"James....got up to my waist to cross the stream...percariously balancing my camera and tripod till I got closer to the other side (couldnt take the temps for long that deep) My wife reccomended hip waders...thinking that would be the perfect thing for this...as I like getting perspectives that others usually avoid. Water wasnt running too fast....not a real fight. Looks faster though on film as it was early morning...so much slower shutter speed."
It certainly is a breathtaking image. I am impressed because I see no signs of camera shake in the image. I would assume that the current would be enough to jostle the camera around, but it appears not. On another note, hip waders are a great idea. It would never have occurred to me to get IN to the water. Well done.
"Upper shot was out of the dynamic range of the camera...so blended 2 bracketed shots together using a layer mask to only include the properly exposed falls into the shot...just too many hot spots in the falls when I checked my histogram. I try to strive for what my eyes captured and leave my editing to that....I never remove or add things that were there...nor do I try to add color my eyes dont remember."
On my front page, I have a method for keeping highlight detail (as long as you initially exposed for the highlights). It was my very first article here at NWP and as a result is a bit sloppier than most I have done. However, it does help finish the job. It basically is a simple tutorial on layers and masking.
http://www.nwpphotoforum.com/ubbthreads/JM_Pieces/Highlights/Highlights.htm?Cat=0-JM