D850 Nikon with Tamron 28mm-70mm lens. 2-focus-stack and also pair of exposures. Double exposure mostly to bring down the light level on the water itself.
I have two images which I would like to be seen as a pair, one looking up and one looking down.
The waterfall is generally not one of the better-known ones in Snowdonia or Wales, but I believe it should be better known. Here, the photos have been preceded by an enornous amount of rain even for Welsh standards!
The “uphill” photo is 1/15 sec; the “downhill” one 1/30 sec. The speed of the water was very fast, and maybe the uphill one would also have been better at 1/30 sec. also.
What gorgeous countryside. It’s hot (105+) and dry here in northern California, so I could look at these all day!
Compositionally, the first one (vertical) feels unbalanced to me. I think it is that area of reddish rock and water in the LRC. Warm, reddish tones carry a lot of weight, and cropping a bit off the bottom would equalize things. Perhaps a 5x7 crop, just above that depression with the red water.
The second one works well for me. The water has a lot of energy (from that shorter SS), which contrasts well with the bucolic countryside. The layers of scenery are lovely. Looks like you put a bit of a vignette on this one. The left, top, and bottom are good (as in not really noticeable), but the right side looks a bit dark.
Thanks for sharing your countryside. I’d love to see more!
Thanks, Bonnie, especially as I now see I posted in the wrong category! Now I’m trying to work out how to get it across to Landscape, but then maybe I wouldn’t have got your very apposite critique. I know exactly what you mean – I wanted to crop the image width-wise a bit, but then it looked too long and a bit unbalanced, vertically, as you say. But I really wanted that rock pool at the bottom and that over-rode the balance thing – but you are right, and I will revisit to try to improve the balance. Looking at it now, cropping the bottom off might give a bit more focus to the smaller rock pool just above and that might have to do. I can also see the dark right hand side: not supposed to be there and very obvious. I think it must have got there in error when doing a couple of last-minute subtle lighting changes just before submitting. Thanks again for pointing out.
Wales is lovely, but the lovely lush green countryside comes at a price of a vast amount of rain, but you get sun too, and it has been nicknamed “Land of rainbows” as you see quite a lot of these. I lived in LA for a year many years ago, so I know about hot and dry!!
Bonnie, I hope you like these better, and thanks for pointing out those things. I have cropped the uphill one into a 5 by 7 and agree that it looks better, and I didn 't have to dispense with the rock pool, and I hope there is enough of it that it doesn’t look like a mistake at the edge. I also slightly altered the texture of the bottom left rocks and feel that is an improvement too, as it draws attention to them as part of the photo, and also separates it better visually from the water. I’m sure I will see some other things as soon as I have re-posted, but that is what it is all about! With the other image, as well as the unwanted dark band I made a couple of other very small changes to enhance the vista (well, with the hope of doing so!).
I prefer the colors in the first image, particularly the yellowish greens, but the second image has a composition that is just a wee better. In the first image the lower part, especially the rocks, is not that strong. From the submerged rocks upwards - it looks real good.
Thanks, Igor, I have had this and that thoughts about the bottom part of the first image, and maybe you are right, I should get rid of it. I liked the close-up view of the rocks in the foreground which to me gave a link for the viewer to the underlying feel and structure of the whole scape, and the water rushing by a reminder of the strength of the flow, but notwithstanding it may not have a place in the rest of the image. I’ll keep looking and experimenting, so thanks for your comments.
Thank you, Tony. I think you are right, and that seems the consensus! Somewhere there is a photo of that waterfall which has the pool, but not this one!!
Thanks to all who have suggested a crop at the bottom. I did a small one above, somewhat reluctant to get rid of a part of the image I liked, but looking at this I agree that it has a better composition now. Much appreciate the interest and time that you have taken, Bonnie, Igor and Tony! I’m hoping you agree that this is an improvement.
