On this day, I was looking for some fall color and decided to drive out to Butte Creek near Silverton, OR. I made the short hike to Upper Butte Creek Falls. I couldn’t find any of the big leaf maples close to the falls, so I decided to arrange a some of the huge leaves on the rocks in front of the falls. It was a dark, overcast day, and threatening to rain while I was standing in the shallow water getting colder by the minute.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
I was trying to create more visual interest by intentionally arranging the maple leaves on the rocks. Obviously the scene is not as I found it. Does this work for you? Do you prefer the vertical or horizontal? All critques appreciated.
Technical Details
Nikon D850, 24-70mm @56mm, ISO 64, f/22, 10 seconds. Manual focus stack. Processed in ACR and PS.
Nice to give us some choice with two compelling views. This scene looks familiar and I can see why it might be a popular location. First let me commend you for getting low and close with regard to the foreground. A lesson hard-learned by me, but worth having to wipe off the front element now and then. Glad you avoided the rain, although light rain is the best for waterfall shots.
The leaves are obviously staged and it does bug me a little knowing that. We’ve all been tempted and many have done it (gasp, even me, LOL), but I did it with an eye for more messiness and less contrivance. All subjective, I know, but for me this is a bit obvious.
In terms of vertical v. horizontal I think each has a strength and a weakness that if eliminated and combined would make a stronger photo. For me the rocks in the horizontal are too close and also suffer by being cut off. I like where you placed the rock in the vertical more, but I find the view a bit cramped for a shot in this orientation. For me I need more expansiveness in a portrait shot simply by the narrowness inherent in its view. Does that make sense?
The stacking looks good to me, although I would take down the sharpness at the very back in the trees. Human vision naturally gets less sharp the farther things are away from us and so while the rocks will be very crisp, the tree won’t. For added realism I will sometimes take clarity down a bit in the very back of my landscapes, especially if there is a lot of detail like in this photo.
If you have other examples of shots from here, that would be interesting to compare with.
If you re-edit shots and repost, please edit your OP and add them there. This will let everyone flip them through the viewer one after the other for easier comparison. You can edit your title with something like (+ re-edit) to let folks know there’s something new.
I liked the composition horizontally better. I have been in the Silver Falls area before and loved it. The leaf jumped out at me immediately so, I think it could be toned down bit. Also, the falls and water movement give a soft feeling but the background foliage is very sharp . I think if it was softened it be moodier. Great job though. Hope your toes thawed out.
Both are simply gorgeous!! I don’t mind the staged leaves as they add so much to the composition. I love the softness of the FG water, and of course on the falls itself. I also don’t mind the sharpness of the vegetation around the falls. To me it has the feel of a tilt-shift lens with the plane of focus angled to catch the important elements.
I lean toward the horizontal but both feel just a bit cramped in the crop, for my taste. But I can understand that there may have been things you needed to cut out.
Patrick, I prefer the horizontal, because of the long “lever” of visual balance between the leaf and the falls. Overcast skies do a fine job of allowing details and great saturation in colors. The leaf is obviously staged, because there are no other leaves on the rocks in the creek. Personally, I won’t stage shots, because I believe in showing nature as it is, not as I wish it were, but that’s a personal choice and your staging does make a dramatic view.
@Kris_Smith@Charlie_Chaffee@Diane_Miller@Mark_Seaver@Mark_Eley Thank you all for the feedback! I don’t usually “stage” landscape photos, but this was an exception. The composition/crop was dictated by some dead tree limbs next to the falls I wanted to exclude from the frames. FYI, this area has been closed since the Beachie Creek fire in 2020, one of a number of large fires that blew up in Oregon on Labor Day weekend that year. So, these images have some personal meaning for me.
