Posted by Tom Kloster on June 18, 2007 at 12:01 AM
This is the last in my set of Stafford Creek images -- this is the full view of Stafford Falls, showing the twin lower tiers that were the focus of the last image, plus the upper tier that is somewhat concealed in bowl. I've love feedback on the composition for this one. The scene is inherently symetrical and formal, to the point of almost seeming artificial. I tried some different angles to break up the pattern, but without much luck. Mother Nature produced a very ordered scene here!
Stafford Creek is the working name for a stream located along the Wilson River Highway. I posted a map location with the original thread, over here. This photo is from a slippery vantage point - you will get wet fording the Wilson River, then muddy scaling the crumbling east bank of the stream to reach viewpoints of the upper tier. There was a handy log that served as a ladder, of sorts, on my visit.
As with the rest, this was taken with an Olympus E-300 and the original 14-45mm kit lens at 22mm, 1 second exposure.
Tom,
It really looks like it's hard to get a good vantage point with these falls. Sounds you worked hard for this composition and got a good reward. The white balance seems a little warm. Does your camera have a raw mode?
It does, but I'm still haven't graduated to that step (it has a jpeg+raw setting that I'll shift to once I move into either Aperature or Lightroom - right now I'm using Photoshop 8.0 CS). I normally adjust color/saturation and shadows/highlights as a shortcut for not having a raw white balance temperature adjust. Looking forward to raw... but not quite there yet! I was able to cool this image off just now with these adjustments, per your suggestion - in particular, I was able to reduce some of the hot spots on the waterfalls by adjusting highlights. I'm still learning how to use Photoshop, so I'm kind of nervous about making the switch to Aperature/Lightroom..!
Tom
Posted by Mike Stovall on June 18, 2007 at 1:35 PM
What a bushwhack... It really sounds like this is a place where you don't quite have the luxury of a lot of compositions, but you found one that gives a good sense of place. It's amazing (but kind of nice) to think there are no trails built out to this pretty falls. I might have tried a 1 stop soft grad on this scene to even out the light fall off towards the bottom. You can just do some dodging along the bottom of the photo in PS to simulate the grad.
Thanks for the suggestions, Mike. Good idea on the graduated filter - I hadn't noticed that before! This is a tough one to photograph from other perspectives, but it might be possible from about the same level above the stream along the west (left) side of the canyon in a way that isn't quite so formal. That stand of alder in the stream bottom is a major limiting factor, however, and it's steep on both sides of the creek. One possibility would be some foreground detail. This was taken from the top of a bare slope, with about a 30-foot drop to the stream, but it might be possible to back into the forest above this viewpoint, and possibly frame the image with ferns and other foliage. I recall trying to do that, and quickly losing the upper falls behind the fin of rock on the right... but I might have to head in there and try again.
This is a tough subject! But magical to visit, and the approach is especially fun if you like a bit of drama. I highly recommend it to waterfall collectors, plus it can easily be combined with others in the area. We visited University, Bridge Creek and Fern Rock Falls all in the same day as this one.
Mark, you might be right, if you mean that some scenes are simply meant to be appreciated in real life, as opposed to in a photograph..? But I think a creative photographer could do a lot with this one... and maybe a long rope!
Discussion
5 repliesStafford Creek is the working name for a stream located along the Wilson River Highway. I posted a map location with the original thread, over here. This photo is from a slippery vantage point - you will get wet fording the Wilson River, then muddy scaling the crumbling east bank of the stream to reach viewpoints of the upper tier. There was a handy log that served as a ladder, of sorts, on my visit.
As with the rest, this was taken with an Olympus E-300 and the original 14-45mm kit lens at 22mm, 1 second exposure.
It really looks like it's hard to get a good vantage point with these falls. Sounds you worked hard for this composition and got a good reward. The white balance seems a little warm. Does your camera have a raw mode?
Tom
This is a tough subject! But magical to visit, and the approach is especially fun if you like a bit of drama. I highly recommend it to waterfall collectors, plus it can easily be combined with others in the area. We visited University, Bridge Creek and Fern Rock Falls all in the same day as this one.
Mark, you might be right, if you mean that some scenes are simply meant to be appreciated in real life, as opposed to in a photograph..? But I think a creative photographer could do a lot with this one... and maybe a long rope!
Tom