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Fall on the Cassatot #37283
11/13/11 08:27 AM
11/13/11 08:27 AM
Joined: Oct 2011
NE Arkansas
K
K.B. Photography Offline OP
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K.B. Photography  Offline OP
Tracker
K

Joined: Oct 2011
NE Arkansas
I just got back from a photography trip. I still have to process the images but his one jumped out at me while I was scanning thru them.



Re: Fall on the Cassatot [Re: K.B. Photography] #37290
11/13/11 09:15 PM
11/13/11 09:15 PM
Joined: Oct 2011
NE Arkansas
K
K.B. Photography Offline OP
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K.B. Photography  Offline OP
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K

Joined: Oct 2011
NE Arkansas
This shot is from my second morning there... I dont know that I'll ever be able to top it.


Re: Fall on the Cassatot [Re: K.B. Photography] #37292
11/13/11 11:33 PM
11/13/11 11:33 PM
Joined: Feb 2005
Manhattan, New York, New York
James Morrissey Offline
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James Morrissey  Offline
I
Carpal Tunnel

Joined: Feb 2005
Manhattan, New York, New York
Hey Kevin,

Thanksfor sharing! Did you intend these for the critique forum?

James

Re: Fall on the Cassatot [Re: James Morrissey] #37317
11/14/11 06:58 PM
11/14/11 06:58 PM
Joined: Oct 2011
NE Arkansas
K
K.B. Photography Offline OP
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K.B. Photography  Offline OP
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K

Joined: Oct 2011
NE Arkansas
Sure.. .they can be critiqued... it will help me see some things with my composition/processing that I didn't see at the time.

Re: Fall on the Cassatot [Re: K.B. Photography] #37371
11/17/11 10:17 AM
11/17/11 10:17 AM
Joined: Oct 2011
North Carolina's Crystal Coast
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Bob D. Offline
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North Carolina's Crystal Coast
Originally Posted By: K.B. Photography
Sure.. .they can be critiqued... it will help me see some things with my composition/processing that I didn't see at the time.


Hi Kevin,

I noticed no one has stepped up to the plate to provide a critique. That's really a shame as critiquing can be a great learning tool for both the photographer on the receiving end and the one providing the critique. While the benefit to the receiving photographer is obvious, not so obvious is the thought excercise provided for the critiquer. I just wanted to get my thoughts on critiques out there before I start.

Of the two images the first "does the least" for me. It's not a bad photo but there's nothing there that really catches and holds my attention. Another viewer might feel totally different. The stream is forming a bit of a S-curve, which is always a good compositional element. The light on the trees seems a little harsh... timing is everything. Because of the bright light the exposure time was short. A longer shutter time would've smoothed the moving water which would've helped I think. This might've been a good spot to have used a ND or GND filter and/or polarizor to tame the light and lengthen the exposure time. The cloudless sky isn't adding anything I'd be tempted to crop out most or all of the sky. That would move the horizon higher and eliminate the flat blue sky which is adding nothing to the image. It's not a bad image and I can tell you put some thought into the composition. Sometimes scenes that are really appealing in person are hard to get to appear as appealing in a photo. (Which becomes an excellent excuse to keep returning and trying).

Now the second image is the better of the two IMHO. You made good use of layering to add depth in this image. The rocks near the lower RH corner and the fast water entering from the lower LH corner provides some nice foreground elements. The trees sloping in form the RH and LH side adds some framing and provides a middle plane in the image. The angle formed ty the trees from the upper RH corner also serves as a nice leading line into the image. Finally the distant tree line in the back provides a background element and adds depth. The fast moving water and boulders strewn along the stream adds a nice texture to the image. The fairly long exposure smooths the water in an attractive way. Unlike the first image, the sky in this one has enough color and texture to provide interest for the viewer. If I were going to change anything I might consider cropping a little bit off the top... starting just above the tree-tops on the left. That would move the horizon up a bit in the frame and eliminate the least dramatic portion of the shy. Overall this is a very pleasing image, shot in nice soft light and full of lovely muted colors. Very well done.

A nice series and looks to be a promising location. I followed your discussion on Naturescapes when you were planning the outing and the post trip reoport aftwards. It was an interesting discussion.

Last edited by Bob D.; 11/17/11 10:24 AM.
Re: Fall on the Cassatot [Re: Bob D.] #37372
11/17/11 10:42 AM
11/17/11 10:42 AM
Joined: Sep 2005
Portland Oregon
RomanJohnston Offline
Pooh-Bah
RomanJohnston  Offline
Pooh-Bah

Joined: Sep 2005
Portland Oregon
Critique. Sorry I missed your post. I usually get right on the Landscape posts. So my apologies for missing this. Usually I only critique one shot (Per the request and rules of this forum) but as my penance I will do both. smile

#1. I like that you tried to capture the curve of the water in the foreground. Unfortunately the curves do not work to create balance and counterbalance so the eye really does not have anything to lead it to the background area. The checks and balances are just not doing the shot justice.

All the elements are nice, just not part of the “Story” of the shot. Little elements like the piece of rock on the lower left hand corner also provide minor distractions. I would also suggest a polarizer. This would have given some color to the sky, and killed the reflection in the water providing a stronger path way through the falls. You don’t have to use a polarizer in all your shots like if you went forward and captured the larger (calmer) pool and wanted the fall reflections to really stand out, but here, the reflections seem to detract more than help.

#2. Again, a polarizer would have wrangled the dynamic range a bit giving you more foreground details to actually lead the viewer through the shot. The sky is also very nice, but very understated. This shot has a better compositional balance, and a lot more potential. A bit of post processing will easily bring out the most on this shot.
Your watermark is a bit large as well, I would make it smaller. It is nice though that it looks like a layer with the opacity reduced.

A very nice exercise to get you into seeing your compositions is to bring a pad and pencil out with you and sketch the basic elements of the compositions. Reduce everything to it’s simple common denominator. On the bottom picture you have a Rectangle + trapezoid for the sky. A triangle on the right bank, and a curved wide triangle for the river…and a minor circle on the left for the bank and tree.
Do the same for the elements in the upper photo and you will see how it is busier but not cohesive.

If you bring a small sketch pad out with you, and get yourself a polarizer I think that would put you on the path to creating stronger images.

Nice work, look forward to seeing more.

Roman


Re: Fall on the Cassatot [Re: Bob D.] #37379
11/17/11 08:11 PM
11/17/11 08:11 PM
Joined: Oct 2011
NE Arkansas
K
K.B. Photography Offline OP
Tracker
K.B. Photography  Offline OP
Tracker
K

Joined: Oct 2011
NE Arkansas
Thanks for taking the time to give your thoughts. I may see if I can't mute some of the harshness of the treeline and then repost when I have some time.

Re: Fall on the Cassatot [Re: RomanJohnston] #37380
11/17/11 08:15 PM
11/17/11 08:15 PM
Joined: Oct 2011
NE Arkansas
K
K.B. Photography Offline OP
Tracker
K.B. Photography  Offline OP
Tracker
K

Joined: Oct 2011
NE Arkansas
Ya know... the sad thing is.... I didn't think about my polarizer until after the shoot. I haven't used it in a very long time since I've been out of the game for a while. I've even got a GND.

As for the watermark... I started doing larger watermarks when the scammers in the reptile industry would steal your images and try to pass them off as their own in a scam. I even had some nucklehead post my image without trying to remove my watermark. With that larger version... it's a whole lot harder to pass off the image as their own.

Re: Fall on the Cassatot [Re: K.B. Photography] #37389
11/18/11 10:02 AM
11/18/11 10:02 AM
Joined: Mar 2007
Arizona
daveman Offline
Old hand
daveman  Offline
Old hand

Joined: Mar 2007
Arizona
I will add a little. I agree that the composition and colors of the second image is stronger than the first. I like that you have a slower shutter speed that gives the water some movement. I think the only change I would recommend is to agree that it would be a more dramatic photo if the top was cropped just above the tree on the left. This would keep the sunset color in the sky, but make the water more prominent, and be more dynamic because the horizon would not split the image in two.


Nice job!
Daved


See my stuff here davedilli.zenfolio.com

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