Hog's Back Revisited

[Round Tuit]

Last September I posted on this thread a series of pictures taken at Hog's Back falls on the Rideau river in Ottawa. Last Monday, I returned to the falls to get some winter shots of the same scenic landscape. This proved to be more challenging than I had expected.
From a physical point of view, I discovered that the foot paths around the falls are not maintained during the winter months which made walking on the rough icy paths rather difficult and some areas were just too dangerous to reach safely. As for photography, the clouds vanished as I got to the fall and I ended up shooting snow on a bright sunny afternoon. Not ideal lighting condition.

This shot was taken from the East side of the river downstream from the fall and looking South.

#1


This one is still on the East side of the river a little bit further downstream where the river branches around an island. That serene scene contrasted with the roaring falls and seemed to give a peacefull feeling to the place.

#2


This one is essentially a reshoot of photo no.1 from September.

#3



And finally another reshoot from September. No rainbow this time around.

#4




I have a favorite shot amongst these four and would be interested to know if you have one too. Hope you enjoy these and as usual C & C are most welcomed.

Andre

[Wavelength]

Classic shots

[NorthernFocus]

Challenging shooting in multiple ways. The lighting is handled well in all but no.3 in which the detail is lost in the dark trees. Overall, by the very nature of it the portions of white water somewhat disappear among the snow covered banks. For that reason, my favorite shot is no.2.

[Shadowman]

Nice series.

[bnnrcn]

#2 is my fav , I like the composition and the light in it

[Manfred M]

Nice shots Andre - I recognize the site all to well. It's a tough site to photograph, because of how the topography doesn't really light the scene particularly nicely. You've managed to do a fairly good job capturing the scene. I've taken to dodging and burning most of my shots at Hog's Back to try to correct for the lighting there.

I guess it was hoping for too much to see the snow disappear by next week when we get back to Ottawa.

[Geoff F]

Very good and some tricky exposures have been well handled.

[Round Tuit]

Classic shots

Thank you Nandakumar

[Round Tuit]

Challenging shooting in multiple ways. The lighting is handled well in all but no.3 in which the detail is lost in the dark trees. Overall, by the very nature of it the portions of white water somewhat disappear among the snow covered banks. For that reason, my favorite shot is no.2.

Thanks for your input Dan. I tried some selective dodging and burning on the trees in the background. Here is what it looks like:



Somewhat better. #2 is still my preferred photo.

Andre

[Round Tuit]

Nice series.

Thanks John.

[Round Tuit]

#2 is my fav , I like the composition and the light in it

Me too.

Thanks.

[Round Tuit]

Nice shots Andre - I recognize the site all to well. It's a tough site to photograph, because of how the topography doesn't really light the scene particularly nicely. You've managed to do a fairly good job capturing the scene. I've taken to dodging and burning most of my shots at Hog's Back to try to correct for the lighting there.

I guess it was hoping for too much to see the snow disappear by next week when we get back to Ottawa.

Thanks for the vote of confidence Manfred.

No snow..., first week of March..., in Ottawa! That is what I call wishful thinking.

Andre

[Round Tuit]

Very good and some tricky exposures have been well handled.

Thanks Geoff,

Exposure compensation came in handy for these shots.

Andre

[joebranko]

Nice series if shots Andre. I particularly liked #2. #3 is a great shot also but I find the in about the centre, a little left of centre, where the rocks are showing through the snow, that spot of high contrast distracts my eye from the scene.

[Round Tuit]

Nice series if shots Andre. I particularly liked #2. #3 is a great shot also but I find the in about the centre, a little left of centre, where the rocks are showing through the snow, that spot of high contrast distracts my eye from the scene.

Joe - I find it interesting how different people see the same picture differently. When I look at this photo, my eyes usually start on the white snow at the bottom and wander up, lingering on the dark water before going past the dark rocks to the far background. The snow covered far side of the channel finally gets a quick glance.
Thanks for your comment.

Andre

[IzzieK]

All very nice and must be a very nice place to visit during the summer. Here I can feel the cold around the place and could almost hear the waterfall and the flow of the water in #4. Not so much in #1, but I guess it will be the same feeling but a little bit far than #4. There must be something wrong with my eyes...the place where the water falls in #4 is higher than where it is coming from. Maybe this can be corrected using the perspective tool in Photoshop? #4 is my favourite here.