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Blanchard Spring Creek
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Blanchard Spring Creek

by Justin Richardson

Gallery: LandscapePosted November 18, 2012432 views19 comments
This was taken at the Blanchard Spring Cavern park in the Ozark National forest near Mt. View, AR...a beautiful little jewel of a place i continue to frequent...just at dawn on a cool late-spring morning. I used a 6x ND to increase the exposure time to just shy of 4 minutes. Nikon D200, 18-135mm zoom at 24mm, ISO 100.
This is my first post so thanks for all of the comments and critique!

Comments

19 comments
Comment posted by Lon Overacker on November 18, 2012 at 4:17 PM
Justin,

Welcome to NPN and the Landscape Gallery! What a terrific and beautiful first post! Wonderful mood and atmosphere created with the mist and very long exposure. I'm curious too about going for minutes - was that to let the fog/mist accumulate? Was there a difference with something shorter like a handful of seconds rather than minutes? Just curious if you tried other exposures and what differences there might have been.

I like your composition too. While the boulder up front is pretty dominant, I don't think it blocks things up very much and it's still easy on the eye and the stream of course leads the viewer in to the scene. And there's a nice glow a the end of the trip.

Excellent first entry. We look forward to your images and contributions to the galleries and discussion forums.

Lon
Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments
Comment posted by Justin Richardson on November 18, 2012 at 4:27 PM
Thank you Lon. Yes, the longer exposure time was to try and create a little more atmosphere than i was getting with the shorter exposures...there was a hint of mist rising from the water that just didn't translate without the ND filter allowing that extra time for me.
Registered on November 18, 2012, 28 Posts, 134 Comments
Comment posted by Nick Bristol on November 18, 2012 at 4:35 PM
Welcome to NPN Justin! A wonderful first post! Really enjoy the misty mood of this image. Your long exposure worked very nice here. Looks like a place you could spend a lot of time working on lots of different comps. Very nice! :toast:

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI
Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments
Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on November 18, 2012 at 4:39 PM
This is wonderful. You were very successful capturing the misty green mood. I like the glowing light and the interesting fg boulder. Welcome to NPN, can't wait to see more from here.
Registered on January 24, 2011, 576 Posts, 6942 Comments
Comment posted by John&Patty Benway on November 18, 2012 at 4:49 PM
This is gorgeous Justin, fantastic first post, and welcome to NPN.
John
Registered on May 12, 2006, 626 Posts, 8700 Comments
Comment posted by John Clulow on November 18, 2012 at 5:23 PM
Wow. a feeling of the primordeal forest.

I also love your narrative. Great use of the close hyperfocal distance for 24 mm.

What really ruins it, almost, for me is this horrible thick, black framing I see on so many images here.

Ludkily for you, Justin, your image has such amazing quality that it can save itself.

But why in the hell do we see this huge, thick black hung albatross of a frame here so often???? It really sucks and detracts from the images. Seriously.

Get rid of it. This convention is disgusting, in my humble opinion. Stop it.
Registered on November 1, 2012, 155 Posts, 1079 Comments
Comment posted by Scott Smorra on November 18, 2012 at 5:34 PM
Welcome to NPN and the Landscape Gallery Justin. I really like the use of the long exposure and the misty feel it created. Great colors and comp as well. Also, keep the black border!!! Placing a black border around a darker image is a very effective method for making the shadows look better in darker images. The pure white of the NPN site is definitely not kind to darker images. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your work here.
Registered on November 2, 2009, 161 Posts, 2143 Comments
Comment posted by Nathan Apodaca on November 18, 2012 at 6:17 PM
So many things to enjoy and comment on... First, the fg rock. The colors and textures are simply fantastic, making me want to stare at it alone for a while. And then to discover the bg! This image has clear 3-d qualities to it, and everything from colors, the comp, shutter speed, atmosphere, etc., make this an outstanding image, IMO. I know there's a considerable amount of 'empty' space down on the right, but also think that any crop would take away precious detail on the far right side of the river. Again, your capture/processing make the image come alive, and I appreciate the natural look this retains.

Welcome to NPN, btw... Really looking forward to your take on this incredible world we live in!
Registered on November 16, 2011, 67 Posts, 1127 Comments
Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on November 18, 2012 at 6:44 PM
I like this, Justin. There is a bit of haze that nicely picks up the green hues and the foreground rock is a really nice foreground element. Downed branch in the back is a bit of a distraction but folks are split on the propriety of cloning things like this. At the very least I might burn it a bit darker.

First post. Welcome!
Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments
Comment posted by Joseph Campisi on November 18, 2012 at 6:44 PM
Great first post Justin! The long exposure really did enhance the mood here I think. I too, am looking forward to seeing more from here. Very well done! Welcome!
Registered on November 24, 2008, 304 Posts, 3211 Comments
Comment posted by Evan Olson on November 18, 2012 at 9:03 PM
love it. very well done
Registered on November 17, 2012, 31 Posts, 70 Comments
Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on November 18, 2012 at 9:43 PM
A very good first post. An appropriately dark image, and I like the very quiet waterflow. I am not usually a fan of water as "smoke", but it works well here.

To those fussing about the black vs white borders: NPN offers the option of 256 different colors. If you don't like either black or white, then pick another. Experiment a little before you post. For example, a dark green, maybe a moss green, even a greenish brown could work here. Anything that picks up a dominant color, or complements it, could work. Or you could make your own, which some have done here successfully.
Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments
Comment posted by Richard Teller on November 18, 2012 at 10:14 PM
Welcome to NPN. I really like the mood you have created. Very nice composition and color.
Registered on August 23, 2010, 1162 Posts, 6692 Comments
Comment posted by Luke Ormand on November 18, 2012 at 10:36 PM
A really nice moody misty scene here
Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments
Comment posted by Peter Richter on November 19, 2012 at 5:05 AM
Welcome to NPN, Justin!

Your image conveys the atmosphere of this scene impressively to me. I especially like the slight haze in the distance together with the smooth surface of the creek. The foreground rock anchores the composition nicely for me. I am looking forward to your images.

Peter
Registered on November 10, 2010, 218 Posts, 2723 Comments
Comment posted by Morris McClung on November 19, 2012 at 11:08 AM
Lovely light, color, and mood.
Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments
Comment posted by Nick Palmieri on November 19, 2012 at 5:43 PM
Guess its all been said... Great mood and I like the composition as presented. Nice use of the split and long exposure.
Registered on September 1, 2011, 35 Posts, 748 Comments
Comment posted by Chris Chamberlain on November 20, 2012 at 11:45 PM
Very nice! The mist really adds a nlot to the scene. Good choice to go with the long exposure. Excellent!

Chris
Registered on March 13, 2007, 500 Posts, 8365 Comments
Comment posted by David Chauvin on November 21, 2012 at 7:05 AM
The looks great and the misty atmosphere feels right. It's probably just an illusion but it feels tilted a bit ccw. Since no one else has mentioned it I probably need to calibrate my sense of balance. :rolleyes:
Registered on August 5, 2004, 1007 Posts, 5595 Comments