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View Full Version : Falls in Jiuzhaigou NP, China



Douglas Bolt
09-06-2008, 12:28 PM
Canon 5D, 25-105 @ 47, 1 sec, f22, -.67, tripod. I ran across this version of the falls while looking for something else. I originally didn't like the border, but it appealed to me a little more today.

PP: Multiple blend layer on the highlights @ 88% opacity, H/S and Selective Colors to adjust the colors (actually, Threshold followed by Curves did a better job), some selective dodging and burning and a little sharpening.

Kaushik Balakumar
09-06-2008, 01:23 PM
The 2 trees on the left seem to block the view of the falls (but they do appear to be interesting subjects too). Am not sure how feasible it was to move to your right & shoot the falls through, keeping the trees to further left...
Perhaps the light was not much in your favour either. Am a bit confused over the composition - guess you done the best under given conditions...

Douglas Bolt
09-06-2008, 02:44 PM
Hi Kaushik,

Thanks for your comments. I agree with both of your concerns. Having neither the ability to choose time of day nor compositional location did hamper photography in the park. We were restricted to scenes visible from a board walk. Even so, it was a magnificent location rich in natural beauty.

Amy DeStefanis
09-06-2008, 04:12 PM
Restrictions notwithstanding, if it were mine, I'd be absolutely thrilled! It's just stunning. The two left trees blocking the falls don't bother me as much as their lean does. They seem to be leaning a degree or so to clockwise. So looking at other elements that would naturally be vertical (the falls themselves, for instance), I do wonder if a CCW rotation might be in order???

Still, stunning - it would be on my wall in a heartbeat.

:)

Amy D.

Douglas Bolt
09-06-2008, 08:50 PM
Here's a view a few feet to the right of the image above. Not much PP - a little Screen blend on the shadows and a little Linear Burn on the highlights. Posted mostly for interest and in response to Kaushik's question. Settings: 24-105 @ 24, f22, .8sec, -.67, ISO 50.

As to the tilt of the original image, I had a bubble on the camera, but I agree the image looks like it needs a little CCW crop.

Roman Kurywczak
09-07-2008, 10:23 AM
Hi Douglas,
Looks like you had a tough location (although beautiful) to deal with. Maybe a hair more of the tree tops would help also. This almost looks like it has a PP painting effect applied to it. There is a large difference in sky color from the 1st post and the location 2nd post. different directions in shooting or different PP adjustment??? Still.......considering the lighting this has a very nice feel to it but having a bit more of the tree and distant hazy mtns. may have improved the comp a bit. As always.........this may have introduced other issues. Lean not that bothersome to me.....but it would be a nice comparison to see the rotation.

Kaushik Balakumar
09-07-2008, 11:32 AM
Douglas, this is such a beautiful place. You must make it to this place again sometime during late hours if possible. Thanks for posting.

Robert Amoruso
09-07-2008, 12:40 PM
Douglas,

You are developing an interesting look in these images. I like the comp given you limitations it works well.

Paul Marcellini
09-07-2008, 09:38 PM
Some great discussion already. A beautiful scene for sure. Processing looks well done for midday. Only two nits for me really are the top right corner, I would crop to remove the mass of dark moss or whatever it is. Also the shadows look a bit too opened up on the main rock. Thanks for sharing this part of the world. I haven't seen this area before.

Douglas Bolt
09-09-2008, 05:10 PM
Hi Paul,

Thanks for your comments. I agree that the mound of dirt looks a bit washed out. As to the "whatever" in the upper right, I think it is part of the same tree that can be seen on the left of the second view that I posted. I know that I did crop a little from the right to minimize a tree in the first image and also cropped a little from the left in the second..