Waterfall in Rains

[Sabyasachi Patra]

I had taken this shot when I was hiking along this stream to reach this waterfall. It was raining. I was carrying a flimsy manfroto tripod since I was not carrying any long lenses. The tripod was used more as an anchor while crossing the streams and for a few shots like this.

Canon EOS 1D Mark II, Canon EF 28-135 IS, ISO 320, 28mm, f22, 1/5 sec, full frame. The camera was completely wet but survived.

Look forward to your coments.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hi Sabyasachi,
Very good job minimizing the sky. Were you able to move right and eliminate the branches coming in from the left?? It doesn't look like you used a polariser........as there is a bit of glare on the rocks.....and the filter will greatly help. A move to the right would have also helped compositioally to see the stream and give a pleasing flow to the image. Hope you can make it back soon........without getting the equipment wet!

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Hi Roman,
Unfortunately, I didn't have the polariser with me. I had left it behind in the hotel room, some 80kms away. The moment, i started shooting, I realised it. The fall was barely visible. as there were lots of trees and bushes everywhere. I had to climb a steep hill and cross a raging stream to reach this place. The tough climb and constant rain had sent my brain to hibernation. :-)

To avoid the foliage, I had to stand in the middle of the stream and my partner was holding me steady. In the end, it was a nice trip, though could have been better photographically. That was the first time, I was exposing my Mark II to rains. And it came out with flying colours. That actually gave me confidence to shoot Tiger and Gaur (Indian bison) in rains. I will have to go there again. And yes, I will take an umbrella, so that I can prevent water from rolling down the front of the lens.

[Joanna Trescott]

I like the softness of this shot. The colors are beautiful and I like the speed you shot at. I think I would crop out the little bit of white sky at the top and maybe the rock on the right. I think it would focus more on the waterfall. You were brave to stand in the middle of the stream!

[Robert Amoruso]

Sabyasachi,

Nice to see you here inthe landscape forum. Though Roman had some good comments on the composition, all in all I like how you composed it and I like that protruding branch on the left - since it is relatively in focus, it adds a nice depth to the image.

Since you were shooting in the overcast rain, the image lacks contrast so I repost a version were I increased the brightness using a levels adjustment and the mid-tone slider, a curve adjustment and a moderate s-curve to enhance contrast and a shadow/highlight adjustment on a BG copy to open up the shadows.

Nice work and hope to see you here again.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Robert,
Thanks for your comments. Your words are always constructive and very encouraging. In 1992 when I picked my first SLR, I focussed on landscapes. I used to go on treks to the Himalayas with film and slide. Though today, I am a better photographer, I had some very nice landscape photographs. I have lost most of those shots taken in film days due to fungus. It was very late in the day, when I got my first dry box. These days, what ever time I get is focussed on Tiger/wildlife.

I came to the landscape section to see what other people are doing. One can learn a lot by observing others.

As far as this shot goes, I like your repost. I compared it side by side with my post. I was trying to showcase the beauty of the Indian monsoon season (rainy season). Normally, lot of places get flooded. From this series, I posted a closeup of the waterfall shot in the Out of the box, in camera techniques section. In future, I will definitely be posting in this section.
Cheers,
Sabyasachi