Unperturbed

Image Critiques Weekly Challenge
1

Unperturbed.jpg
Unperturbed.jpg1500×1126 330 KB

Critique Style Requested: Standard

The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.

Description

During a trip on the Colorado River, the traveler spends hours a day musing about time. There seems to be a paradox in the way raging, rushing water is constantly wearing away billion-year-old stone that looks immutable. Throughout each day, I was astonished by the mass of the canyon walls and their variability in texture and color. On this morning, the earliest kiss of light brought out an unusual rounded quality in this section of rock, and the vivid mosses seemed to suggest a certain gentleness here. I used a slow shutter speed to smooth the river so its rough and tumble behavior wouldn’t compete with that softness. I think there’s also something in using a slow shutter to emphasize the ceaselessness in the flow of the river: A faster shutter speed suggests its power, but shows just one moment of a process that never ceases. This spot is at the top of a rapid we would enter right after breakfast, and we had been warned the night before that the run could be dangerous. After a restless night, perhaps using a slow shutter speed was also my attempt to calm the waters – and my fears.

Technical Details

ISO 100. 100mm. f/14. 1.3 seconds.

Mostly finished in Lightroom . May have done some color painting in Photoshop to tame hot spots in the water.

1 Like
2

Mary, the soft turquoise of the water balances nicely with the warm tones in the rocks. The green algae/moss makes a good color transistion.

3

Hi Mary and welcome back! I have to admit I enjoyed your well-worded description as much as your photo. So, apparently you made it through the rapids and lived to tell about it :grin:. Slowing the river down was a great idea and adds to the serenity of the scene. I agree with Mark about the colors; you had pretty nice light at the bottom of the canyon. Nice detail in the moss and rocks too. The only thing I would be tempted to do is bring up the shadows in that narrow, vertical spot a bit, to reveal more detail. A very pleasing image overall!

4

Welcome back Mary. I love the color palette in this image. You did a nice job of smoothing out the rough water so to speak. Glad you made it through. I almost get a sense of a mountain top sticking up out of a cloud bank with this. Cool shot.

5

Thank you, Mark. I hadn’t thought in terms of a color transition at the waterline, so your comment teaches me something new!

6

Thank you, Ed. Nice to see where your imagination took you!

7

That’s a good idea, Jim. Thanks for taking the time to give it a close look.

8

Mary, I would hang this. The softness of the water emphasizes the shape-smoothed-but-texture-still-rough facade of the rocks, and the color - especially where the water and moss or algae meet is wonderful. I might also bring up the shadows in the crevice slightly, but only slightly - I like the depth that area provides and seeing the water moving into it. Really great choice to slow the water!