I was looking for the ultimate road trip location. Something secluded and difficult to find. Most photographers did not share the location to this picture however so it took me over a year to find it. It was not only about capturing this beautiful place, but the adventure and amazement of seeing it in person. Finally after a year I found it. I had never used a 10 stop filter before, but for some reason I chose this to be my first try. This was the result. I believe it depicts it perfectly. What a gem inside the large Great Smokey Mountains this is. One of my favorite travel/roadtrip locations of all time. I used the methods learned from Elias Locardi in the Fstoppers Tutorial Photographing the world to do my post precessing and I am truly thankful to you guys for sharing your knowledge.
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Stunning. I am so torn on this image. Is it a 4-star? Is it a 5-star.
I can tell you if I was not a photographer myself (or at least trying), I would buy this to hang on my wall. I feel so calm looking at it. The details in the rocks, trees, and bushes is AMAZING!.
I like the motion blur with the water. Was the water slow-moving or a fast-moving creek/river? I have yet to get the right amount of blur like you seemed to NAIL here. I either end up with too much and it looks wrong, or not enough and you don't get the calming feel of the water. Great job!
Was there a lot of post you had to do or did the 10 stop filter help get it closer in camera?
Andy,
Thank you for your kind comments. The water was moving at a medium speed. The 10 stop filter was the key to the success for sure. What I have found is that water moving at faster speeds tends to create heavier (Whitewater). This doesn't work so well with long exposure. It tends to just white everything out. I got lucky that everything was just perfect conditions for this shot. Not a ton of whitewater or wind. So the 10 stop was great. Hope this helps you out.
Wonderful image !