Keep or trash?

Im undecided about this shot of Box Canyon i took on Saturday. Such an awesome place, but thanks to poor scaffold placement and my unwillingness to wade out into a couple feet of icy water, i couldn't really get a good shot of the falls. This is a pretty weird comp, but its about all i could get--what do you think--use or lose?

I'm not sure it works for me. It seems to have a strong blue cast, which may be realistic for the lighting but sets a weird mood. Also, it's hard to identify the subject. Is it the falls, or the ice on the walls, or the foreground?

I can see how this location would have a lot of potential!
Just my $0.02.

I have to agree with Kalin on the way-too blue cast. However, I really like the composition.

Ken

I don't know if I'd completely remove the blue cast or just tone it down - I like the cold feeling it gives. Composition wise, it's a little too busy for me. The large snow area on the left really doesn't have any information to add, and there appears to be (at least to my eye) at least two other "pictures" in the remainder. I keep going straight to the falls - maybe a crop of that area? Or the lower right corner?

Yeah, keep a little hint of blue cast, lose the rest, and it's a definite keeper.

While box canyon falls is really interesting, the way they built the scaffolding makes it really difficult to shoot nice photos in there. I'm not sure I'd even want to wade in that water in the summer. This composition isn't bad, but the falls and the icicles around it are the most interesting to me. If you could shoot to a crop of the bottom/right quarter of the image, I think you'd have a really nice shot.

Box Canyon gave me a very blue cast in the summer. But this is too much blue I think. I might bring the temp up to 6000K and see how it looked. I also thought about this situation recently. Most people say that color filters don't matter when you shoot raw, but a warming filter would influence the distribution of color captured by the photo sites, which would affect the raw file. I have a warming filter specifically for my film cameras, but I've been experimenting with it on my digital in these cold conditions lately. I think it could actually offer some improvement in the raw data and it might be worth trying in this type of condition.

I love the compositional idea, but the lack of light or color punch kills it for me.

I don't have a firm opinion here. There's a lot going on in this photo. And yeah, the blue is overwhelming. I'd probably try a b/w conversion to help simplify - along with a square crop from the bottom - or even dead center.

I would crop the little wedge of bright light at the top and definitely keep it.

Guy

Stan – definitely a keeper!

Personally I think the upper part of the image is too distracting.

Try making this image a square, by cropping away the top but keeping everything in the bottom of the image.

Then do a little color correction to get rid of the some of the blue cast (you won’t get rid of all). Instead of color correction you could also do a B&W. Either way, you end up with a really sweet image, and IMHO a much simpler and stronger composition.

I'd keep it. Even though it's somewhat busy and lacking a definite focal point, I quite like the voyeuristic POV. It puts it in the moment of discovering this scene. I don't mind the blue but agree to toning it down some. I like the cold atmosphere as it accurately conveys the conditions you experienced. Time to invest in some waders Stan Also, I'd crop a bit from the top. BTW, I see you are quite the guitarist You should provide BG music for the shindig.

Pam

I concur with everyone else who's saying crop the top and file it under "Fantastic".

Excellent advice, guys, thanks! I really was 'blinded' by the fun of climbing down and didnt even realize that the top section has gotta go. I can kill some of the blue too--although in that shade in the morning it was pretty blue down there! Thanks much-S
Pam-im relearning some very strange versions of Xmas carols--unfprtunately that will be too late for the shindig!

If you manipulate it, there's a lot of nice red in some of the stream rocks and the rock face to the rear. It contrasts nicely with the blue ice and snow.

Warren