Passaic River Gorge

[geoz]

It's actually in the middle of the city of Passaic. Photographed dozens of times each day. Here are my contributions. C&C very welcome.

George

[Geoff F]

They work well, George. Although with the first one, I think you might actually have got away with showing just a fraction more of the distant bridges.

[geoz]

Thanks for the feedback Geoff,

The original has the bridge but I didn't like the distorted building underneath and couldn't straighten it out so just cropped it. I took another try at it by removing the building (and graffiti). Here is the original and the processed.

[Bobobird]

Must be interesting having this at your doorstep. Looks like a great place with lots of photographic possibilities.

Distortion with wide angle lens - Though landscapes are not much my thing, one thing I do is shoot a series of shots vertically and stitch them to get the wide view. This way will ensure that verticals are verticals and do not need much work afterwards. Also this keeps the scene real.

[geoz]

Thanks Bobo,
First, apologies to Paterson (where the falls are, Passaic is further down stream). I don't think the distortion is due to the lens, but to the angle of the shot. The bridges are not distorted. I did try adjusting distortion with Lightroom with little effect. The numbers are 1/60 at f/7.1, ISO 125, Sony RX100 so the fixed lens with no zoom.

Lastly, here's a different angle by Thomas Edison (maybe) from 1896. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEdfmOduqtw

[Bobobird]

Thanks George. Yes now that you mention it, everything else including the far right buildings are straight. Wonder why only that part of the image is slanted outwards, normally that should go inwards due wide angle perspective. Odd!

[Ken Curtis]

George, I've been there to photograph the Paterson Falls. http://www.patersongreatfalls.org/

It would have been nice to get closer to the falls so there was not as much green grass showing in the lower left side of the image, but I know there is a fence that prevents you from getting closer. (The park should make an exception for photographers!) It is a difficult location to shoot from. The falls are very interesting to shoot when there is more water flowing as in the Spring time. When I was at the falls, there was a lot of trash in the water, which did not help. It is too bad because the falls themselves are impressive.

I like the hazy, fogginess around the bridges in your image. If I had taken this photo, I would experiment to try making the rocks and water stand out a bit more. I am not sure how to do that. As it is now, it is hard to see some of the details and richness in the rocks. Maybe it they need to be photographed on a sunny day. Don't know.

[geoz]

Ken, Thanks for the feedback and link.

I don't live too far from the falls but have only been there a couple of times. It would be great if it becomes a national park. I've seen photos from the level of the base of the falls so maybe there is a way.

I tried again with Lightroom using the adjustment brush to bring out the detail in the rocks, tone down the grass, and then converted to BW. The water is going to need a faster shutter speed. I think I like this version of this photo the best.

George

[Bobobird]

I think I like this version of this photo the best.

Add another vote to that.

I agree about the water, tumbling waterfall and silky don't quite mix imho.

Your shot reminded me that I had forgotten to take a waterfall shot that I had intended to on my last trip. Now I have that marked in the to-do list for next time.

[Ken Curtis]

Hi George,

Wow, what a difference B&W makes. I really like what you did.

[JPS]

Hi George,
just want to drop in here and say I like this shot very much. The B&W conversion does it for me, well done.

Just in case you wanted the building under the bridge in the shot here it is.
Selected the area in PSE then used the 'Distort' tool under the 'Image / Perspective' tab.
Hope this helps.
Kind regards
John

[Rob Douglas]

Great work John, you beat me to it. I was going to point him toward the correct tool as the lens profile correction tool isn't a fix all for these types of issues. I know of this area and would like to visit in the spring. I am down in Freehold so if anyone is from the area maybe we can plan a trip.

[geoz]

Thanks John for the change and everyone for the feedback.

I wanted to keep the building since it important to the character of the area. Now I will have to get PS Elements and learn to make the change. Starting with what I thought was a marginal image the effort resulted in something worthwhile. I love a good collaboration.

George

[HiImTom]

Great shot in BW. I grew up in Howell and lived all of my life in NJ. It is nice to see the beauty NJ has to offer.