Lonely Waterfalls

This is a VERY cool location- is it near you? I think the framing is real good.... THIS is the angle for this location. But it may be a bit over exposed.... the whites lose some definition.

Also, IN MY OPINION, you were a little heavy handed on the vibrance. That shade of blue just screams overprocessing, and is not natural.

If you shot raw, try redoing this, and I bet you can pull out a real winner of an image!

Dog! I have been wanted to get this for a while, too! Good job, you got it great. What a surreal and other worldly light. I would have done some things different in edit, but nothing you did here is bad, just different choices. Guess where I'll be next February.... :)

I do like this one a lot...a WHOLE lot.... on the left. The delicate leaves are tight and sharp. The shutter speed is PERFECT for this falls... and you did not blow out the whites (like a LOT of other people in this contest!). So good job technically.

I see problems in the comp. While the left half is very balances and krisp, the right has that big, green/yellow foreground invader. I would have bent that branch back, had someone hold it out of frame, or reframed more.

I like looking through the trees, but those trees have to look good, too. The branch on the left distracts, and does not match the rest of the image.... just my 2 cents!

Overall, wonderful image!

Dave

A really different and fun image. I look at this and what I see are those cool ice sculptures. I hope you got in and shot some tight shots on those- to me, that is the interest in this place.

If I may be critical for a moment, I would like to take issue with your comp. The upper right is totally not adding anything to this image, and the lower left is begging for more- it looks cut off. I would have shifted for more lower left vs. the upper right. Or cut both off and zoom in to the center.

The important lesson here is dont just set your tripod and shoot, and figure you are done. Work the scene- change focal lengths, change shutter speeds, MOVE THE TRIPOD. It is a lot less effort to change things up when you are there than to realize you missed something and have to go back. And film is cheap these days!

Thanks!

Dave

This is a wonderful image! Super crisp and wonderful colors.

I love that you zoomed right in there- Honestly, I would not have seen this shot! I think it shows a lot of work and good eye on you.

I have a D300s, and that is a great camera.

The more I look at this one, the more I really like it. It is unusual, and I think that is part of my interest in it. You had a high contrast situation, and you were able to work that an make an image without overblown whites... and I really like the two color temperatures in this. But most of all, it is something new and unique, and that is a winner every day in my book! Congrats!

Dave

Very nice capture- timing and light is just right. You loose focus a bit in the foreground, I am not sure if that is what you wanted.... but that is not TYPICALLY what one shoots for in a landscape. I would have shot is with a slower shutter (and more blur in the waterfall), and used that extra light for stopping down.... to at least 11. I would not have even minded popping the ISO up a bit for more depth of field.... but that is MY choice, and may not have been right for you. (Nor am I saying I am right and you are wrong.... just saying how I would have gone after this).

Also, since I am being critical on this one (sorry!), the main line is a little too straight and "up the middle" for my tastes, and straight into the mountain. I think you could have created more interest by moving a bit left and letting the stream go up from lower left to upper right, with the mountain filling the upper left.

That said, it is still a very fun and exciting image, the clouds really make this pop! Great job!

This is a beautiful image. the light is so ethereal and diffuse that it makes this image. I love that the shadows just go super black- and that the waterfall itself is ALMOST white, but still has definition. Too many waterfalls do white, but you have preserved detail in your highlights.

You obviously have great control of your exposure. That is an awesome skill, and well demonstrated here.

Congrats!

Dave

Nice composition here, love the balance left to right. Great fore-ground vs background, too. Good time of year, good lighting. All that works well.

What the heck is going on in focus here? The foreground rock is super sharp, but the water trails around it are soft. Shooting f/11, I would expect these to be sharper. I am guessing that it has to do with the 20 sec exposure, which is a little overkill.... I think you might have done better to get the water trails sharp, too, in a second exposure and blended them if need be. Also, being super critical here, but the waterfall itself is overexposed, most noticeably where it hits the water and all definition is gone. Make sure to pay attention the right side of your histogram. A lot easier to bring shadows up... you burn highlights and they don't come back (assuming you shoot raw).

I REALLY like the light here.... just wonderful. Delicate and just beautiful. What has me on the fence is the framing.... it is holding this image back. Not sure if it needs a crop, or the shot should have been from a different angle, but the comp just does not work for me.

What a unique falls! I love it!

Sounds like a brat to shoot though. Did you bracket this? My only real comment is you might try and reach into those shadows a bit more.... that might make this work a bit better (or it might not!)

Cheers!

Dave

I like this - a LOT. As an image, it is great, and I have no tips for you- you really know what you are doing.

I did not rate it higher in the contest though because the contest is for waterfalls, and this is a tree. Yes, I see Multnomah back there, but it is not the subject of the image.... but like I said, it is a wonderful image!

This is a pretty good image- not great, but has a lot of potential. I think you have a great eye, and that is why I am commenting. The image is framed great.... but has some technical problems. I am hoping if I point these out, you can take this to the next level and make a KILLER image! So if you dont want a critique, STOP NOW- I AM going to be critical.... but it is stuff that should help you make better images in the future....

First thing is the waterfall is way overexposed. Just way too much white and no definition. What I would do here (and it may take a while to learn to do, so if you try this, do it a lot!) is shoot the base exposure just as you did here- that is fine. But then BRACKET, shoot 1 over and 1 under. With something with strong contrast (like this!), shoot 5 exposures, OR 3 exposures at 2 stops. Then layer the underexposed image over the base exposure in Photoshop, and use layer masks to bring down the exposure.

Second, there is a nasty color cast to this, it is VERY green. Probably light reflecting on the forest and up to the rocks. Add some magenta.

There is a LOT of noise in the image- not sure if that is your camera, overprocessing, or shooting at 400 ISO (shouldnt be, 400 is NOT extreme). I would denoise...

Hi!

I just wanted to comment on this image. It stopped me in my tracks! I had to stare at it for a few minutes- I do LOVE it. The texture and the contrast is so cool. That said, it is not the best waterfall in the contest, and that is what I am judging.... so sorry there. But as a phot, this is so strong. If you will let me criticize- and I only say this to improve it!- I think the top and the white on the lower left are distractions from the strength of this image. Crop some, or just overpaint in black. Great piece!

By and large, when I see black & white landscapes (and especially waterfalls) and they are treated in black and white, I gotta figure the photographer screwed up something in the color and is trying to save an image. Rarely do I think B&W says more than color. But it does here.

This image works VERY WELL in B&W- it enhances the image. It stood out from the crowd to me, and thats why I rated it!

Thanks!

Dave