Dead Run Waterfall

[erictoddjohnson]

A recent shot taken along the Potomac Heritage Trail near Washington, DC.  Let me know what you think and what would make it better.  

Thanks,

Eric

[wolfnowl]

A good effort, but you've got bits of sticks and logs and detritus sticking in from the edges of the frame and clogging up the image.  If it was me I'd focus in more closely, maybe pick out on strong element and make an image of that.

Mike.

[erictoddjohnson]

A good effort, but you've got bits of sticks and logs and detritus sticking in from the edges of the frame and clogging up the image.  If it was me I'd focus in more closely, maybe pick out on strong element and make an image of that.

Mike.

Good point, Mike.  Here is a cleaned up version.  I was running out of daylight when I found this waterfall, but I do plan to return to try out some other compositions.

Eric

[Jeremy Roussak]

Good point, Mike.  Here is a cleaned up version.  I was running out of daylight when I found this waterfall, but I do plan to return to try out some other compositions.

I think that's better, but I don't like the rock on the right which obscures part of the bottom of the fall on that side. If you can get back, I'd suggest moving a little to the left of where you were standing.

Jeremy

[Geoff Wittig]

A recent shot taken along the Potomac Heritage Trail near Washington, DC.  Let me know what you think and what would make it better.  

Thanks,

Eric

I'm a sucker for waterfall shots, and I've taken many of 'em myself. A few ideas:
1) The dead white sky coming through the trees adds nothing to the shot. Consider cropping it out, or shoot from a higher viewpoint to avoid including it.
2) It may just be my monitor, but it looks like the shadows in the rocks are badly blocked up, and the overall lighting is a bit dead. Softer lighting and/or a polarizer might coax a bit more color out of the trees and a bit more life out of the falls itself.
3) The falls overall is a chaotic jumble. It might be worth composing a smaller more selective frame that's less messy.

Just my 2¢, and probably worth even less.

[new_haven]

I like the scene overall, but as mentioned already, the shadows seem a little too dark. Changing the white balance from cool to warm brings out the colors in my opinion. Sharpening helps too.

[deeyas]

I like the scene overall, but as mentioned already, the shadows seem a little too dark. Changing the white balance from cool to warm brings out the colors in my opinion. Sharpening helps too.

I agree, it looks quite vibrant with the editions.

[erictoddjohnson]

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions.  

Geoff:

I don't care much for the tone of the sky peeking through the leaves either, but I like the low vantage point on the falls and the trees at the top of the frame, so I was willing to make the tradeoff.   As for lighting, there is a fairly dense tree canopy over the stream, so the area gets filtered light for most of the day.  On my next trip I'll try the polarizer and blending exposures to help the color and shadows.  And maybe that pesky sliver of sky, too.  Different time of day may help as well.

New_Haven:

I like the warmer look, but I think you went a couple of clicks too far for my taste.  I like what it does for the trees and rocks, but I'll try masking the water to as not to accentuate the muddiness in the foreground.

Thanks again for all the suggestions - there's lots of rain in the forecast here, so plenty of opportunities for a re-shoot.