Between the Rocks

[ShaneS]

I went out before the sun yesterday thinking about two of my photography goals for 2014 - improving my landscape composition and seascapes in general. How did I do?



I had some camera challenges (my issues - the camera worked perfectly ) and couldn't get the darn thing in bulb mode so I had to wing it a bit. I saw this small waterfall in the cracks between the rocks about 15 minutes after sunrise and wanted to get the soft flowing water effect between the craggy rocks so I went with f22 to get a shutter speed of 1.6 seconds. The rocks didn't have a lot of color to them but I loved the texture and the angle of the light so I opted for a black and white conversion with NIK.

The first thing I did when I got home was to figure out how to get the camera in bulb mode so I am all set for my next early morning or late night adventure

Any and all C&C would be welcome and appreciated.

[Brownbear]

I think this is a beautiful image. I love the contrast of the rough dark rocks against the soft silky water.

[Stagecoach]

Shane,

You have made a good job of this one and I like the fact that you have not overdone the 'softness' of the water hence leaving a bit of movement in it.

Grahame

[AndrewMcD]

I like the composition very much. A +1 to Grhame's comments regarding the water 'softness'. Are the rocks that light in appearance? I wonder if they could be a bit darker?
Andrew

[ShaneS]

Thank you Grahame and Andrew. Here is a revised (darker rocks) version:



I lifted some of the shadows in the rocks using Viveza and left that intact on this version. I did add 25% dynamic brightness in Silver Efex Pro which I have removed in this version. Do you prefer this darker version?

Andrew, the rocks were fairly dark at the base but strongly side lit from the left by the rising sun. They are a mix of dark lava rock and what I suspect is dirty coral which came off as a tan color with the lighting.

I also did some last minute cloning on the first version to remove some of the streaky clouds in the background to maintain the ethereal feel of the image so feel free to comment on that as well.

[AndrewMcD]

Shane,
To my unsophisticated eye I think the second version is an improvement. It is almost as though my eyes are able to relax a little and more thoroughly explore the image; maybe as though I put on sunglasses? A very nice piece of work!
Andrew

[ShaneS]

Thanks Andrew - looking again I think that your eye is probably correct in that the darker version is better. Anyone else care to provide some C&C or simply your overall impression of the image?

[Mike Buckley]

I came to the party after you had already produced the second version, which is a huge improvement for me.

Your thread title and text in your first post make me think that you're trying to make the cascade the primary subject. Though I like that idea, this composition doesn't do that for me. As an example, try cropping so the top of the frame is above the cascade but below the rock formation located immediately behind it.

If you like the effect as I do of putting the cascade very near the top of the frame, you may also agree with me that the resulting aspect ratio doesn't work. If so, you will probably want to shoot the scene again using a composition that both works overall and places the cascade very near the top of the frame. One way you could do that is to shoot from a much lower position, though I understand that that may not be possible. If you're limited to shooting from the same place, try using a longer focal length and perhaps incorporating other ideas including maybe a vertical orientation to produce a composition that somehow works while keeping the cascade near the top of the frame.

You may want to include the rock formation located immediately behind the cascade. I excluded it in my suggested crop only to provide an extreme example of how I "see" the cascade as the subject.

[deetheturk]

Great image Shane,i like the second version slightly better.

[Brownbear]

I love the first image, and I'm surprised that it could be improved upon but I think the 2nd image stands out more, ie; added wow factor.

[Shadowman]

Interesting combination of textures.

[Otavio]

Very nice job, Shane. In my opinion, the second version is much better. Consider toning the whites just a little bit down and check if you like it.

A very good image!

Cheers,

[Kyle]

Phenomenal shot. I really like the stark difference between the rough, jagged rocks and the flowing water.

[ShaneS]

I came to the party after you had already produced the second version, which is a huge improvement for me.

Your thread title and text in your first post make me think that you're trying to make the cascade the primary subject. Though I like that idea, this composition doesn't do that for me. As an example, try cropping so the top of the frame is above the cascade but below the rock formation located immediately behind it.

Thank you Mike. First, let me say that title was/is a bit misleading in the sense that I couldn't figure one out so just stated the obvious My intention was to showcase the flowing water in the overall landscape.

A tried a tighter crop and it eluded me as I felt that the image lacked pop when I removed too much of the rocky surroundings and I did debate including the rock behind the waterfall along with a good chunk of the background. It never hurts to look again and I will do so based on what you saw.

FYI, I couldn't get any lower (feet and tripod were in the water already and reversing the center column seemed a bit to risky with incoming waves and my inherent clumsiness).

Otavio, I paid quite a bit of attention to the white point in processing this one but I will see if a slight tweak is in order when I look at it again. Thank you for the suggestion.

Thanks also to David, Christina, John and Kyle for taking the time to stop by and comment - it is appreciated.

[ShaneS]

Third revision with a tighter crop and a bit of dodging and burning on the water. It becomes a very different image with this crop and I am curious to hear your preference.



I think that the rocks on the right now need a bit of dodging but I will leave that until I read your thoughts on this crop.

[Mike Buckley]

Considering that I almost always prefer tight crops, I'm shocked to see myself writing that I prefer the first crop. I think that's because the second one places more attention on the water, which in its silky treatment doesn't have a lot of interest. For me, the first crop places more attention on the rock formations, making it a completely different image.

That leads me to the idea that I wonder if I would prefer the water with all of its action stopped at least in the second crop. There is something about the silky look that in this case doesn't work so well for me with the craggy rocks. Considering the small size of the cascade, I would normally prefer the silky look but perhaps not in this case. Sorry to be so ambivalent but I would probably have to see the stopped action to know for sure which style I would prefer.

[John 2]

First image second version for me Shane. I think you need the extra punch to show off the water. My only other comment would be that it might be worth delineating the horizon more. It might give extra depth to the composition.

[ShaneS]

Thanks John and Mike. It is a bit of a confidence builder to find that my first instinct about the crop was 'right' (I use that term loosely) for the image. I will now go back and work on the finer details of the PP on that one.

Mike, there is so much to experiment with in terms of this type of shot that it can be overwhelming but your thoughts will be very helpful the next time I am out in the field. I find that having these things in my head give me more options and am only beginning to scratch the surface of the impact that they have on the final image so that is a good thing

Many thanks to all who took the time to comment.