Originally posted by voy-tech Two shots from my last weekend hike to Elowah Falls (showing some friends new to the area how great the nature is out here). I'm curious what you think. I know that with the first image I'd like to have few mm wider lens, but even though the waterfall is not fully visible I really like the result.
to be honest, the composition of both photos makes me emotionally uncomfortable.
the first photo strikes me as illogical, in that a waterfall is spilling onto a walkway (when I know it's not) which then forcefully drags my eyes off the screen to the left, yet there is outflow also going off the screen to the right. it feels disjointed with no connection between natural elements and no contrast with man made elements.. Technically you nailed it with the right shutter speed for the water flow and good exposure control.
the second photo has much of the same disjointed feel in addition to what feels as if is a violation of space and time. there is so much going on left and bottom but this giant void of interest from center to right and right top plus the bottom left corner is an empty jumble of small stones. it looks like a photo I would take as part of a 3 or four shot purposely taken panorama. by itself it is confusing and not very useful, but when stitched with shots on either side it becomes valuable.
I apologize if the critique is a little harsh, and I would be curious as to your conscious decisions and choices for these images. perhaps you had a great idea and didn't quite execute it, or perhaps you executed the image exactly as planned but I did not connect on the same level to it as you do. I am very familiar with this waterfall, since it is on my "must-do" hike list the next time I get to the Columbia Gorge. I have seen and studied perhaps a hundred different angles and perspectives represented in those images, so I know what a special place it is. Unfortunately, for me, these images don't convey that magic.
I have commented on some of your other photos, and I have noted that your work generally is pretty good, with a good sense of continuity and storytelling. I was not there, but I would almost hazard a guess that you were too busy playing tour guide and salesman to really immerse yourself in the scene and find the best angles. You may have felt rushed because you were on a time limit or too tightly packed agenda. As I typed the above sentence, the thought popped into my head, "this looks like what you often see in a camera phone drive by shot." If that was the case, then maybe this a great lesson learned about how much focus and attention to detail is needed to make a good photo. How one really must slow down and process the scene and contextualize all the elements before clicking the shutter. Hopefully you have a chance to get back there soon and take some more.
Last edited by nomadkng; 04-29-2015 at 08:08 AM.