Wonderful Waterfalls (no people)

The swirls patterns the slow shutter speed and bubbles have made in the foreground is mesmerizing and balances out the image nicely. I think the image would benefit from some further editing. My eye wants to follow that first smaller swirl in the foreground, and then jump over to those streaks leading towards the fall and then follow the water up. But it keeps getting pulled to the left. Some darkening of those highlights through the moss on the left-hand side would help pull the eye back over. I also think some light vignetting painted in using a mask would perhaps help draw the eye in. Well done on this beautiful image!

Beautiful waterfall! I just love all that green. There is not much I can say about this image to help improve the shot. One thing I would suggest is a bit more room at the bottom of the frame. For me, that large middle rock is a tad too close to the bottom edge of the photo. It feels almost as if the rock is weighing the image down a bit. Either a slightly wider crop or tilt the camera down a little bit and you would get more of a gap and it I think it would balance it out better.

Trying to pick a winner from the top 10 was not easy, let me tell you. I would gladly hang any of the top 10 images on my wall. But when it comes down to it if I was told I could only pick one, I would pick this one. The scene itself just oozes raw power. The thing I like about though is that it's not the biggest waterfall from all the shots entered. It's not massive but yet that raw power is accessible. The view from those ledges is the prime position to get the very best from this scene. The ledge at the bottom of the frame is like an arrow pointing towards the fall, leading you right into the tumble of that water. It's almost like there is an invisible giant barista pouring steaming hot foamy milk from a jug just behind that large upper rock ledge. I love that there is four separate streams spilling over those rocks. I think the composition is very well balanced and the colours work harmoniously together. Is there room for improvement? Yes. The right-hand side, in my opinion, could do with some shadow lighting and bringing out some detail in the rocks. I think that if you could also get the trees (especially the yellow ones) sharp that would also improve the image. I suspect that the day was either windy or perhaps the water on the edge of the river was moving the trees around too much that a long exposure blurs them. In this case, you could change your shutter to 2 seconds. You would still get that silky look to the water at that speed, or if the trees are still a bit blurry you could do a composite shot. One at a much faster speed and another to get the silky water and then you would need to blend the two images together. I still think it's a wonderful image and I would gladly hang it as is.

It has been a pleasure judging this competition despite the difficulty. I was truly wowed by so many wonderful entries. If your image did not place in the top 10 or get a commendation please don't be disheartened. As much as I do look at technical things like framing, editing, shooting technique, creativity, whether it fits the briefing etc. Personal preference also comes into it. What I like and value isn't always going to be what others like and value.

A wonderful composition! Suggestions for improvement and this is only my opinion: Allow the sun to go down just a tad more and you will still get those sun rays on the bottom but the glare would be less harsh and much more, manageable in post-processing. The framing is great. It's in focus and that waterfall is lovely the way it is spread out evenly with the four cascades coming down. Good job with the post-processing. I think the image would benefit from a more feathered vignetting. I'm not sure what software you use but if you can use layers and masks (adobe photoshop for example) you could apply the vignetting to the highlights and leave the darker areas alone to help even out those tones along the border.

This is a beautiful image. I'm a sucker for long exposures and the patterns from the cloud movement is sublime. I like the framing and I appreciate that you have used an untraditional size for the image crop as it suits the scene. The reason why I haven't included this image in the top 10 is due to the fact that the waterfall is not what my eye is first drawn to when I look at this image. While the stream is lovely I would say the background is the hero in the image rather than the waterfall. However, I wanted to commend you on the image none the less as it is well shot and a beautiful edit as well.

First I would like to say congratulations on a beautiful photo. It is well framed, balanced and edited. In terms on improvement, the one thing that I notice myself and I would fix if it was my image is the leaves on the bottom left corner, right on the edge of the frame. Anything on the borders of a frame especially in the foreground can be distracting. As I said, it isn't a big issue but it does pull my eye down to that corner. I would either clone it out or if the image is cropped, go for a wider crop to get the whole leaf in. The other leaves in the foreground are lovely and belong there, however. The reason why I have commended this image and not chosen it to go in the top 10 is simply because those bright red leaves are more of a focus for me then the waterfall and I did want this competition to be a focus on the waterfalls themselves.

The first thing that struck me with this image is those stunning light rays filtered through the trees! You have done a wonderful job capturing those. I think the framing of the image is nice but I do feel my eyes wants to see more of the bottom of the waterfall. I'm finding myself wishing it would tilt down so I could get a glimpse. Whether you couldn't see the bottom of the fall obviously changes things. I think the faster shutter speed suits this shot. Perhaps it's because it's the morning and those rays just make it all look so fresh and lively. Ready for a new day. A minor thing with the edit. The blue in the top right corner is pretty noticeable for me. And it isn't in the rest of the sky. I would desaturate that and get rid of the blue tones. Also, I'm not sure what program you used and you may have already removed it but if you don't do this already-don't forget to tick the little box to get rid of Chromatic Aberration in the lens. You will find it in Lightroom and Camera Raw if you use either of those.