Cascade, Wahkeena Creek

[JeffKohn]

Taken along the trail between Wahkeena Falls and Fairy Falls, in the Columbia River Gorge.

[wolfnowl]

I'm not generally a big HDR fan, so keeping that in mind I'd say that this is a great image but to me it's been punched up too much.  I'd tone back the contrast some, maybe drop the saturation a little, but otherwise, well done!

Mike.

[jasonrandolph]

I'm not generally a big HDR fan, so keeping that in mind I'd say that this is a great image but to me it's been punched up too much.  I'd tone back the contrast some, maybe drop the saturation a little, but otherwise, well done!

Mike.

I'll second Mike's comments.  I think the result would be a sharper-looking image.  The trunk on the right draws eyes away from the subject, but not much can be done about it.  That said, I find the composition to be well done.  Nice job!

[Ed Blagden]

Jeff,

Thirded... nice composition, but the post processing just makes me go eurrk!  Looks like one of those crappy over-saturated calendar shots.  Tone it down, I say.

Salaams

Ed

[cmi]

The first moment I saw the image I said to me... eerk, a bit to much! Then I tried to convince me I was being over-critical, and then I read the comments  So yes, I'd try dialing contrast blackpoint and saturation just a slight bit down, but otherwise a joy to view. Even the fallen tree at the left, its just in there: the imperfection belongs to it too.

Christian

[JeffKohn]

Thanks for the feedback everybody. I was unsure about the processing on this one, as I had a hard time getting the look I was after, and your comments have confirmed what I thought might be the case. The greens are really intense there on a rainy day, and I wanted that to come through in the image but without looking artificial. I did desaturate the greens a bit after my tonal adjustments but it might not have been enough (or maybe the tonal adjustments were too much).

About the too much contrast, is it the contrast between the water and the rest of the scene, or the local contrast of individual elements in the scene? This image is not actually an HDR; I did overlay a second exposure for the water, but the rest of the scene is from a single exposure. I did make tonal adjustments in post-processing, though.

[cmi]

...I was unsure about the processing on this one, as I had a hard time getting the look I was after, and your comments have confirmed what I thought might be the case. The greens are really intense there on a rainy day, and I wanted that to come through in the image but without looking artificial. I did desaturate the greens a bit after my tonal adjustments but it might not have been enough (or maybe the tonal adjustments were too much).

About the too much contrast, is it the contrast between the water and the rest of the scene, or the local contrast of individual elements in the scene? This image is not actually an HDR; I did overlay a second exposure for the water, but the rest of the scene is from a single exposure. I did make tonal adjustments in post-processing, though.

Jeff, for me the contrast of the water to the rest of the scene is fine. Also I like what you did with the contrast, pushing the blacks up. Its only that you *imho* overdid that very slightly.

Christian

[JeffKohn]

I went back and reworked this image. I'm not sure if this is exactly what you guys had in mind with your feedback, but comparing it to the original I think it looks less 'processed'. I went for a slightly more low-key look, using the darker exposure from my bracketed set (which I originally just used for the water). This version had very little post-processing; just capture sharpening, a bit of USM for a slight local contrast boost, and a little vignetting in the corners. Thoughts?





Thanks again for the feedback.

[cmi]

Thoughts?

Jeff, shall I be honest? Ok thats a rethoric question  I would prefer the first version over this one. I know that might sound strange to you after all this advices. And at the risk of boring you with more advice, I would not have changed it so drastic. I imagine a blend of these versions, maybe 80% of the old, 20% of the new version. These numbers are made up, but you get my drift. Your original idea was perfectly fine, we where only nitpicking about nuances. All this being said, dont let confuse yourself by my or anyones opinion.

This is a very good picture.

Best regards

Christian

[Hans Kruse]

I went back and reworked this image. I'm not sure if this is exactly what you guys had in mind with your feedback, but comparing it to the original I think it looks less 'processed'. I went for a slightly more low-key look, using the darker exposure from my bracketed set (which I originally just used for the water). This version had very little post-processing; just capture sharpening, a bit of USM for a slight local contrast boost, and a little vignetting in the corners. Thoughts?

In my opinion the first version had impact throught the light and composition. This version lacks the first part. I would suggest that you just desaturate a little on the first version.

I like this image (the first version) a lot and it is well done. Just make a little more subtle.

[JeffKohn]

Thanks for the honest opinions. The midtones on the second version do seem a bit dingy compared to the original. But the original has a 'digital' look I don't like in comparison to the second version. I'm not sure it's the saturation, I think it's too much local contrast. The first image got some work in Lightzone, and I may have used the 'detail' slider from the Relight tool which can cause this effect when over-used. I'll have to see if I still have the LZN and can back that off a bit.

[jdemott]

Hi Jeff,

I have hiked that trail for over 30 years (most recently yesterday).  It is one of my favorite spots, but it can be difficult to photograph because of the high contrast lighting you often encounter.  Judging by the second version you posted, I'd say you were there on an overcast day.  Your framing and composition are great--nice use of the two large trees to frame the curving lines of the creek coming down the canyon.  I'm not a big fan of the HDR look so I agree with the others about version 1, but I'm also troubled by the color balance.  To me there is too much red and yellow in the first version.  The second version is closer but still seems to have a bit too much yellow.  My preference would be to start with version 2, greatly boost the overall contrast, and add a very little blue to counteract the yellow tone.

[JeffKohn]

John - it is indeed a neat trail, although I think Eagle Creek was our favorite. It was overcast for most of our time in the gorge, although on this day the sun eventually started peaking in and out and the lighting wasn't quite as overcast as in some other spots. I normally don't worry too much about white balance when shooting anymore, since I can usually get the balance I want when converting from RAW. But this location turned out to be a little more tricky, I kind of wish I had shot some gray-cards for reference. For some shots it seems like the choice was between too-yellow foliage or too-blue water. And in the overcast light there was often a green cast to the shadows rather than blue.

Here's one last edit, the shadows aren't boosted quite as much as in the first, and I tried to keep the saturation in check. Color balance is also slightly cooler than the previous versions.

[Ed Blagden]

Here's one last edit, the shadows aren't boosted quite as much as in the first, and I tried to keep the saturation in check. Color balance is also slightly cooler than the previous versions.

Jeff

The third one is the best in my view - in the first two the post processing distracted from the image itself, but in this third one the post is near perfect, and it brings out the composition and the scene itself.

Ed

[francois]

I agree, the third one is the best of the three versions. The second one was really too flat and the first one was unrealistic. That said, Althought there's many objects in the scene, you managed to get a very pleasing composition.

[JeffKohn]

Thanks Ed and Francois, and everybody else who provided feedback. This image was tough for me for some reason. I really liked the scene when I came across, and the way the light was filtering through the trees. I had an end-result in my mind while shooting. but for some reason had a hard time getting there with the post-processing. I'm pretty happy with the last version though.

[Hans Kruse]

Here's one last edit, the shadows aren't boosted quite as much as in the first, and I tried to keep the saturation in check. Color balance is also slightly cooler than the previous versions.

I like the last one best, but I think you could still improve it a bit by brightening up the foreground in front of the big tree a little bit.

[DarkPenguin]

I like the first one.  But I really can't judge the colors on the monitor I'm on now.  But I've found that under the canopy greens can get plenty neon.

Edit: On this monitor I think I would go for the third one.  But not by a lot over the original version.

[JeffKohn]

Thanks for the additional input, Hans and Penguin