The photographer has shared comprehensive information about their intent and creative vision for this image. Please examine the details and offer feedback on how they can most effectively realize their vision.
Self Critique
I attempted to capture the flow of the water fall with 1/3 second shutter speed and to mimic the flow in both the trees and cliff with a very slight ICM.
Creative direction
I wanted to invoke the feeling of the flow through the photo and frame the waterfall with the gold color. My goal was to have the viewer experience an AWE moment when they saw the photo.
Specific Feedback
I would like feedback on how well I achieved my conceptual goal and if I got the emotional reaction I was going for.
Any thoughts on technical aspects that might be helpful would be appreciated.
Technical Details
This was shot with a Nikon Z6, 16-80 DX 37mm (approx. 55mm), f16, ISO 100, -2/3 EV.
Description
This waterfall is located alongside the road in Jasper National Park, Alberta. It is very tall and has multiple tiers and flows that converge in this last fall as it flows into a creek bed that parallels the road. I took many shots of the various tiers but felt this best expressed the vision I was trying to capture.
What a cool scene. Lovely colors and light. If this is just one cascade, I bet the whole thing is a bit overwhelming!
I see what you’re going for here, but it’s not working for me. The shutter speed is too fast and instead imparts a sense of disruption and a jangly twitchy motion rather than fluidity. That’s just me, so if this works for you, don’t change anything. An approach I might have taken would be a much longer shutter speed - usually with a fall this big the water creates wind and updrafts that make the tree branches move quite a bit. You could try one very long take for them and a slightly shorter one for the falls themselves and combine them in Photoshop or another app that allows compositing. I think the static position of the rocks would provide a nice contrast with their crisp clarity against all the motion. Just some ideas to play with as you expand your creativity.
Peggy, I like this one very much. It’s just abstract enough. Your treatment of the rock wall on the left, in particular, is very well done.
I suggest changing two things. One is to open up the shadowed areas a bit. There’s some detail and color hiding there that would enrich the image.
I’d also make the branches at the bottom less obtrusive by lowering their saturation and brightness some. Those branches aren’t what your photo is about but they’re grabbing center stage, for me at least.
I ran this through PS to show you what I mean. That’s just my reaction. Ignore these nits if they diverge from your intent. It’s a fine shot as is.
Lovely colors and nice composition. I have to agree with Kristen, though. I find the image to be a bit jarring and jittery. If you had the leaves moving and smoothed the water, leaving the rocks defined I think it would get across the feeling that you intended.
This is an eye catching image for sure and I don’t think I’ve ever seen ICM used in quite this way. I like the overall composition and the colour palette is cohesive and imparts a calming feeling with is nicely juxtaposed with the high energy of the waterfall. So yeah, those parts I like I lot.
The one thing that my brain is struggling with is how the lines of the water in the waterfall go at a slight angle whereas the ICM lines in the trees go perfectly vertical. It somehow doesn’t feel right. Maybe if the ICM was done in the same direction as the waterfall or maybe even in the opposite direction than the waterfall?
Oooh, gorgeous colors. I’m with Kris on the ICM for the trees - it feels jangly, not fluid. The ICM worked great on the rock wall, though. And I like Don’s idea for opening up the shadows. Maybe adding negative clarity/dehaze to the trees would make them less jittery.
The cascade was more than I thought you could capture in a single image, so I concentrated on the convergence of them in this last tier. Although I did not see the twitchy motion, I do understand what you are saying. I am not a big fan of very slow shutter speed that turns the flow into a curtain of white with little definition, but that is just me. I can’t go back to this fall anytime soon so I will have to try your suggestion of compositing on another fall. Thanks for your feedback.
Thank you, Don, for taking the time demonstrate your suggestions. I am definitely going to play this image to see what those changes might do in combination with other suggestions I have received.
Thank you everyone for feedback on the photo. You have given a lot of thoughtful insight, and I am going to definitely try many of your suggestions.
This was my first time trying this technique and I am definitely going to keep trying to perfect it. [quote=“Tom Nevesely, post:5, topic:37421, username:Tom_Nevesely”]
The one thing that my brain is struggling with is how the lines of the water in the waterfall go at a slight angle whereas the ICM lines in the trees go perfectly vertical. It somehow doesn’t feel right.
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I couldn’t position myself, so I was facing the waterfall when I took the photo. Because I the fall was actually angled away from me it appears angled in the photo. Something I will keep in mind when composing shots like this in the future.
