Tangerine Dream

Neat. I think this is stronger with the empty part of the scene cropped out. I do like the way you have the water fall framed by the two tree trunks. That seems like a natural comp. Well seen.

Very cool shot! Nice sharp focus and beautiful lighting. Great capture

This is really beatiful Michael. I love the faint lit tree. Very creative.

So beautiful it is almost surreal, the glow and flowing water anchored by the tree work but I would add I would love to have bit more room on the bottom if it was possible. Seems just a bit cut off on the bottom. Of course, I should be so lucky to capture such a nice image

Talk about magical light! The light bathing the rock face and the framing of the falls between the trees is wonderful, Mike. Did you happen to shoot any verticals of this scene? Not being there, I wonder about seeing the base of the trees instead of having them cut off.

Ed

i think it comes across perfect. The view from behind those trees gives the feeling of peaking in on something beautiful and secretive! The colors are just great, and a different view from what i have seen of this. Beautiful!

I think you could play around with crop on the right, but I would force it, and I definitely wouldn't take it far enough to cut out that lighter foreground rock. I don't know if I get the sense of the trees holding me out or hiding me from the scene, but they work in their placement on a purely graphic level. You had a very personal vision for this photo, and I think it will build a connection to most viewers.

Thanks for the great commentary everyone. I do have a vertical that I may post here when I get a chance. I agree that the bottom looks a little 'chopped' but there are some ragged distracting snags and a couple stumps just below the bottom of this comp. I also noticed that including more of the bottom put the waterfall too high up in the comp, giving it a 50/50 feel that I didn't like. I probably could have left about 5% more room at the bottom to complete the arc of the shoreline and still avoided the other problems. Thanks for the help!

-Mike

Mike, this is photographed so often that I think your perspective is nice for originality. There's not much going on the LHS, so I think some experimental crops would be in order as my eye isn't wandering to that side anyway. I think cropping the left 1/3rd would still prevent the falls from being centered but would include all fo the important elements. The exposure looks nice. Good job overall!

Hi Mike,

Like a couple of your other viewers I'm not sure that all of the space on the left does anything for the image. I too would like to encourage you to experiment with different crops or as someone suggested, turn this into a vertical image.

Definitely possibilities ...

I love the V of the tree trunks and the water treatment.

Carol

The unusual composition, and your questions about it, really have me thinking. I'm still not sure how much *I* like the trees in the FG, but it is certainly provocative. I do like the green at left. Thanks!

Chris in Red Stick

Fantastic Michael!! I like how you went wide on this and let the left stay dark. Very artsy!!

Mike: Intriguing comp and a very pleasing presentation as is. I like your thought processes. I can see a memory card full of possibiities here. Nicely conceived and executed. >=))>

Well, because you ask, I will say there is too much space on the left side. Even if you hadn't asked I probably would have said that. I think the trees echo part of the shape of the falling water very nicely. I'm surprised there is any detail in the trees - you must have filled it with flash (?!)

Pete D.

Breathtaking colours & view. I like the tree foreground. I also feel that the bottom seems somewhat cut-off. Oddly, this problem seems to be solved by cropping even more off the bottom, to eliminate that line of rocks. The stuff below that line seems cluttered & draws attention away from the most beautiful part of the shot.

With your explanation, the "voyeur" concept is readily apparent in the scene. I'd maybe consider including it in your title.

This is an interesting image but it seems to be missing something. Possibly it's the ttee blocking the falls that bothers me. I am not sure. I think there is a lot more potential in this location though.

I've been there a bunch of times and never thought of that! Congratulations, this is really exceptional.

Absolutely sublime Mike! The lighting, the framing of the falls, and the wall color all combine to take this image to a higher level for sure. This is beauty on the scale of Guy's "Sheltered" post the other day. Great work!

This is great Mike. I like your comp on this and the detail and light are wonderful. I am not bothered by the wall and like how the falls are framed by the trees.

I think it looks very nice the way it is. Beautiful image.

- Dan

Mike, I think you did everything perfect. I absolutely love this image!

The view from behind the trees is a very concept, and executed as well as possible. I wanted to see more on the bottom, too, but there is only so much you can demand from a natural scene without using a bulldozer. I'm glad you included the left side. I think the darkness there really adds to my appreciation of the glow on the falls. Stunningly beautiful.

It's really nice to see a take on this that goes beyond the "usual" composition. Really amazing light you caught here in a stunning local. Excellent image.

Mike, I think the darker left portion of the image makes the luminous quality of light on the right surrounding the falls and the trees stand out better. And, as you say, the lines do lead one towards the falls. I would be interested to see the vertical version. This one is beautiful.

Will
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada

This is really nice! I like the framing and I like the dark negative space on the left. It directs my attention back to the framed waterfall and provides a good balance to the image. Works for me.

Mike, thanks for this wonderfully evocative image of a place that's on my list to visit. It encourages me to do it! As far as this particular shot is concerned and your questions, I am reminded that a scene like this allows a thousand valid compositions. That's the magic about it, sort of like the story of the blind men describing the elephant by what their hands can touch. Looks to me like you've got both hands on this behemoth! Thanks for posting this.

Without having read your questions regarding certain aspects, nothing came to my mind except: What a great looking and creative photo.Now thinking a bit about it - it might help to crop away some from the left - that darker, rather empty space. The glow is indeed gorgeous, great light on this one!

Wow, Thanks for all of the commentary everyone! Lots of diverse opinions on this one, and I really appreciate the input! I'm looking at the verticals right now and may post one here if I can find a pleasing comp. And I'll look at a square crop of this image as other's have suggested as well.

Personally, I'm still partial to this version, because the blank wall adds to the sense of the immensity of the alcove, of which the waterfall is a small but integral part. This reminds me of those images of the plains, with a small tree on the low horizon and a huge sky above to give the sense of the immensity of the open space and the tree is a small but integral part. Bill Fach has a post of a wildflower field and a single tree (next to this post) illustrating the same point. It may be a stretch here, but I'm hoping that the large blank wall works the same way. When I crop out the left side of the image with my hand, the immensity of the canyon is palpably diminished and the 'feel' of the image changes. But 'you' may not get that feeling from the image alone and this is where it's hard to separate the 2D photograph presented to an audience that hasn't been there, and the 3D experience of the photographer that was there. I'll have to keep that in mind.

Thanks again!!

-Mike

I think I would crop from the left removing the stick and leaving the lightest rock. Nice light, although I feel like the trees should be a little darker.

Here is a version cropped slightly from the left as many have suggested. I still prefer the wide landscape orientation over a vertical, and this may be a good compromise from the original. The light on the trees is reflected light from a large overhanging wall to the right strongly lit by the late afternoon sun. I did a very minimal dodge of the highlights only on the right tree to accurately match the tonalities visible to my eye. I could easily see these bark details in the field and knew it would be a challenge to keep the detail there in the finished image. In the end the natural light was strong enough to prevent me from doing any heavy post processing. Thanks for all of the input!

-Mike

I prefer the non cropped image myself. Wonderful shot, Mike. I love the detail and light present here, and the comp. is one that I have never viewed before.

Thanks for sharing

The cropped version is nice but I don't think it improves over the uncropped version which is pretty wonderful just as it is.

- Dan.

I think it is a wonderful image, also very ineterseting how the trees are lit up. but I do think you could loose some of the left part of the image unless it is run as a doublespread in a magazine and the left side is text space...
still very nice image.
Georg

Mike, this has to be the best image I have ever seen of these falls, and a stunning composition in its own right. Just incredible.

Guy

Hey Mike, congrats on the well deserved EP. This is a fantastic image - absolutely beautiful.

Mike: Congrats on the EP. Very well deserved and just a spectacular image. >=))>

This is amazing, great idea with the tree ...

I would also like this more with a crop off the Left and bottom. Beautiful light !!

Grats on the EP, very well deserved!

Very interesting and creative composition. Great tones.