I feel it's not that great a photo, yet I'd want it to be more inspiring.
- Any ideas what it's missing to be better?
- How would you have approached the scene?
- If you know Burney, can you tell which part of it it is?
Tweaks:
- Saturated reds and yellos for rock/moss to stand out.
- Unsaturated blue/cyan to make water whiter
- Brightened photo + contrast
- Minor smoothing to reduce grain + sharpening
I just came across the "National Geographics Photography Field Guide rev2" today. Flipped through, there's some nice photos there, and some good hints maybe as to the missing touch in some of my photos in the later "world of subjects" and "making photos under pressure" sections... FIY
I agree with you that this forum is quiet. I've wondered why. I thought that maybe it's because Californians have access to so many outdoor activities so much of the year and all the photographers are out there shooting.
I'm fairly new to NPN, but I'll offer my first impressions on your photo. I don't know what your stats are , but I love your shutter speed and the way the falls look. I actually would have liked to see more of the falls. I did think that the rock/moss was a bit dark. I think I would be careful about making the water any whiter as you'd risk blowing out any detail.
I'm going to check out National Geographics Photography Field Guide. Thanks for mentioning it.
The composition is very nice (has a nice semi-abstract feel to it) and I am loving the detail in the rocks/moss. That said, the water seems too bright, specially in the lower right corner.
Your mention that you increased brightness and contrast. Is it possible to lower it some?
On my road trip to Oregon I stopped at Burney Falls after my layover in Lassen NP. It is a beautiful waterfall, unfortunately I passed by when the sun was already hitting the top of the waterfall and it was hard to control it to get a decent photo of the whole waterfall. Then, I decided (as you did) to look for details to photograph, I tried to get some sunlight playing with the fall, and placing a stronger spur to balance the composition.
I've only been to Burney falls once, but was enough to know that due to it's positioning and trail access, it's a very difficult scenario. I think you've done well to isolate a section of the falls, rather than the entire thing. To answer one of your questions, I would say you've focused on the middle of the left hand side - am I close?
I'm not sure I would have approached it any different. Like any other situation, if you have the time and opportunity to be there for different times of the day and scout other location possibilities, you have a much better chance of getting something unique. But if you're like me, you were there for a short period, and didn't have the time or opportunity to be there for the various lighting conditions.
Having said all that, I like what you have carved out of the larger picture. I think the exposure and processsing work well. Personally, I may be tempted to crop out the very LRC as that is a bit bright and distracting.
Hope this helps - and yes, it's been quiet around here. Let's see what we can do to pick things up.
Discussion
6 repliesBurney Falls, CA (just north of Lassen)
I feel it's not that great a photo, yet I'd want it to be more inspiring.
- Any ideas what it's missing to be better?
- How would you have approached the scene?
- If you know Burney, can you tell which part of it it is?
Tweaks:
- Saturated reds and yellos for rock/moss to stand out.
- Unsaturated blue/cyan to make water whiter
- Brightened photo + contrast
- Minor smoothing to reduce grain + sharpening
I just came across the "National Geographics Photography Field Guide rev2" today. Flipped through, there's some nice photos there, and some good hints maybe as to the missing touch in some of my photos in the later "world of subjects" and "making photos under pressure" sections... FIY
I agree with you that this forum is quiet. I've wondered why. I thought that maybe it's because Californians have access to so many outdoor activities so much of the year and all the photographers are out there shooting.
I'm fairly new to NPN, but I'll offer my first impressions on your photo. I don't know what your stats are , but I love your shutter speed and the way the falls look. I actually would have liked to see more of the falls. I did think that the rock/moss was a bit dark. I think I would be careful about making the water any whiter as you'd risk blowing out any detail.
I'm going to check out National Geographics Photography Field Guide. Thanks for mentioning it.
Johnnie
FYI, if I take more of the falls, I end up giving it away. The full thing looks like this:
Burney main waterfall
The composition is very nice (has a nice semi-abstract feel to it) and I am loving the detail in the rocks/moss. That said, the water seems too bright, specially in the lower right corner.
Your mention that you increased brightness and contrast. Is it possible to lower it some?
On my road trip to Oregon I stopped at Burney Falls after my layover in Lassen NP. It is a beautiful waterfall, unfortunately I passed by when the sun was already hitting the top of the waterfall and it was hard to control it to get a decent photo of the whole waterfall. Then, I decided (as you did) to look for details to photograph, I tried to get some sunlight playing with the fall, and placing a stronger spur to balance the composition.
You can check my version at:
http://homepage.mac.com/edward.nunez/OregonTrip/large-14.html
I've only been to Burney falls once, but was enough to know that due to it's positioning and trail access, it's a very difficult scenario. I think you've done well to isolate a section of the falls, rather than the entire thing. To answer one of your questions, I would say you've focused on the middle of the left hand side - am I close?
I'm not sure I would have approached it any different. Like any other situation, if you have the time and opportunity to be there for different times of the day and scout other location possibilities, you have a much better chance of getting something unique. But if you're like me, you were there for a short period, and didn't have the time or opportunity to be there for the various lighting conditions.
Having said all that, I like what you have carved out of the larger picture. I think the exposure and processsing work well. Personally, I may be tempted to crop out the very LRC as that is a bit bright and distracting.
Hope this helps - and yes, it's been quiet around here. Let's see what we can do to pick things up.
Lon