Miss Elowah

This is one of my new favorite waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge here in the Northwest. I took this shot this morning just after the sun broke over the horizon. I have been told numerous times that my images look too dark.....I know everyone has different monitors but I am wondering how this looks to you. I am working on getting the images brighter without blowing out the whites!

Thanks for looking and leaving a comment, critique or suggestion!

Camera: Nikon D300
Exposure: 0.4 sec (2/5)
Aperture: f/6.3
Focal Length: 10 mm
ISO Speed: 100

sweet and (way too light)! Just kidding Darren. I don't see this or other images you post as too dark. I realize many of the images you post are taken in cloudy situations and the inherent mood is more towards the darker end of the spectrum but your colors are realistic..

This is perfect Darren! Well...is I had to offer some advice/criticism, it might be that the area to the right of the falls needs some more contrast. I think it just needs some burning of shadows or midtones and it will be fine.
You hit the nail on the head with the light on the moss...

David and Rick, thanks!!!

Rick, thanks, it's been based mostly on your comments over the last year or so that has made me look at my processing and re think how I am doing things....I think I am on the right track now but still need to work on a few things......I understand about the contrast but was a little unsure how to get it done without ruining the image.....

This looks really good Darren - great comp! Add me to the list of those who feel that your other images look very natural, and not that dark... If you notice some of..... well, take Marc A's images for example - to me they look perfect - definitely not too bright... what you would expect on an overcast/perfect day to capture waterfall images... If anything, I would say this is a little bright - but not bad at all or by any means... great detail!

Great composition. Most waterfall shots don't do it for me but this one does, the foreground leads me right up to the falls. It definitely is not too dark, the upper right 1/4 could use a little more contrast.

A perfect image as far as I am concerned. To Ricks point, I agree.
JG

I like the foreground with the layers of water cascading out of the picture. I have to be a dissenter, though. On my monitor, it looks unnaturally bright and a bit over-processed.

Looks good, other than that pesky Coke can lying at the base of the middle fern

Darren,
this is a really nice shot! It's an improvement over the pics from this location you posted after christmas, and I thought those were great too. THe composition is particularly striking in this one, I think. You capture the glow of the moss at that location, and the color of the lichens next to the falls really well. The scene does seem just a little bit too bright....or lacking contrast.

Wow. One of your sweetest shots ever, Darren. The comp is just great!! I don't recall your images as dark, and this certainly isn't. The FG cascade is the only nit I can find - it seems a little flat.

The lighting and processing looks just right to me Darren. Makes me want to go there very much. Nice work!

I haven't found your photos to be too dark. This one looks a bit on the light side to me, but beautiful.

I love the play of the background/foreground on this!! Excellent light and perfectly executed!! Well done Darren!! No nits from me!!

Oh, yeah! This is gorgeous, Darren. The light is wonderful the way it's brushing the cliff behind the waterfall. Good light throughout the image. The water action, with great texture still in the water, and the mossy rocks create a really interesting and delicious looking scene. Well done!

Darren, This is an awesome image!

I took the liberty of taking a pass over it with the new Nik Software Viveza plug-in to darken the upper right a tad.. The result is at:

http://www.whiteveilstudios.com/images/27191copy.jpg

What do you think?

Mearle.......not too bad...I guess I would need to see both printed up big to make a decision!!!

Darren - The point is really about the Viveza software. It's perfect for this sort of thing! You can download a 15 day free trial and try it out for yourself. It works on 16 bit images and images in LAB mode, so it's pretty highly advanced. If you are a member of NAPP you can get a $50.00 discount off the selling price. Try it out for yourself. Nik Software has easy to follow tutorials on their web site too.

Great shot, Darren - wanted to weigh in, since I've seen a bunch of your photos over the past year. I happen to like dark photos when that's the mood you're trying to capture. Your Metlako shot on the other thread is a good example. This is a nice shot, too, and I like it very much for the feeling it conveys (not fond of the Viveza version at all, though - way to garish for my taste). In the end, you spend enough time wading around creeks to have a sense of whether you were in a "bright" setting or a "subdued" setting, in terms of the ambient light. For me, the photos that fall apart are ones where the processing tries to change the context of the setting, making "subdued" seem "bright" and vice-versa. I think you've generally done a good job of resisting this, and have posted very true-to-scene images.I wouldn't spend a lot of time thinking about this, as I don't think you're straying from truthful images that evoke the right feeling. My two cents!

-Tom