The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
Ricketts Glen SP in PA has 21 named waterfalls and is a waterfall photographers paradise! I find Tuscarora Falls to be one of the most beautiful and photogenic ones in the park. There had been a light rain and it gave the yellow autumn leaves a little more pop. The water flows were quite nice and created some nice details in the FG water and accentuated the two drops to the falls.
Specific Feedback
Overall I am happy with the image, but If you notice anything that I missed please feel free to let me know. I had hoped to go back this year and use a shorter SS, but with no rain in the forecast, bright sunny days and the drought conditions it would probably be a waste of time.
Technical Details
Nikon D800, Nikon 17-35 @ 24 mm, f 18 @ 1.3 sec, CPL, cable release & tripod.
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
Hi Ed, Thanks for sharing this lovely waterfall image with us. I feel the water flow/shutter speed is working nicely but that certainly is a personal choice… Your position gives the image a really fine sense of depth and really captures the special feeling of being there. All in all a beautiful image of a wetter time…
ps. I had planned a Rickets Glen trip for this fall but with such dry weather I canceled after finding my favorite western MA falls just tiny trickles. Hopefully conditions will improve for us all for next year!
Ed, you did a fine job with a beautiful scene. It occurs to me that the top half of the image would be a good composition all by itself, but then you’d lose some depth.
The water at the bottom is yellower than the water above. Part of the middle waterfall is also yellower. Any idea what causes that? It could be a reflection of yellow foliage. I wouldn’t say it bothers me but I’d consider reducing the yellows in those areas just to keep them from drawing a viewer’s attention.
Wonderful!! I would probably still be there! This is fantasyland for those of us on the dry west coast. I normally would try to make water clear or blue but the tan / gold looks good here. Maybe @Kris_Smith has educated me about tannins. I have not the tiniest nit, but I am green with jealously. Too bad conditions we’re not as good this year. Fingers crossed for next!
Ed, this is a great look up and into this waterfall. The greens and golds at the top and along the sides coordinate very well with the warm brown in the water at the bottom. That brown makes a great visual entry to fall from the bottom.
Oh you’re getting me all psyched up for my workshop next week to photograph waterfalls in Tennessee. I like the framing here and that you managed to not get a ton of sky in the top. Shutter speed looks decent to me as it’s not very long and has some modeling left in the water. Tannins are normal and natural for many streams and rivers and so the Root Beer aspect looks fine and like it should be there. The leafy rocks flanking the squeeze look excellent and they contrast with the very dark rock well. Dramatic. Did you experiment with separating colors at all? Sometimes I find that moving the yellow and orange sliders in different directions can give some nuance to the color palette. An excellent image of a very interesting cascade.
Thank you everyone @guy, @Don_Peters, @Diane_Miller, @Mark_Seaver and @Kris_Smith for your thoughtful C&C as it is always appreciated. @guy: I hear you on the lousy waterfall conditions this year due to the lack of rain. Ricketts Glen is a great location for waterfalls IMO. Hopefully next year. @Don_Peters: The yellow is due to a lot of tannin in the water. I’ll play around and see what I come up with. @Diane_Miller: Ricketts truly is a photographer’s paradise with so many waterfalls ranging it height from 11’ to 94’. @Mark_Seaver: Thanks for the kind words Mark! @Kris_Smith: Have fun on your waterfall trip to Tennessee; glad you are psyched up. I will play around with the orange and yellow sliders and see what I can come up with. Thanks for letting Diane know about tannins.
Heh. Yeah, brown water perplexes a lot of folks who don’t have it as a normal occurrence or state in their rivers and streams. Tannins make waterfalls and cascades into root beer floats. Not going to have that in TN though. Looks like the waters are all falling over limestone and the Eastern Hemlock (a big contributor to tannic water, but not the only one) doesn’t occur in western TN. There is one day of rain forecasted and a couple more days with some clouds around so I’m hopeful we can play in the woods for more than just sun up and down.
An oldie but goodie Ed. The composition is exceptional. SS ,dof, color, saturation all look great. Would look great printed large. It’s just my personal preference, but I’m not a fan of brown water. I triedwith my limited PS skills to remove some of the color. Hope you don’t mind.
Wonderful image and nice perspective. I won’t repeat all the previous kudos!
I do understand tannins in the water, but the brown just looks odd to me, so I like Michael’s rendition as well.
Both are fntastic.
