Rivendell

Wow, Floris. Very nice take on this. I know, because I just happened to have taken exactly the same shot a few days prior in the same spot! I like the framing and depth here.

Works awesome Floris. Great photograph.

Marc, are you kidding me? haha.. too funny. At least be both know that we came up with it on our own

Nice work and different take. So was it you or Marc that was selectively pruning in there? ;) All joking aside, it was sad to see someone had done that to get a better shot. I might give the Solomon's Seal? a touch more saturation especially since it is backlit.

Beautiful Floris. I most definitely get the feeling of just peering out from the thick forest to view this lush scene for the first time. Your framing and comp literally bring me right to the scene. This most certainly works for me and I think you are quite successful with your intentions. No nits here.

Lon

At first sight I found the leafs at the top little distracting, but after second one my feeling changed - great framing and it really works for me. Great job!

Igor

works well floris. the challenge here is the framing and i don't think perfection really exists. each frame is unique and interesting. nice mood and glowing leaves.

Hello

Wonderfull Capture .... the framing works for me .... great job ....

Best Regards from AUSTRIA
Helmut

Great job framing this Floris!

Floris,

Breaking accepted practice I think is often the path to a unique image from what appears to be an oft photographed "place". The challenge is pulling it off successfully and judging from the comments you have and I agree. I think it's all about "framing" the scene but not intruding. well done...

Paul

Perfect.
It's almost like I'm sneaking a peak on a secret and forbidden place. ( Until I noticed I'm standing in Elfin Poo, I hear distant snickers)
Great framing and intoxicating colors.
Nothing fluffy about this one!

Spectacular color and light Floris. I like your use of the leaves and ferns to frame the falls and stream. Gorgeous scene.

Beautiful colors and composition. I especially like how the falls aren't the primary focal point (although they're hardly lost here).
Sharp throughout and first rate 'development', too. Focal blend?
Excellent work throughout, Floris!

Floris, This is just beautiful. It has the feeling of being so deep in to the forest that no one else has seen this before. That is a special feeling. I love your comp with the ferns and leaves framing the scene. The water looks fantastic too. Beautiful work! and a beautiful place.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Nice job framing this falls Floris. If it were mine I might take a very small amount off the top to just above the big rock on the far left, as that big leaf is a little distracting, IMO.

I love the soft delicate glow in this forest scene and those lush greens are simply superb. This is masterfully done, Floris.

Ed

This certainly works for me, Floris. I've yet to see a Gorge shot composed in this
manner. Good framing with the foliage top and bottom creating a window-like effect.
It looks like your exposure is right on.

This composition is absolutely stellar Floris. Well done!

Very nice work. I often struggle with figuring out how to frame intimate forest scenes of flowing water such as this, and you've provided great inspiration here on what a little creativity can produce.

Nope, totally serious. I shot this exact same comp! Amazing....we did indeed come up with it on our own though. The only difference is the background light was brighter in mine.

Paul, the area was a little trampled when we got there, like I had mentioned when we met up. Lots of people go down there now, so who knows? Certainly there was nothing intentional on our parts. No foliage pruning was needed for this perspective. This was pretty easy to come by without touching anything.

Crazy good Floris, magical capture really.

Marc, Floris, wasn't pointing fingers at all. I know neither of you two would. When we went in a second time(Sat) it had definitely changed and there was very obvious intentional breakage of some ferns and Solomon's Seal. It looked like it was to clear up the line of the stream in a comp. Sorry if it came off wrong on my part.

I like it. The comp is classic, but it's the framing of the leaves that makes it special.

Thanks everyone, glad to hear it's working as intended!

Marc - the difference might be that I did a LOT of processing up top.. I reduced the background exposure significantly, and brightened the Solomon's as well, since it was getting lost in the jungle. Since no one has mentioned anything, I think I managed to do so in a relatively natural looking way

John - yes two exposures blended for focus.

Zack - I appreciate the feedback, thanks. I see what you mean, I'll think about trimming that down a bit.

Paul - thanks for the feedback - I did take down the saturation on the Solomons, since I was worried it was getting to be too much, I'll let a little more back in.

Regarding the 'prunings' - indeed, there had been some pruning by someone before I got here.. and it made me sad to see that. I did bend a few leaves to the side (leaving them fully alive and happy). Unfortunately this little waterfall simply can't handle the traffic it has been attracting.

From the thumbnail this looked a bit "forced" but the big version works great. Yes it feels like being there and peeking through the foliage. The bg and the backlit upper leaves look fantastic.

It took me a while to recognize this location, which I think both you and Marc have previously captured superbly. This is definitely different than those shots and quite successful. I'm generally somewhat biased against using branches to help "frame" a scene in this way, but it works pretty well here. The processing does indeed look very natural. It is sad to hear that this wonderful spot is suffering some abuse.

Gettin the gorge icons, eh? Well, you did a great job with the comp here. I especially like the 3 ferns in the bottom right of the image. A minor nit would be that fern crossing the waterfall path....but that is a small nit.

Really gives me the feeling of being there and peering through the greenery. It also feels very "alive."

I really like this comp Floris. As others have noted, it's like you are peering through the ferns at a secret waterfall. Everything looks great to me. It's sad to hear about the pruning...wish people had more respect for a pristine area like this.

Very nice Floris! This photo has a very relaxing feel to it. Just perfect!

The foreground ferns make a nice lead in to the crick and falls and the upper leaves keep the eye right where it needs to be, right up the crick.

This has turned out very nicely. The presentation looks great to my eyes and personally. I don't see a need to increase he saturation. The composition, especially the manner in which the waterflow has been framed is awesome.

Lovely work, once again, Floris.

Love the translucent glow coming through the leaves above. I love the frame in a frame comp. A perfect window to the scene. It feels slightly tipped to the left to me but it may be that the trees are just leaning that way.

awesome comp, Floris.

The fern crossing the falls kills the shot. ruins it. dead on arrival
Ok seriously it is a minor nit, but otherwise this is pretty cool--i like!

Excellent!!!!!