On the way to Catawba Falls

[andresleon]

Hello Everyone,
Been away for a while due to school and work. Now that I am done with school for good, Yeay, I hope I can put more time back in my photography.


This image was taken in October while visiting North Carolina. It was a cloudy morning.


I have three other versions of this same image but processed in different ways. This is the first version. Would it be ok for me to post the others as replies to this image? or should I create new threads for each?




Focal Length: 28 mm
Shutter: 3 sec
Aperture: f/16
ISO: 100


All comments and suggestions are appreciated!

[Lyle Gruby]

This definitely looks like a North Carolina location! Very nice fall colors, but the comp feels a little off to me. Did you take any with the camera pointed more to the right or up closer to the falls? There is also a blue tint in your water that I'd get rid of by just de-saturating the blue channel.

[andresleon]

Thank you, Lyle. Yes. I actually have another angle of this same area with a closer focus on the right side waterfall. But I wanted to get a view of the whole area with this shot. Could you elaborate on what is off about this comp? Thanks!

Here's another version of the image with slightly less saturation and more emphasis on the natural. I try to aim for that but always seem to go overboard.

[Andrew McLachlan]

My preference is for the OP as I like the colors pumped up a bit. As for the comp I am wondering if you could have moved more to your left to give us a better view of the cascade that appears partially obscured by the trees and rocks. Looking forward to seeing more of your variations on this location. It would be best to post them in separate threads.

[andresleon]

Thanks Andrew. This was the furthest I could position myself to the left. I did capture a different perspective that focuses on the group of waterfalls. I'll post that in a bit. Thanks for your feedback.

[Don Railton]

Hi Andres, I like the composition as is and I do prefer the OP because of the stronger colour. I would prefer the water is white however and there is a little blue also in the reflection of the leaves LHS. I Look forward to other variation of this scene..

DON

[Lyle Gruby]

Sure Andres. To me the comp. feels heavy on the left with the inclusion of the extra foliage. I'd crop to the dark tree over there since the star of the photo is the water leading up to the fall colors. You could try using that rock in the LLC as an anchor point and the dark tree being on the left border would push eyes more to the creek as a leading line into the fall colors. I definitely like the the colors in the OP except for the blue in the water. The yellows and greens feel very accurate from my experience in similar places. Looking forward to more of your work.

[Diane Miller]

I love this country and you found a wonderful scene there! The OP has a tonal flatness especially noticeable in the tree trunks that is improved a lot in the second post. I might think about cropping from the left halfway in to that first tree, but that's not a big issue for me. Maybe it would be enough to remove the white object resting on the rock right at the edge. The rocks in the LL do provide a nice frame.

Look forward to seeing more from this area!