I took two compositions because neither was ideal. What do you like/dislike about each of these? I cropped the first one because there was motion blur near the bottom from the water flapping the ferns around.
I took two compositions because neither was ideal. What do you like/dislike about each of these? I cropped the first one because there was motion blur near the bottom from the water flapping the ferns around.
I like the first composition, Scott, although that diagonal log is over-prominent - little you could do about this issue. A bit of motion blur in ferns is almost universal, as waterfalls themselves create a draught. I've learned to tolerate some (and note that the" masters" do as well).
You've overexposed the first - the red is blown-out highlights, the green areas underexposed. Better to have too-dark shadows you can lighten and still get surprising detail from, whereas you'll never get more detail in those dead white areas. Many would combine exposures in HDR. Sunlight makes waterfall photography very tricky. Gloomy weather ironically often the best, lowers contrast.
I'd crop out some of the slightly-too-messy and somewhat drab vegetation in the second, as in my edit. I've kept your aspect ratio - equivalent to using a longer focal length.
Thanks Chris for the fantastic feedback. I appreciate the time you took to help me.
I’ll let Chris do my talking for me as we tend to be in agreement on most things 😊.
One comment on the motion in vegetation. I don’t mind this (as it feels natural) but normally take a ‘fast’ image to gauge exposure before adding filters and blend the sharper vegetation from this where needed.
To be honest though, I typically prefer without unless the soft vegetation becomes a distraction.
BTW - Burke Mountain, Vermont?
Thanks Alan. Port Coquitlam British Columbia. Canada.
Hey Scott!
I've seen your work and love it so when I say I don't love these, I really don't mean it to sound as harsh as that just did!
The first one is too busy for the waterfall to shine. This is one of the things where the camera just can't catch what I'm sure was so pretty in life. This happens and I hate when it does! There is too much stuff overhanging the water. The golden light coming through the trees is too drawing of the eye so it creates a second focal point. There is a big boulder or something in the trees at left that drew my eye because it looks out of place. I'm so sorry to be so picky!
And in the second, even though it was surely like this, the image feels crooked because of the rocks' angle. The rusty color at bottom was also probably real but is distracting here. You can't fix this because it's real! It's not a technical error.
I'm sorry to be so tough here Scott. You are a really good photographer and I look forward to much more from you!!
:)
I think you're right on all points, Ms Picky! So, Scott:
When you can't get a "clean" shot of the whole waterfall, look for close-ups - jets of water over rocks with some glow in them, glistening mounds of water sliding over rocks, maybe with streaks curving over from foam flecks moving during a long exposure. Try to get only rock + water in an image. These kinds of images often make better art than the postcard shot! Use a polariser to PARTIALLY cut glare and get depth in pools or jets of water.
I use the camera's inbuilt levelling to keep the camera horizontal/vertical on waterfall shots, as pools of water and falling water can look disturbingly odd when out of kilter. I'm posting your image rotated 3 degrees (a lot!) & to my eye it looks more "right" (see trees at top in both). A fraction of a degree is easily visible to many people on a sea horizon. I just returned a print to a framer today where the horizon was out by under 1 millimetre in 400 because it looked wrong.
The rusty colour could be adjusted to make the image look better without gross manipulation e.g. by reducing saturation. So you can fix it, Ms Picky!
Mr Discerning
Thanks all for the feedback. I had taken photos at this location about 4 years ago and had been looking forward to shooting it with my new gear and the little bit of learning I had gained since then. When I arrived at the site it was completely eroded away. I literally had a hard time setting up my tripod. I'm glad I took the photos, and knew when
posting them here that they were less than stellar. Thanks to you folks I've learned some things!