A small stream in the Goat Rocks Wilderness, taken while backpacking this past summer.
I played with cropping more off the bottom and right, but finally decided I prefer this one. What are your thoughts?
Any and all suggestions appreciated.
Nikon D7100
Nikon 12.0-24.0 mm f/4.0 at 14 mm (21 mm equiv.)
0.3 sec. at f/16 and ISO 100
John, I like the composition here, the diagonal of the stream is strong. And I like how you included the Lupines as a secondary element, they add a lot to the nature story here. The split stream is very interesting , and makes a worthy subject. A couple of composition nitpicks. Yes I could see taking a little off the bottom/right, having that much dark rock in the LRC is not necessary. And I feel like the left channel of the stream is a little too close to the edge of the frame, would have liked to see more breathing room there. If you could have moved a bit to the right and recomposed you would have been able to do this, but perhaps something was blocking you from doing this.
John, this is a beautiful intimate scene and I like the composition very much. The colors look very nice as presented. The flowers add another level of interest and are a nice touch. I would like to see less of the bottom right but it is not something that really grabs my eye. I do agree with Ed and just a touch more room on the left would be helpful. I see you shot at 14mm and wonder if 12 of 13 was possible or were there other considerations? These are nits, this is a fine scene as presented!
I really like the colors here, the rich variety of green hues of moss, ferns, and what appear to be lupines. Especially where they cling to the wet rocks. I also like the results of the Orton Effect. In summary, I prefer the upper 2/3rds of the image where the whites don’t dominate quite so much. The central rocks framed by the rivulets of water is the heart of the image for me and I would build around that. Yes, you would lose the wonderful ferns on the large rock on the left. I think a faster shutter speed could have helped here.
Excellent detail, handling of the bright greens and whites, and the inclusion of the blue lupines is perfect.
Rather than cropping on the right re the dark area, which would remove some of the lupines, I’d simply dodge the area lightly, or use the shadow/highlight tool here to bring out more detail to minimize the dark parts.
I agree a bit more room on the left would be an improvement. .
Fine image!
Sandy
This is quite beautiful John! Processing, colors/contrast all remind me so much of what Velvia would render… 
Which is both a compliment as well as a reveal on Velvia’s weakness and that was blocked up shadows. Not a huge deal really, give the vibrant beauty of this intimate cascade and surrounding greens.
I’m torn on a crop. As presented, I like that the water has a chance to exit the composition and perhaps a crop would leave the water at the bottom unresolved? Then again, cropping out the dark rock at the bottom where the water splits might work as well. And for the dark areas LR, this is a classic situation where TK’s older Darks Triple Play could come in handy.
In the end though, all these points are minor and for tweaking purposes. You’ve captured a real beauty here.
Lon
You captured the perfect light to show off the stream and the surrounding lush greens, John. I also like your SS choice as well as the placement of the wildflowers in the image. I am glad you did not crop from the right as I would hate to lose some of the wildflowers. I could see opening up the shadows a little along the top right, but that is minor stuff as this is a lovely scene as presented.
Really nice image, John. I am torn on the bottom crop. It changes the feel of the image, but looks good. Toss up. I agree about opening up the shadows a bit, but minor stuff.
I think a crop with the water leaving at the bottom corner would look good if you have it but this is probably full frame.
Colors are making me wish for an early spring… I think you de-clarified some for the soft feel and that was probably your vision but II think some sharpness at the bottom of the frame which is closer to the viewer would give it some more depth.
Nice work.
Thanks for the feedback all! I will play with this one more.
Unfortunately I could not move to the right to compose. I was clinging to a narrow ledge, and would have had to step way down into the stream to move; that would have completely changed the perspective (unfortunately in a negative way).
This is very beautiful, John. Your careful field technique and post processing are evident. No nits,
