One Pond, Two Views

[kdoc856]

These shots taken recently in my favorite hiking area. I like the first image particularly for the diagonal leading line of the rock face on the left , and the splash of green from the pine branch.

Image 2 was taken to get a broader perspective and context, but I cant decide on a crop- is there enough intereesting material on the left side to warrant keeping it, or should I crop it (and get the falls out of the bull's eye) more like the final crop below?

I'd appreciate your opinions- I've looked at it till it's become a blur to me. Thanks for viewing.

1.

2.

2. w/ crop

[MilT0s]

It looks like this is a fantastic hiking area Kevin. Wonderful photos.

I think a tight crop on the waterfall would make a nice image too. This would not be an improvement but a different photo.

[Otavio]

Hi Kevin. Very nice pictures and place!

I liked all of them but, somehow, number 3 is the one that made me wanting to be teleported to this place right now! I think number 1 does not define the place as a whole, due to the tigther crop. Number 2 and 3, to me, convey this definition of the area. Between 2 and 3 I voted 3 because of the rock capturing attention on the botton left part on #2. If you clone the left corner branch out on image 3, maybe it would be still better, in my opinion. Very well done and thanks for sharing!

[Loose Canon]

Hi Kevin!

I thought I was going to see something else when I had a peek!

Beautiful area. Looks like a place we might see in our neck of the woods, except we haven’t had any water to speak of in months.

I like your last crop myself, Kevin.

I would definitely have this place on my “Be Sure to Revisit After a Frog-Choking Rain” list. The place would look and sound awesome with a torrent ripping over those falls!

[Mike Buckley]

The last one works best for me for the reason that you mention. It's a really nice image.

[kdoc856]

Thank you all for your comments, it is very helpful and solidifies my thinking.

Terry, you are absolutely right about the volume of water. Often the entire lighter area where the falls is in the 2nd image is full of water- usually in the spring during the snow thaw combined with early spring rains. This is the smallest volume I've EVER seen here. Many of the smaller falls are bone dry

[ktuli]

Kevin,

Where is this located? I may have to visit some time.

- Bill

[PRSearls]

That is a very lovely image. I think I prefer the wider view (2) although I might clone out the light-colored rock (and reflection) peaking in just above the water on the left side. Seeing more of the surroundings just puts the waterfall in context.

[pnodrog]

Another Paul that likes the wider view. The smaller rock on the left does not worry me and if you want to crop you could crop it just out. I always try and avoid tree tops with blank white sky showing through. You could select the white and clone some of the green bush making it look as if the forest just continued up behind them. The big rock with the white patch on the left is very dominant and you could try toning it down a bit.

You can't blame Bill for trying to find out where you keep it hidden.

[rawill]

I always try and avoid tree tops with blank white sky showing through. You could select the white and clone some of the green bush making it look as if the forest just continued up behind them.

Mmm, thinking about your comment, not sure I concur.

Maybe it is just me, but I think the trees, only just mask a little mystery, what is it that is further on out there.

For me the "central passage" leads you to want to go further on

[pnodrog]

Mmm, thinking about your comment, not sure I concur.

Maybe it is just me, but I thinnk the trees, only just mask a little mystery, what is it that is further on out there.

For me the "central passage" leads you to want to go further on

It is the blank white that I try and avoid. If I can see blue sky or clouds I am happy about it. The problem is common in bush/forest and waterfall photographs due to exposure and dynamic range limitations and could be cured by using HDR techniques but usually the areas concerned are so small and easy to manage that HDR is normally a bit of overkill.

In relation to the above photographs it is just personal preferences but I do see many photographs where it definitely needs to be addressed.

[kdoc856]

Thanks, all for taking the time to review and for your helpful comments.

The "blank white" gaps that Paul refers to are a real consideration (and nuisance) when shooting in this particular area because it's located fairly deeply in a valley, and many shots are directed upward toward the rim, and with it, the requisite sky patches. These can create miserable exposure challenges because I usually shoot early in the morning, and it is DARK down there relative to the areas above the rim.

I do try at some length to avoid these either with framing, HDR, or the pp cloning and adjustment brush approach Paul refers to. As a compromise, I've come to accept a small amount of these patches so long as they dont become dominant. I have a whole batch of these shots from just a couple of years ago (pre-CiC for me) that I would be embarrassed to show now for their blown highlights.

Bill- These are taken in the Old Man's Cave area of the Hocking Hills in southeast Ohio. Well worth a long weekend drive as there are multiple areas that are quite photogenic. Give me a holler if you ever plan a trip and I'll fill you in.

Kevin

[wtlwdwgn]

Kevin, I too prefer the wider view of #3. However, I didn't think it had the impact it might have. I hope you don't mind but I played around with some different compositions both vertical and horizontal. I used a 3:2 frame which I prefer in landscapes. I won't post them here and take over your thread but just to let you know I came up with 5 variations on your theme. If you play with it some more I think you can too.

[kdoc856]

Steve,

I'd be delighted to have you post your edits. For me it's much easier to see it than translate long interpretive narratives, and I learn a ton from it. Thanks so much for taking the time. I'm anxious for a look

Kevin

PS
My younger daughter graduated from Univ. of Montana in Missoula, and has a number of friends from Billings. I'm afraid we have lost her geographically to the West, she just loves it out there.

[wtlwdwgn]

Okay, here goes Kevin. I'll just post the two I like best. Feel free to flame these.

1. Horizontal. I thought the waterfall 'faced' right so I cropped it with room to the right.

2. Vertical. As the main interest was the waterfall I cropped it to highlight it.

Just my ¢¢.

[rawill]

It is the blank white that I try and avoid. If I can see blue sky or clouds I am happy about it.

The white, "blown" areas that you talk about is something I am learning.

I now realise I have a few photos with this problem, either in patches or sometimes a whole "grey" sky.

I should have thought more carefully about how I worded my comment.

[kdoc856]

Thanks again, Steve, for taking the time to dig into this a bit. I am quite sympathetic to this approach and have tried it many times with similar shots, but I always seem to come back to the feeling that I have lost too much of the context and certainly perspective.
Including some trees in their full height does give some sense of the height of the falls, cliff, etc. On the same day I took the shots below, I had one of a set of 3 smaller falls, and cropped it tight to really give a good look at it. Then I realized that with just the water and some background rocks, that I couldn't tell if the falls were 6 feet or 60. I felt I had lost too much of the realness. It's probably a case by case endeavor, and personal preference, but I havent come up with a good formula that consistently works.

[wtlwdwgn]

Well, it was just an exercise to show how they might look to another photographer.

[jprzybyla]

Hello Kevin, I like your images very much. I appears to be a peaceful, tranquil place to visit. I saw a couple things I thought would improve your image #2. Here's what I did. Using the Clone Stamp in Photoshop Elements 10 I cloned the vegatation at the top of the image and cloned over the bright areas where the sky was showing. Then using the same tool I cloned out the log in the bottom right of the image. I opened the shadow to the left of the falls using using the Adjustment Brush in Adobe Lightroom 4. In Photoshop Elements 10 I added Local Contrast Enhancement. The edit is posted below, I trust you do not mind... if so I will remove it.

[kdoc856]

Joe and Steve,
'
I really appreciate you both taking the time to do these edits. I may add a subscript routinely encouraging folks to do just that, as I found it so helpful to see how another photographer sees the same thing and have learned a lot this way.

I was undecided about that log, and I think talked myself into thinking it offered more visual depth and interest than it did. I had also talked myself into thinking that the lighter gaps between the trees wasn't overly distracting as long as I toned them down. I'm re-evaluating that now as I see the benefits of your edit, and it was also suggested by Paul. Good stuff to think about, thanks for the "enlightenment"