Darcy Quimby
May 2023 - In The Mix
Original
About the Image(s)
Camera: Canon 80D ISO 640 f5.6 SS1/400
Yes, I'm still in the learning circle of my new camera. I went back to my summer trip and found this waterfall. What I thought was amazing is how the fresh water from the waterfall melts and flows into the glacier silt water. It almost looks like oil and water.
In post I cropped in on the main part of the waterfall as the sky did not seem to add anything to the picture. In ACR I brought down the highlights in the water and brought out the shadows on the rocks and trees. In photoshop because I still had some hotspots in the water I burned some areas. I then put a brightness contrast layer on and selectively applied brightness to the water.
11 comments posted
Very nice, Darcy!
You had some lovely soft, yet directional, light from the side; this definitely helped lend some interest, especially in the foliage.
Shutterspeed and waterfalls is always a matter of individual preference. I also find that what I want to achieve will vary from one fall to the next. Personally, I tend to want to go either for a crispness, or a more creamy look, but I generally avoid something in between that feels like I didn't commit myself. Here I think I would have gone for a slightly longer exposure; my thinking would be that there's not enough violence here to warrant trying to accentuate it by capturing the detail of motion, and dragging the shutter would help to suggest the direction and softness of the flow. I'd probably have gone for about .4 to .6 seconds. As I said, though, this is just a matter of personal taste.
I like the dead log across the fall. Sometimes this can act as a visual obstacle that impedes movement in the image, but here I find that the strong diagonal adds some energy and helps to define some depth.
I like your crop . I think you could have trimmed a bit off the left and bottom; the colors in the water are lovely, but to my eye they drift towards the drab as one gets to the lower edge.
I like your edits; very gentle and unobtrustive. I'd say you did an excellent job with the surface of the water, which is always tricky.
I "fiddled" a bit with the image (no surprise, there, huh?). I limited myself to what I could do in LrC, but I did make extensive use of brush masks intersecting with luminance ranges; this would of course have been much easier to do in Ps with luminance masks. My efforts accentuated just a bit the light striking the foliage, brought the shadows up a bit further in the rocks around the cascade, cooled the upper end of the fall a tiny bit, and accentuated the contrast on the deadfall. I also simulated a slightly longer exposure by masking in the waterfall itself and *reduing* the dehaze a bit. Posted: 05/07/2023 09:23:46
You had some lovely soft, yet directional, light from the side; this definitely helped lend some interest, especially in the foliage.
Shutterspeed and waterfalls is always a matter of individual preference. I also find that what I want to achieve will vary from one fall to the next. Personally, I tend to want to go either for a crispness, or a more creamy look, but I generally avoid something in between that feels like I didn't commit myself. Here I think I would have gone for a slightly longer exposure; my thinking would be that there's not enough violence here to warrant trying to accentuate it by capturing the detail of motion, and dragging the shutter would help to suggest the direction and softness of the flow. I'd probably have gone for about .4 to .6 seconds. As I said, though, this is just a matter of personal taste.
I like the dead log across the fall. Sometimes this can act as a visual obstacle that impedes movement in the image, but here I find that the strong diagonal adds some energy and helps to define some depth.
I like your crop . I think you could have trimmed a bit off the left and bottom; the colors in the water are lovely, but to my eye they drift towards the drab as one gets to the lower edge.
I like your edits; very gentle and unobtrustive. I'd say you did an excellent job with the surface of the water, which is always tricky.
I "fiddled" a bit with the image (no surprise, there, huh?). I limited myself to what I could do in LrC, but I did make extensive use of brush masks intersecting with luminance ranges; this would of course have been much easier to do in Ps with luminance masks. My efforts accentuated just a bit the light striking the foliage, brought the shadows up a bit further in the rocks around the cascade, cooled the upper end of the fall a tiny bit, and accentuated the contrast on the deadfall. I also simulated a slightly longer exposure by masking in the waterfall itself and *reduing* the dehaze a bit. Posted: 05/07/2023 09:23:46
Now that I've read your narrative, I'm reminded that you do use Ps. Here's a tip you might not have encountered. Try adding a transparent layer, setting the Blend Mode to Hard Mix, and the Fill to 15%, and then use a 50% grey brush to paint in more contrast where you want it. Alternatively, use a white brush to selectively add contrast in the brighter areas or, conversely, a black brush for the complementary effect. And one can, of course, use a colored brush, but one meeds to be very careful with that; it's very easy to turn a lovely image into something garish. Posted: 05/07/2023 09:28:55
...this is good stuff. Thank for the tip! Posted: 05/07/2023 19:57:28
Thank you for the tip. I am finally becoming more comfortable in PS and editing Posted: 05/24/2023 16:23:30
Neil Bellenie
The waterfall makes an interestingly sinuous curve down. This makes for a wonderful composition. Your crop and post processing enhance the picture perfectly leaving a pleasing overall aspect and interesting detail.
It would be good if the oil and water of the pure and brackish waters were more evident - is there a way to have brought that detail out more? Posted: 05/17/2023 18:37:35
It would be good if the oil and water of the pure and brackish waters were more evident - is there a way to have brought that detail out more? Posted: 05/17/2023 18:37:35
"Sinuous". A proper choice of words. I've taken to having my dictionary nearby when I read your comments!! Posted: 05/18/2023 10:33:04
Neil I will try to bring that out. I think the waters combining drew me in to wanting to take this picture. Posted: 05/24/2023 16:24:51
I'm glad you explained the "oil/water" phenomenon at the bottom of the falls. That is a nice touch for your image. IMV, the star of your show is the waterfall. If you were to zoom closer into the rocks and remove much of the greenery, I think the image would be better. Also, it's just me, but I prefer a slower shutter speed to grasp the impact of the water! Posted: 05/24/2023 12:19:30
Paul
I also prefer the slower softer look of water. If I remember right there was a non photographer on this trip so not alot of time to plan. Posted: 05/24/2023 16:26:46
I also prefer the slower softer look of water. If I remember right there was a non photographer on this trip so not alot of time to plan. Posted: 05/24/2023 16:26:46
I think this is a great waterfall shot. It makes me feel a bit guilty because there are lots of picturesque waterfalls close to where I live and I haven't gotten any shots that could "measure up". In my opinion the way you have cropped and your composition is spot on and I like the way you have captured the way the water meanders down to the bottom of the frame. I think you made a good choice with your shutter speed in that I like the way is smooths out the water while still keeping a sense of motion in the water. It appears that you have overcast lighting which I think helps make this a relaxing image. Great job. Posted: 05/27/2023 13:41:28
Dawn Gulino
Darcy, nice shot! I like the square crop, however, to my eye, I think there is a bit too much water foreground which unbalances the image a tad. I like the luminance adjustments from you original. Posted: 05/29/2023 19:17:22