Bush Wacking

[dankearl]

This is the hike in to a lot of the obscure Falls that I have been posting. No trail, just make your own.
The Pacific Northwest forest in it's chaotic glory.....

1/2, f8, iso200, 19mm, D800

DSC_7727bp2.jpg (http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=132441&stc=1&d=1378955075)

[Don Nelson]

Very interesting scene and well done on exposure.
If it were mine, I would kill off some more of the blue. Maybe you didn't juice the yellows and reds up just a little more?
And it could use a little additional sharpening - I've used a highpass filter, softlight and taken down the opacity just a little bit to help the sharpness. Some may not like it as sharp, but once you've seen a 8x10 chrome with all the detail sharp, you'll never go back...
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and I like smaller isolations of areas in a scene like this -- this one has two features that compete for my eyeball: the flowing water and that beautiful leaning cedar(?) tree on the right side. Unfortunately for my eyes, there isn't enough of the tree --its too close to the right edge, so.. I'd go remake with more in the image, or crop it.
If you are going to crop it and keep the viewer's eyes on the stream, one crop that I liked is this one: (note that the rhs crop was selected to slice through one of the vertical trees rather than through a space between trees -- it has the ability to keep the eyes from wandering out of the frame, if this area is viewed. Those diagonal lines of the fallen logs lead you from the water up into that area.
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[Don Railton]

Hi Dan

I think this is you best yet in the recent 'water Fall series.." I like/love the lighting in the distant forest, the water (but agree its too blue, Dons fixed that) and the detail captured. A very beautiful scene and well composed, although I agree with Don that a crop from the right focuses more attention onto the stream and improves IMHO, but I would not go as far as he has... The horizontal log over the stream touches the RHS border in Dons crop, I would leave space between the end of that log and the rh border. I do like his approach however in splitting the vertical tree trunk on the RH edge to stop the eye wandering out of frame.. Good trick..

Great image Dan!!

DON

[Don Nelson]

Don
Your suggested crop leaves a triangle of the cedar tree trunk at the upper right corner. I avoided that in my crop -- I spent 10 days rafting the San Juan (with an 8x10) in 1997 with Phillip Hyde (and his wife Ardis) and John Sexton. Other that getting some great shots in the side canyons, there was a lot of teaching from these two experienced large format landscape photographers. One of the key take-aways of portfolio reviews held after the journey was to avoid triangles at the corners -- the eye gets attracted to them. Dan has one such triangle of negative space formed in the upper RHC by the diagonal of the cedar trunk. The key is to avoid -- open up the right hand side to make it not a triangle, or crop them out. In this case it overwhelmed leaving a cut off log (and hey, Dan already has a cutoff tree in the middle upper edge ;-). <<worse than="" a="" cutoff="" tree="" or="" log,="" is="" branch="" other="" such="" thing="" sticking="" into="" the="" image="" but="" not="" connected="" to="" anything="" ;-)="">>
Don

PS my first posted image is supposed to be the full frame of Dan. Not sure why the first one is cut on the right hand side but its not a deliberate crop on my part...</worse>

[Don Railton]

Hi Don

Thanks for the feedback...! I guess I liked the little path up the side of the stream on the RHS as another lead into the image, but agree the triangle of tree left at the upper RHS side is not ideal.. I am still learning..

DON

[Diane Miller]

I love these northern forest scenes, and this one is very nice. I also like the path and wonder if the triangle in the UR would be sufficiently mitigated by lowering its contrast? I like the large cedar.

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi Dan, a very lush forest scene. I do like the way you framed this scene but am also wondering if a crop from the bottom might help emphasize that lovely moss covered boulder mid-stream. Did you shoot any verticals at this location?

[Morkel Erasmus]

Love this one Dan! I actually prefer your OP composition best. I do feel your OP lacks some deep tonal punch which Don Nelson added in his repost.
So many options here, in any event.
FWIW Don N, I can see your whole repost, perhaps your screen resolution is low and you need to scroll sideways? :e3

[Morkel Erasmus]

I felt this could work in B&W as well. Played with it quickly in Silver Efex and then some more dodging and burning in PS - vignette to pull you to the cascade.
WDYT? Busy scene, but I like it this way too...tastes differ though...:t3

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Dan - really nice scene and use of the slow ss. The whites also look more controlled here than in your waterfalls. I like what Don has done in his first rp especially in reducing the blues.

TFS,
Rachel