I was making my way to Moores Cove Falls in Pisgah Nat’l Forest during a several day period of rain when nearing my goal, I looked across the forest to this beautiful unnamed fall that must have been present only because of the heavier rain. At the end of the day, this was my favored shot compared to the fall I came to see.
Any comments are welcome…please. I’m also curious what people think about the crop factor (2:3) vs 4:5 in vertical shots.
What technical feedback would you like if any?
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
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I like the transition from green to gold-green. The little waterfall in the BG is a nice added feature. I wish that more of the waterfall/stream was visible as it seems to be hanging in space. It looks a lot better in the large view and more of the stream is apparent. Well done…Jim
I find this composition to be intriguing and well worth spending time on. I feel that simplifying it further improves it (see below). You might get some comments on the bright leaves on the right. I like them as they are. It would h
Jim, this is a pretty striking image, the contrast of the greens and yellows has a lot of impact for me. I think your processing is very well done here as well. Really nice work here on your part.
This image, plus @Igor_Doncov comment on simplification, got me to thinking about vertical compositions. Obviously with these trees, using a vertical makes sense. But after seeing Igor’s rework, I do think it works better showing less of the trees, i think the same story can be told without showing of the trees. Having “grown up” on 35mm slide film, I used to be strongly biased towards a 3:2 aspect ratio, but in this case i do think less would be more.
I do like what Igor has done, it has simplified the image to place more emphasis on the “waterfall within the forest” story, so his crop works well. However, I was attracted to a different story in this image, the relationship between the yellow trees at the top, and what I assume are fallen yellow leaves below (though that yellow might be on the plants below, and not fallen leaves). Thus I would crop to an aspect ratio similar to Igors, but kind of do the reverse…
This is a beautiful composition, Jim. The scattering of yellow leaves is almost like a sprinkling of gold in the image. I could not relate to 3:2 aspect ratio very well lately, I can still see it work for horizontal but it’s very hard to understand it in the vertical orientation. So I am with Igor and Ed here in simplifying the image by cropping a little. Igor’s crop works quite well for the waterfall story but I am with Ed about the golden colors on top. Just two different stories.
Thanks @Jim_Zablotny for your review. It was this very unique appearance of having a waterfall suspended in a forest that drew my attention and I wondered if it would be too abstract/unusual for the viewer. My intent was actually to have the falls as primary and the leaves as secondary, but their relative size does not translate that well.
@Ed_McGuirk, @Igor_Doncov & @Adhika_Lie…I agree with all of you and also tend toward a cropped image for the vertical. To my eye, the tall stand of the forest still translates well and it feels a bit more comfortable and intimate as a cropped scene. And I enjoy the varied stories told by varying the crop.
Thanks everyone for your comments - always appreciated.
I always have a difficult time composing these kind of scenes. I think your composition is great with nice spacing of the trees. It might be nice to have a bit more breathing room between the right side of the falls and the tree, but I know how difficult it is to compose these kind of shots. I also like the gold to green gradient.
