damn cool. That reflection is mind-blowing. Upon looking at it blown up, I love the subtleness of the ripples in the water. I didn’t notice it not being straight. Also, I took a shot at fooling around with some edits. I increased the contrast in Silver Efex (I’m Mr. Contrast guy) and then decreased the exposure by 0.38 in photoshop, but just for the central black band and just above (both above and below water line). I’m not really sure it needs those edits, but interesting to see another look. You took a great shot.
Yes, @David_Mullin, I like what you’ve done to the central band very much. I was heading in that direction, but wasn’t sure how to do it, so many thanks! Glad you like the ripples. This is actually a cool place to chill most days.
Amazing rocks and reflection!! The tiny ripples are a great touch. I didn’t see the earlier version but this one (pulled into PS) is dead-level. I really like the abstraction of B/W here.
What a cool image! In my opinion your B&W treatment is just spot on. No need for any changes. But I really like the 3D effect, and any changes to even more emphasize that effect could be worth to investigate (but how to do that is outside my knowledge).
Stunning reflection, Mike. Beautiful image that keeps the eyes engaged. I like the subtle changes that David did. If I were to nitpick the image I would bring down texture just ever so slightly to soften the image just a tad. Great image!
A super interesting, super creative image that plays with the mind wonderfully! I prefer the more contrasty edit but am not sure about the 3D treatment as there already is a lot going and it feels a bit harsh - just my taste. You have an excellent knack for stylization!
