crocodile jaws I

Gallery: LandscapePosted February 10, 20121,125 views11 comments

the ewaso ng'iro river, as it passes sabuk in north-central kenya, it goes through a number of narrow passages through the rocks. this particular area goes by the lovely name of 'crocodile jaws' - a length of about half a mile of rock and churning water.

thanks for all the comments on my last post from kazakhstan (and yes, these images are being posted in a somewhat whimsical order rather than by some chronology ...) - let me know your thoughts on this too.

mamiya 7ii, 43mm lens, tripod, remote cable, ilford delta 100 b&w film.

sabuk, kenya

Comments

11 comments

Comment posted by Scott Smorra on February 10, 2012 at 12:28 PM

Very nice b/w image Stuart. I like how the water flows in a diagonal line through the image. Nice choice of shutter speed as well.

Registered on November 2, 2009, 161 Posts, 2143 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Bullard on February 10, 2012 at 1:37 PM

Very nice shot Stuart. The highlights need to be brighter though. Add a curves layer and set a white point on one of those highlights above the front cascade and it will have more snap.

Registered on February 4, 2009, 30 Posts, 128 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Richter on February 10, 2012 at 4:20 PM

Stuart, the curved flow of the river, accentuated by the textures in the water, is interestingly counteracted by the sharp edged rocks to me. I appreciate your b&w processing very much, especially the fine tonal range.

Peter

Registered on November 10, 2010, 218 Posts, 2723 Comments

Comment posted by Vance Gese on February 10, 2012 at 8:06 PM

Love your composition, Stuart, and of course your always impeccable b/w processing. Love those reflections and textures in the rock. Fantastic.

Registered on November 13, 2008, 298 Posts, 6629 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on February 11, 2012 at 2:41 PM

Really like the comp and the textures, Stuart. Could maybe see stretching the contrast in the mid-tones to add more drama to the scene and it's textures.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on February 11, 2012 at 3:08 PM

Another example of your skill at composition and conversion of a scanned slide to replicate the qualities of Ilford film perfectly. All of the nuances of tone are brought out here. And the contrast of smooth water and sharp edged rocks is striking.

Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on February 11, 2012 at 7:47 PM

Stuart, This is very, very nice. Wonderful composition and I totally enjoy the black & white film. As mentioned the contrast between the rushing water and the sharp rocks is impressive. I keep looking at this one.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on February 12, 2012 at 10:36 PM

Wicked! I love the perspective and dynamics here. I could go for a tiny bit more contrast in the stream. Hope you didnt hurt yourself--you left a bloody palm print in the lrhc...

EDIT: I just read Jim's comment--i agree and disagree--i think if you deepen the darks the highlites will be plenty bright.

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments

Comment posted by Stuart Williams on February 13, 2012 at 12:41 AM

thanks to all for comments. i will continue playing with the contrast (obviously tweaks here and there may help) - i'm pretty content with the highlights but will try deepening some of the other tones - thanks again!

Registered on December 7, 2007, 247 Posts, 4792 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Jones on February 13, 2012 at 7:56 PM

Stuart, Wonderfully action-packed comp. Since the contrast in the rocks looks perfect, I am guessing that the comments about the stream reflect the fact that the water may not have been not crystal clear, or downright muddy or stained. If the water was perfectly clear, then we would expect more contrast there. Satisfying both realism and expectations can be a difficult ballancing act.

Registered on April 18, 2007, 953 Posts, 6435 Comments

Comment posted by Stuart Williams on February 13, 2012 at 11:47 PM

wayne - you hit it: the water was certainly not crystal clear and now I understand the comments to a greater degree. this is the ewaso ng'iro - meaning "river of mud" - never crystal clear and rarely better than murky. more, the water was high and full of sediments. thanks for comments to all.

Registered on December 7, 2007, 247 Posts, 4792 Comments