Question: What's the best thing about cold, cloudy weather?
Answer: Nobody is playing in the water and ruining your landscape shot! lol!
It was a chilly 34 degrees in the morning so I figured it was a great time to drive out to Musgrove Mill. This is a Revolutionary War historical site with trails following the path of the Patriots that came through the woods to ambush the British soldiers. The small waterfall in the photo is somewhat famous in its own rite... A Patriot spy hid (and lived) under the falls for weeks while gathering information on the British soldiers stationed at Musgrove Mill.
Since I was the only person on site, I enjoyed the solitude by playing around with longer exposures... No point and shoot today. The first image with the leaves on rocks was taken at 1.3 seconds. The image of the falls was shot at 1 second. Honestly, I feel like the 1.3 second exposure on the leaves was a bit too long, and maybe the 1 second for the falls was too short.
More than anything, these images were my excuse to get outside, but I'd really like some honest feedback. What do you like/dislike? What would you change?
Nice!!!
Thank you!
It's always nice to have the place to yourself!
For the first one, the main problem for me is that it's a little chaotic. There's no clear subject for the eyes to move towards and rest on. The exposure is good, I like the smooth motion you've captured, and the light hitting that red leaf on the bottom right is spot on. I think if you can find a good composition or some details to pick out, it's worth returning to!
The second location also looks really nice. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I feel like something is off. Perhaps it would look nice in black and white because there isn't much colour, and I think it could work with the contrast between the rocks and the waterfall, but I'm not 100% sure.
But those are just my thoughts!
I agree that the 1st shot does feel chaotic. I was focused more on camera settings than composition in this one. Thinking back, I probably could have moved just a few feet over to use the riverbanks as leading lines. I'll go back there soon and try it out.
For the 2nd, I feel like the background might be too cluttered with trees and leaves. It almost drowns out the rocks. I'll try it in B&W to see what happens.
Thanks for the feedback!
I had an "aha!" moment as I was reading through your comment about the 2nd photo: "I can't quite put my finger on it, but I feel like something is off." The horizontal alignment is off. I didn't notice it until a few minutes ago when I was really studying the background... All of the trees lean slightly to the left.
I redid the edit with a better horizontal line, cropped it down just a little, and unsaturated the background to make it less eye-catching.
The alignment definitely helps! How did it look in black and white?
Honestly, black and white just didn't do it for me. I played with the different filters for a while and they all just came off as "muddy."
Fair enough. At least you tried. Are you able to edit it in black and white without filters?
Image 1: C-
Image 2: B-
I'm just curious how you are processing these they seem to be in raw form still ..definitely more of a natural look rather than processed, the water in #2 got a little cooked but i like the composition the most and i agree with Jordan on the views of #1....#2 i like because of the motion and lines that carry you through and around the entire scene i wish there was a nice giant rock in the foreground with some fallen leaves but that is out of your control ...nice job
I processed these primarily in Adobe Camera Raw, adding a little brightness and luminosity in Photoshop layers. I'll agree the water in the 2nd one is a little overdone... I had some color and reflection issues that I was trying to tone down, and after a few minutes I lost my motivation with it. lol.
There are several good angles at the falls to get rocks in the foreground, but you have to be in the water to get the shot. I didn't go prepared the other day but will definitely take my boots with me next time.
be careful with brightness and luminosity they are tricky and i feel a bit extreme when used improperly try playing with exposure, levels or curves they seem to be a bit easier to control
I must say I actually really like these.
Number one is a bit messy. After consideration, I would like to tweak the composition downward a little so the stick is not, *ahem*, 'sticking' out the bottom of the frame. Or go over it. I like things to be in or out, not halfway. I really like the contrast between light and dark though. The section of river on the left is the strongest part of the image to me, and would make a better image in it's own right if you were to abstract it.
Number two - looks great with your second edit. Nice work :)
Agreed on the 1st photo... The shot I saw in my mind and what I actually got are very different. lol! As for the stick, I was so focused on camera settings and leaves that I didn't even notice the stick until processing. I'll be back to this spot soon, though, and hopefully will come out with better shots. Thanks for the feedback!
I always find filtered light to work with as with the first shot. I agree with Jordan about the chaos. It's difficult to show down and take the time to find an angle that is less cluttered. I would say in the image that lit up red leaf could have been a natural shot because its lit nicely and you might have been able to frame it with a natural vingette around it. Also there is a yellow leaf on a log which could have been another. The second I agree slightly too long exposure, too silky for me, but that is subjective. Nice colors all around.
Ha! "Silky" is a good word to describe it... I like water to show movement but not be so smooth that it looks painted.