Lake at Valley Falls

[Winston1013]

There is not much to the falls at Valley Falls but the lake is nice.

Thanks for looking. C&C always welcome.

Settings: f/8 at 1/60. 800 iso. 22 mm lens

Valley Falls 2015 - 1 by Ian Veitzer, on Flickr

[Donald]

That's a good composition and the reflection works well. However, I'm not a fan of that over-saturated, over tone-mapped look. It just doesn't feel natural.

[dje]

Nice shot Ian, you've got perfect reflections there. Perhaps back off the saturation just a little ?

Dave

[Shadowman]

Nice effort, I like your trees and reflections series on flickr.

[Dave Humphries]

This is a nice shot Ian and looks like the capture was well exposed.

I nearly didn't reply, but you did say "C&C welcome", so I guess you're looking to improve.

The first two points I raise are because I am seeing things in it that are impossible - according to the laws of physics - as I understand them. Perhaps I'm being overly pedantic, but as an ex-engineer, technical accuracy is important to me.

I don't think it is level, based on the fact that the surface of the water must be level, and therefore a reflected tree top ought to be vertically aligned with the real tree top. I would judge the rotation amount from an identifiable tip (and its reflection) on or near the centre of the image, then I'd check a select example near the edge of frame, and if necessary, correct it not with rotation, but with the vertical perspective adjustment.

I am guessing you hand dodged/burned the sky and its reflection and a few problems have crept in.
I would tweak the sky/reflected sky processing to avoid having brighter reflections of some clouds on the water than the clouds that are their source.
I would also deal with the unnaturally dark reflected area lower centre.

If this were mine, I would change a couple of other aspects of the processing as follows;
I would check and lower the black point (referring to histogram), the dimmest pixels seem to be about value 16, they ought to be nearer zero.
I would reduce the saturation of the greens.

I really don't intend to discourage you, especially if you've spent ages on it in PP and were pleased with the result. You haven't posted much in the 4 years since you registered with us, so I hope I don't put you off

Anyway; those are the things I would do, if it were mine.
They are also the kind of things I would want people to tell me about if they saw them in my pictures, so I could improve.

I do hope you find that helpful, Dave

[IzzieK]

I am with Dave here in checking the black and white points...+1 to Dave's comments.

[Winston1013]

Dave,

Thank you for your thoughtful comments.

I did not notice that it was not level. This was a handheld shot so I was not able to use the level gauge app that I have on my phone. I find it to be quite useful when I am shooting from a tripod.

I am not sure I understand your second point as I did not burn the sky. Or any part of the picture for that matter. This is a HDR image that combines three shots. That may be causing some of what you saw. It also may contribute to the saturation. Or vice versa.

As for the saturation, I find that many of my shots end up with saturated colors. I generally like the way it makes a photo "pop" but I seem to be in the minority on that point. I have attached a version with less saturation. It may address some of your points.

Thank you again for your comments. They are very helpful. There are a number of reasons why I have not posted many pictures but receiving constructive criticism is not one of them.

Ian

Valley Falls Lake - 2 by Ian Veitzer, on Flickr

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Ian,

I'm glad to help.

This was a handheld shot so I was not able to use the level gauge app that I have on my phone. I find it to be quite useful when I am shooting from a tripod.

When I upgraded my DSLR a while back, one of the features I gained was an in-viewfinder electronic level - what a blessing that is (when I remember to turn it on that is!) Since I almost always shoot handheld myself.

For my older camera (sans level), I have a small hot-shoe level for the purpose (example from Amazon UK) - much quicker to use, even handheld. Mine has pointy corners though, so I need to be careful bringing it up to my face or I may end up with a small hole in my forehead!

~ I did not burn the sky. Or any part of the picture for that matter. This is a HDR image that combines three shots. That may be causing some of what you saw. It also may contribute to the saturation. Or vice versa.

Yes, if it was HDR mangled (can ya tell I'm not a fan?), that explains a lot.

The new version looks much more natural to me.

Thank you again for your comments. They are very helpful. There are a number of reasons why I have not posted many pictures but receiving constructive criticism is not one of them.

Good! (I am relieved that I haven't caused any concern)

I just had a quick look at your Photostream, you don't seem to need a lot of help; some nice pics there - and you seem especially skilled at fireworks.

Cheers, Dave