There is a little stream in a canyon close by. It almost dries off by August and just a tiny amount of water goes through. I saw a cluster of bubbles built up at the bottom. With 25 sec exposure it transformed into a mysterious swirl
What technical feedback would you like if any?
All feedback
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
Any comments
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
Canon 5d mark iv, ISO 100, 190 mm, f/22, 25 sec
@Michael_Lowe, there was water flowing on the right and with 25 sec exposure it got blurred. I guess I needed to take multiple exposures and blend them to make the black rock visible. Hope I will get another opportunity to take another picture of it.
I wondered why that rock was out of focus too, but your explanation makes perfect sense. The swirl looks like an image of a celestial galaxy., it is really interesting. The OOF rock does hold it back, I just can’t see past it as presented. I love the concept of the image, you should definitely try to recreate this if possible., and deal with the background. You might even be able to blend in the rock from a new shot without even going for the swirl, as long as the composition/light is pretty close you could blend a new shot of the rock into this image.
I did have another idea however, using the ULC, > copy > paste > flip > blend.
I guess I’m taking a different approach on this shot. To my interpretation, I saw the URCrnr and quickly interpreted it as a source of water flow leading to the darker color and loss of texture. While perhaps not readily evident to all viewers, it helps me read the story better as it provides a source of flow in the water that helps put the image together. I’m not in the camp of taking another exposure at higher SS and blending it in. I think this is nicely presented as is and I would not recommend a change.
I’m with Jim - I figured it was water flowing in, and there was enough focus in that area for my eyes. I definitely could see this as a square crop (cropping off the left), so the detailed/warm side was in equal proportion to the less detailed/cool side. It’s nicely seen.
Went to the stream yesterday but the bubbles were all gone ;-< Definitely should have taken multiple exposures the first time. This will teach me!
Bonnie is right about cropping. This version is 4x5 crop with extra water area on the bottom and another leaf with water flowing over it. Does it help or create distraction? Applied local Dehaze/Clarity/Texture to make underwater rock more visible.
I do like the balance on your 4x5 version better, but I’m still leaning to a square, to get rid of that prominent vertical line close to the left edge. Making it square accentuates the perfect circle of the swirling eddy. I brought it into ACR to see if a square would look ok, and also fiddled with some brightening/darkening and color grading to bring out the swirls even more. I cooled the right half and warmed the left half (just a tad), then darkened the warm half because there were a lot of bright highlights there. I brightened the leaves (with the idea that they are pointing to the swirl, so maybe they could stand out a bit more) and the swirl. Hope you don’t mind. It is a very cool little scene.
What a difference, @Bonnie_Lampley! You are right getting rid of the left part of the rock. My thought process was framing (as I am still learning about composition) but it makes the bubbles standout so much more when the left line is gone. Appreciate your tone balancing. It feels less divided. Great learning lesson for me, thank you!
