Upper Iowa River

My family & I took a couple of days off to canoe a portion of the Upper Iowa River. This photo is from the now closed Bluffton Bridge, looking towards probably the best part of the bluffs. We saw quite a few bald eagles and GBHs, plus a couple of soft-shelled turtles. I canoed this river 25 years ago and hope to return when the water is higher & faster...

Enjoy,

Tim!

This looks like gorgeous paddling country, Tim. It would be nice to have the time to linger here and wait for the best lighting of the day, but that rarely happens while on the river and in family mode. An FG element to lead into the frame would be nice, too, but who cares when you're out on the river in such beautiful country! Thanks for sharing the trip with us.

I agree with your critique, Brian. But, no canoes, and the only thing really available was the bridge itself, which didn't seem to me to add value to the image. I hoped to create a bit more excitement with the reflected clouds and converging lines of the river banks...

Tim!

Looks like a nice place to spend a day floating down the river.

I agree with your comments, Tim. The reflections do work well as leading lines. After a second viewing, I think the light here is the reason why the image looks flatter than it might. As a result, you might want to tweak the contrast and saturation and see what 'develops.' Thanks for the reply, it was worth a second look.

Interesting shot and idea, Tim. I'd suggest trying to pull a bit more detail out of the dark areas on the left and perhaps do some selective work adding some selective saturation (sky and reflection in particular) and see what effect that has. If you haven't already given them a whirl, this might be a good opportunity to fool around with Tony Kuyper's saturation masks.