The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
My friend John and I do a short five or six-day canoe trip each fall into Algonquin Park. It is the place where we both first learned and came to love canoe tripping. It kinda scares me, but between the two of us we have a combined 125 years of canoe tripping experience. Yikes! For the past four autumns we have portaged into the same lake and though each year we chose a different camp site, all of them were close by each other. Each time we have done this trip John has claimed to hear the faintest sound of moving water, and though each year we searched, we hadn’t been able to locate it. What was strange is the fact that being able to hear it at all suggests that whatever we were hearing wasn’t some minor bit of moving water but a pretty serious flow with a significant drop. Well, this year we finally found it. And indeed, not some rippling rapid but a full-fledged canyon – three successive water falls with a total drop of at least four hundred feet.
Specific Feedback
This small canyon was truly magical and this image, while not what I actually saw, gets very close to capturing the mood – the mystery and wonder that I felt when I was there in this place. It almost felt like we were on sacred ground which, I suppose in a very real sense, we were.
As for requested feedback, while I hate to keep beating on the same drum, my chief focus these days is on conveying a mood. So, I would like to hear something about your experience in viewing this image and the extent to which it evokes a mood or memory in you.
Hi Kerry, You have shared a truly fine image of your hidden falls. B&W of course is perfect for this and I think your processing is spot on. I really like the detail on the right side whispering out of the darkness. So well done!
The longer shutter speed reduces the danger and violence that you write about. It makes it look lyrical and diaphonous(sp?). I like the dark rock on the bottom and the one jutting out on the right. I guess that because they break the rhythm of the image a bit.
Hi Kerry, I do like the mood in this image with the smooth bright water streaming over the dark rocks. The contrast is quite nice with the black and white. Nicely done.
You created a wonderful black and white image that is both dark and mysterious and serene. I love the dark, but still detailed blackness of the rocks that contrast so beautifully with the pure white flowing water. I also like that despite the long exposure there is still texture in the water flow.
One of the drawbacks of photographing waterfalls is that we cannot resist them, and also can’t resist using a long shutter speed. As a consequence, there are of course many images like this, so it is difficult to stand out. In fact, I could have made this photograph myself, and would be proud of and happy with it.
What counts most is that you conveyed your hidden canyon experience beautifully, and your photo indeed invokes in me the strong desire to visit and experience Algonquin again. Your hidden canyon brings back fond memories of one of the best holidays I have ever had: when I was a 22 y old biology student, I went to Algonquin with three friends, first hiking for two weeks, followed by two weeks of canoeing in canoes borrowed from Katimavik (where we took a few showers in between). One of the best wilderness experiences of my life!!
Kerry, you keep challenging my literal mindset with requests for reactions and the evocation of moods. I’m sure they are there, but somehow below verbalization. If “wow” would do, that’s definitely my reaction. I have always found waterfalls powerful experiences – who hasn’t? But living in a fairly dry climate I haven’t had as many opportunities with them as I would like, so for me this evokes more a sort of longing than an experience.
The B/W is powerful but reveals delicacy in the water flow. I love the almost-hidden BG, making this about water and power, but with beauty in strength. For my analytical mind, the mood conveyed is extreme artistry – this could be a very worthy print in any high-end gallery. The tonalities and composition are wonderful!
Kerry, this is full of mood. The blackness of the rocks is perfect. Just enough detail but no so much that you can’t be sure of what lurks in the shadows. I personaly love the long exposure of the water. It too has enough detail to mimic the texture of the rocks. Well done.
OMG I envy your experience of finding this place. It sounds like a magical adventure in a book. Wow. I’m turning green.
The thing that first strikes me here is the light. Not something that often comes across this well in monochrome. For me the mood is one of finding something precious and eternal. That water, those rocks, gravity, the seasons - they all work to make your hidden canyon what it is. There is mystery, too, in imagining all the animals that visit and don’t consider it hidden or otherwise lost. I love the little bit of jumping water in the center. You never know if you’ll get it caught so well and it’s a nice surprise when you do. The rocks feel a tad dark, but they up the drama considerably.
This photo interests me because I wouldn’t have predicted you were the photographer. I can’t remember a waterfall or such strong contrast from you, (Maybe that’s more a statement about my memory?)
I love the story of exploration, and for a photographer it is truly finding treasure to come across something special like you describe. For me, I don’t necessarily get that mood from viewing the image alone (without the story). I’m suspicious part of that is living in an area with many waterfalls; it’s easy to become a bit jaded.
With the story though, it all comes together. I love the use of deep black to suggest mystery, with a tease of more to explore. The water, the part that is known, is just beautiful. Your craft is spot on in the way the water takes on a spun glass appearance, and the flow of the composition seems just right.
This may not be as unique as some of your other images, but I’d be awful proud if it were mine.
This most certainly evokes emotion and I love it. I’m always so tempted to try to pull just a little bit more detail out of shadows and then I see images like this and I remember that sometimes, less is more. Stunner, and I’m happy you were able to find the source of the sound you’d been hearing!
What I really like about this photo is the sense of credible impossibility; the fact of seeing something and knowing that it’s not reality but just the conceptualization of an idea - something hidden in the dark.
I think that’s mood enough.
Beautiful Image. I love the Tone and Movement in the water. Did you use a ND filter to capture this image. I really like your black and white editing…
@guy - Thanks for your kind words of support. I’m particularly glad for your comment about “the detail … whispering out of the darkness” - a nice turn of phrase that is entirely in tune with my intention. @Igor_Doncov - I’m not sure of the “danger and violence” that you refer to in what I said but, in any case, as always your attention and comments are appreciated. @Allen_Sparks - Thanks for taking the time give this image a look and especially for taking the time to comment. Much appreciated. @gerard - Thank you for for extensive comments and impressions. I was particularly intrigued by your comment, “… so it is difficult to stand out” and I want to respond to that. For me, whether my photographs stand out or not is essentially irrelevant. I don’t care. I’m not trying to win a photo contest – that’s not why I make pictures. What matters to me is the extent to which I am able to give voice to my vision; the extent to which my photographs are able evoke mood, feeling, or memory in the reader. And in this regard, you seem to agree. In any case, you shared a memory that viewing this image seemed to draw up for you. So, for me, at least to the extent that it made an impression on you, this picture fulfills my intention, which pleases me to no end. I’m also not sure what you mean when you say, “I could have made this photograph myself …” I mean, I have no doubt that, technically, you could have. But if you were to see the RAW file from which this picture was made, I think you might agree that the final image you are looking at here involved a vision peculiar to me. I’m not suggesting that this kind of high contrast image is original to me or that no other photographers take this approach - assuredly not - but neither does any photographer have a “patent” on its use. There are limits to the approach any photographer can take in their attempt to fulfill their vision and give it voice. If techniques employed are in the service of the vision then it is appropriate. In any case, I appreciate your feedback if for no other reason that it caused me to stop and reflect. @Diane_Miller - I hope my questions about mood and emotional impact don’t cause undo distress That being said, I’ll take “wow” anytime, anywhere! And who knows, if I can ever get myself together enough to refill my Canon Pro-1000, a print may be in the offing. @Todd_Higgins - Thanks so much for your feedback, Todd. I appreciate your having taken the time to share. @Kris_Smith - As always, your comments and impressions are most appreciated. Your thoughts and feelings about this image are very much aligned with my intention. @John_Williams - In years past I often tried my hand at photographing moving water but you’re quite right, in recent times I haven’t felt much of an urge. But coming upon this canyon was so unexpected and awe inspiring that I couldn’t help myself. And you are right, I’ve never done an image with this sort of extreme dark contrast but somehow it was the first thing that came to mind even though, while I took this image in lowish light, it was certainly far from dark ( that I was able to shoot at ISO 200 more or less attests to that). I think it was wanting to accentuate the gorgeous light that sent me down this particular path. As you say, perhaps not as “unique” as some but, yes, I am very fond of this image because it feels like it fulfilled my vision and experience of the moment. @Bret_Edge - Thank you, Bret. And yes, I am in need of constant reminding that, indeed, less is more. @joaoquintela - “Credible impossibility”!! - I love it. Thanks so much. I hope you don’t mind if I steal that phrase @Gill_Vanderlip - Thanks for looking and taking the time to comment. Though I do carry some ND filters, I rarely use them and had no need in this case. I only had to be concerned with two things - the shutter speed and my histogram - making sure the highlights weren’t blown. Even as I took the picture I knew that wanted to make the shadows quite dark and that I could bring up just enough detail to make them intriguing.
I think this is an underappreciated aspect. I feel that we as photographers sometimes focus on what emotions others feel when viewing our images, and neglect our own response. Some (many) of my photographs I treasure may not resonate with others the way they do with me, but they are still profound in the emotions and memories I have when viewing them.
Dear Kerry,
I think we are very much on the same page, but being Dutch I used the wrong wording in a few places.
Like you, I am not at all interested in participating in photo contests and winning awards, but I do post my images because I want people to respond to my images, my way of seeing nature, in one way or another. One many forums and social media, that only happens when an image has something special, and that is what your image has, amidst thousands of images of waterfalls. Because you have laid your emotions in your image, it does stand out. This stops your finger scrolling or swiping to take a better look.
With the phrase “I could have made this image myself” I didn’t mean the technical aspects of processing a raw file, just that when I would have come across this waterfall I would have tried to photograph it as well. The result would either be similar or very different, depending on my response to the place. In any case, I like the image very much, and it also rekindles my desire to return to Algonquin one day!
@gerard - I had a hunch, Gerard, that I might be misunderstanding what you were saying based on language and not intent. One of my favourite all time quotes is by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald - “There are some writers who have to say something and some writers who have something to say”. This, I think it is fair to say, applies to all artists and it is pretty clear to me that you are of the latter camp. The reason I say this is because I have looked at your photographs and can see in them exactly what you have just now shared with me – your desire to intimately express something of your experience and unique perspective on the world. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your taking the time to clarify and I’m sorry if I came off as “over sensitive”. Clearly, we are indeed, on the same page.
That being said, I’ll take “wow” anytime, anywhere! And who knows, if I can ever get myself together enough to refill my Canon Pro-1000, a print may be in the offing.