A waterfall, the mountains and a five hour drive

[Rhoads238]

Hey all,

Today I went on quite the day trip. We drove two and half hours each way to get here but it was well worth it.

1

_DSC3477small by rhoads238, on Flickr

2

_DSC3380small by rhoads238, on Flickr

I snapped this one while waiting for the scene to clear of people. I kinda like it and I kinda don't.

3

_DSC3403 as Smart Object-1 by rhoads238, on Flickr

4

Untitled_Panorama1small by rhoads238, on Flickr

Im going to post some more photos as I finish them.


CC welcome,


Jason

[jamn4ex]

Very nice scenery Jason. Where in Jersey is that? I only ask because I grew up in sussex county . Your pics remind me of Wallpack.

[Rhoads238]

Thanks. Its actually in the catskills, Kaaterskill falls. I grew up in a town that borders sussex county.

[Donald]

They're all good images, in my opinion, but I particularly like the composition of the first one. It's one of those in which all the main elements in the scene are just in the right place to give a balanced, harmonious image.

[rawill]

Well I really like the first picture.

Love the colours, love the waterfall in its stages.
A pet hate is water that is too silky, but I can not say that about your water.
I think it is just right, for me anyway.

Only one more thing I want, I want to see the tip of the tree at the top of the pic!
Sorry had to find something!

I just like your picture.

[SilverYeou]

Hi! I loved the first and the last one, (but I am a water photo lover).
Did you use any kind of filter to make the water look smooth?

[Mike Buckley]

The first and last one work especially well for me. Nicely done!

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Jason,

My feelings are like Mike, the first and last are best (esp. the first as Donald says).

For me, #3 is the kind of scene that just doesn't work in B&W; too much complex detail.

HTH and yes, well worth the drive (and the climb to #2)

Cheers,

[Marie Hass]

#1 and 4 are my picks. In

#1, I almost would be interested in seeing a clockwise rotation of about 1 - 2 degrees? This would help balance the rock outcropping mid-image. Right now, the left is a bit lower than the right. Just my humble. I love the image itself. You have done a nice job with this image.

#4 also is a wonderful image, but might benefit from a bit of dodge and burn? Right now, as I view the image, my eye is drawn to the beautiful rock with the moss on it.

Marie

[Rhoads238]

Thanks everyone. When driving home I wondered if i got any compositions of the waterfall that would work well. I tried a lot of different angles. And yes I got wet several times throughout the day. At one point I put my whole head into one of the rapids down stream. It was wonderful. I feel somewhat disappointed in my self for not making it up to the second tier. The climb is very steep and the ground is very loose on the way up. Then when you get up there you have to shimmy along a crumbling ledge to get to the second tier. The reward is good though. After wading through the pool you can go in back of the waterfall which yields a view of the valley. The risk is an 85 foot fall and I was feeling a bit top-heavy with all my camera gear. So I only made it about half way up before turning around.

Donald, Thank you. Coming from you, a master of landscapes, that means a lot.

Robin, I'm somewhat with you on the smooth water look. Its over done but there are occasions where it works well. I wanted to maintain some of the detail in the water, while still showing the movement.

Lu, No I didn't use a filter. I set the iso to low 1, I think that is about 50. And a small-ish aperture. But I didn't want diffraction to settle in.

Dave, The hike was actually to the falls. The second shot was actually where I parked my car. Its an absolutely beautiful place to go for a drive. The valley is just stunning. and I think your right about the black and white. I wanted to try it, but I struggled to get the people at the bottom to stand out. I may go back and reprocess in color.

Marie, Ill take a look at your suggestions, thanks. On the last photo, the stream, where would you think would work on more? I used to use burn and dodge but now I use adjustment brushes in acr. It has a lot more control and i think just works better.

[Marie Hass]

Jason,

You have offered me a bit of a challenge, so I hope you don't mind that I have edited your stream image. Please be aware that this edit was strictly for my own education - to see if I could produce what I critiqued.

First, I straightened your image. To me, it needed a bit of a clockwise rotation as all of the trees leaned. I ended up having to clone a bit, of which was hurried and obvious. I am sorry for that. I did a slight vignette. Then I used Color Efex Pro to lighten the center of your image in an oblong, as you have more of a pano.


Jason's stream by mariehass, on Flickr

The differences are subtle. Your image is lovely and I tried to stick within your interpretation.

Marie

[LLP]

great images! what lens was used for these?

[jad]

I really love being around the waterfalls in early spring. We lived most of our lives in the Finger Lakes region of NY, and there were countless waterfalls to photograph. We have move from the region and your photographs make me a little home sick. It was well worth your time to make the drive. I hope you get to explore that area some more. http://johndoddato.blogspot.com/

[Harpo]

Oh goody… I will be camping out at North South lake this June and Kaaterskill falls is RIGHT THERE! Hope theres enough water going through in early june…

Jason, what time of the day did you get those pics?

[Rhoads238]

Marie, No problem at all. I see what your getting at. The cloning doesn't look bad at all. The rotation makes a big difference. If you look at the two in the light box you can really see the differences. Nicely done. And thanks again for the kind words.

Brian, I used a nikkor 24-70 2.8 for all of the shots. and thanks.

Jad, It must have been a lovely place to live. I grew up in northern New Jersey and went to college in the hudson valley. I am planing another trip up during the summer. Its just a wonderful area.

Mike, I'm sure thats going to be a lot of fun. The photos were taken in the afternoon.