Description: Unnamed Stream, Sol Duc trail, Olympic National Forest.
This was taken with my first digital camera back in May of 2003.
This idyllic scene was washed out during heavy storm a few years later and has never come back to what it was…I remember seeing a similar image as an inspirational poster in a workplace once…
Specific Feedback Requested:
Any comments/critiques appreciated
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
Is this a composite? (focus stacks or exposure blends are not considered composites) No
Canon 10D, 16-35Zoom at 32mm, 4 seconds @ f/16, ISO 100, Polarizer and Tripod…
Thanks to everyone for the comments and critiques. Here’s another image in a more square format as suggested. To me it feels a little too centered:
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This has a very peaceful calming effect that I really appreciate. The beautiful moss, shadows and the soft water all add to that mood. I believe I passed this spot on Sol Duc trail during my only visit and worked this steam with less success than you. The water was very low and in 2019 as you mentioned.
It’s a little tight, but I love the interplay of calm and tension. The moss is wonderful, but the highlights are a bit uniform. Too bad it washed out, but I’m glad you caught this in time.
A beautiful stream capture, David. I agree with Kris on the tightness but I like the compositional concept. The lushness of the greens is gorgeous and I love the neutral color balance of the water. I have a suggestion to try, but it would be a little tedious and I have no idea if it would help or hurt, but here goes. The shadows among the rocks seems extreme, so I would try opening them somewhat, while, at the same time, darkening the water a bit (not the white foamy parts). I actually downloaded it to see if I could do it, but the blacks were completely clipped in the jpeg so it wouldn’t work, but perhaps there is data in the RAW file that could be worked. I was able to darken the water somewhat and I thought that actually helped a little, though.
I’m a big fan of mossy streams, and the moss here is just wonderful. I think your shutter speed has produced a pleasing looking flow in the cascades as well. I agree with some of the others comments about it feeling tight along the sides. Both the water and the moss are really nice, I just wish the mossy rocks had gotten equal billing by showing a bit more of them on each side. Despite the vertical flow of the stream, I think a more squarish or 4x5 crop would have allowed a more extensive view of the mossy rock.
Funny - this caught my eye immediately…namely because I’m working on several spring mossy stream shots from this spring.
You’ve had some good feedback so far. The heavy polarization did a great job of darkening the rocks and water…something I feel helps build the contrast of the scene. At first glance, these can seem so easy to capture, but then when you look around at some of the elements, it can be difficult to “feel” whether to include/exclude some components.
The wider scene may be my favorite but would square crop it to take out the darker root ball in ULC and log on L side. Agree that the primary image has lost detail in the moss on the brighter aspects, but this may have been a limitation of the pixel count for a camera from 2003.
Regardless, a beautiful place and well worth sharing…thanks!
I definitely prefer the horizontal version, David. It gives the sides of the stream a little breathing room and showcases those lovely greens of the moss covered rocks a bit more. This has such a peaceful vibe to it that I find very inviting. Beautiful image!
Hi David! This is a beautiful image. I can’t add anything new to the comments above, but I agree Jim about cropping a bit off the left side of the wider image. Nice work!
This is a beautiful scene, David. Of the three options, I prefer the first because of the emphasis that it places on the cascading stream. This composition fills the frame with the flow of the water and provides just enough of the moss-covered rocks to add context and color interest.
