Dancing Waters

[FrankMi]

I'm back to playing with water and trying to make it dance for me. The scene is Lower Falls (sometimes referred to as Second Falls). It is located at Mile Marker 418 of the Blue Ridge Parkway in the western North Carolina mountains, the home of Graveyard Fields and the origin of the Yellowstone Prong of the Pigeon River.



This image is the result of merging the following three files:

Normal Exposure -



Under Exposed -2EV



Over Exposed +2EV



Although we don't need bracketed exposures for this scene's dynamic range, I was hoping that by using multiple exposures I could help overcome some of the issues of shooting almost directly into the sun and have a combination of faster and slower moving water to add interest.

I am looking for ideas on how to improve the existing image in post processing but any other suggestions you might have would also be welcomed!

[davidedric]

Sorry, Frank, can't help with your question, you're already ahead of me. Pleased to see the image though because we'll be on vacation there in late May / early June next year. Another spot to look out for. Thanks, Dave.

[zen]

I don't think it needs improvement. Looks great to me as is. Good for you.

Thanks for sharing.

Zen

[Rita]

Hi Frank, I really like the look of the water in this. Merging is something that is on my list to try in the New Year.

[FrankMi]

Your views and comments are much appreciated Dave, Zen, and Rita!

[Donald]

Now that is weird, or fate, or ...something.

I was out last evening and our host was talking, amongst other things, about the next assignment she has on her photography course, which is due after she gets her new Nikon d5200 and kit lenses on Christmas Day.

What is the assignment? Photograph moving water.

I started to talk to her about my online friend in South Carolina and how he had taught me to make the best images of fast flowing water (read the first 14 posts of this thread).

And you've just done it again. A craftsman at work.

[ShaneS]

I like the effect that you achieved on the water with this one Frank. Donald, thank you for linking to Frank's tutorial on the subject. Are you still using the same technique Frank or are you actually using the HDR merge function in Photoshop rather that masking off the various layers?

I have read about this technique but never put it into practice. With all of the water surrounding me I guess I should add this to my list of things to try in 2014

[FrankMi]

Thank you Donald for the kind words!

I like the effect that you achieved on the water with this one Frank. Donald, thank you for linking to Frank's tutorial on the subject. Are you still using the same technique Frank or are you actually using the HDR merge function in Photoshop rather that masking off the various layers?

I have read about this technique but never put it into practice. With all of the water surrounding me I guess I should add this to my list of things to try in 2014

Hi Shane, I don't use the HDR merge in Photoshop as I haven't gotten really great results with it. I will occasionally use Photomatix Pro to see if I can get improved detail in highlights and/or shadows but as this wasn't a high dynamic range scene I find I can get better control over the results by softly blending just the elements that need it with layers and masking.

So to answer your question, the process I used in the Project 52 tutorial is essentially the same one I used here. The error on my part that I was trying to compensate for was not using the Circular Polarizing Filter during shooting to address the excessive glistening of the sun off the water.

Also, I wasn't as aggressive as I was in the tutorial so there is less water blur in this image, mainly to retain as much of the detail as I could where the water was being splashed back up in the air after hitting the rocks. That is where the 'dancing' reference was hopefully coming from!

I don't always use HDR techniques with bracketed exposure images but almost always the opposite is true. For example, for this HDR image I actually used 10, 1EV bracketed exposures but in reality I could have gotten away with half that or less. I was doing some HDR experimentation at the time.



I apologize for how busy the image is!

[ShaneS]

Thank you for clarifying Frank.

I did try a the Photomerge in Photoshop CS5 recently and have to admit that I didn't get 'it' in general or the result I hoped for specifically

I have wanted to do some more experimentation on HDR and these merging techniques so will keep this in mind when the setting suits. Do you use the normal blending mode for the layers, overlay or other when you create your 'dancing water'?

Thanks again.

[FrankMi]

Thank you for clarifying Frank.

I did try a the Photomerge in Photoshop CS5 recently and have to admit that I didn't get 'it' in general or the result I hoped for specifically

I have wanted to do some more experimentation on HDR and these merging techniques so will keep this in mind when the setting suits. Do you use the normal blending mode for the layers, overlay or other when you create your 'dancing water'?

Thanks again.

Hi Shane, although I do use blending modes such as Overlay to get the most realistic global image, I would typically do so in concert with either a copy of the Normal image or by adjusting the Brightness and Contrast of the underexposed image to get it as close to the exposure level of the normal image. When I do, I rarely use a 100% blend and typically stay below 50%.

If you look at the four images, you may be able to pick out what elements came from what originals. The People, for example, came from the overexposed image. Most of the effort is in the merging process using layers and masking.

Once I am satisfied with the layers/masking merging, I will often take that result into Topaz Labs Adjust to subtly warm this kind of image.