A couple of scenic photos

Here's one from a set that I've never quite got a handle on. We were in a canyon and shooting into the sun. Attempts to get the water "silky" at ISO50/F22 were difficult at best. This one I ran through 'Photo Matrix' this afternoon to see how it looked.

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I quite like the first one, very enchanting, light, and composition are really nicely done.

Flo,

Thanks for the comments!

That first photo is great! Awesome lighting!
I do like the 1st pic best, but that is one cool barn!

I too use Photomatix and it is real easy to go overboard on processing but I think you hit #1. Great picture!

The backlighting gives a nice effect in the first image...just too bad about all the flare spots though.

I'll be honest here, the composition in the first image really irks me. The glow from the mossy trees/branches are quite distracting from the waterfall and the two trees running past the length of the image are also distracting. If it were me i'd crop just inside the two trees for a wonderful scene focused solely on the tranquil falls with limited distractions.

What a wonderful discovery of that barn! I love my Oregon coast and all the photography treats you see on the way. A boost in contrast (toning down the highlights and boosting the lowlights/shadows) would really bring out a lot more depth to this photo as well as making the barn/shack stand out a little more. Some graduated filter work could also be done to tone down the foreground and brighten up the middle and background; my eyes keep getting hung up on the bright green of the foreground.

Such a neat find. A bummer i won't be getting out to OR until August this year

1. I think would look better as portrait, still using the trees (if you wish) to frame the waterfall. I like the waterfall, I don't like the glow of the trees.
I agree with what JayZ235 said about the first photo.
2. nice composition.

Love the first one, hard to believe that it's an hdr as it looks so natural.

Thanks for the comments folks! Always good to hear from others as to what might look better or might look good as is.

#1, the hood that comes with the 24-105 is a bit of a joke, I do have others that have just the falls without lens flare, I just kinda liked this one - looking through the two trees. The unprocessed image had the only the falls lighted with a cool glow on the edges of the trees, HDR processing brought some detail to the shadow side. I'll look for a falls only image.

#2, (Jay) I had not thought of adding some layers to give it more depth, (not much of a photoshop guy), thanks for the suggestion! (found on HWY30 between St Helens and Claskinite)

Nice job.

mbloof wrote in post #12021227
#2, (Jay) I had not thought of adding some layers to give it more depth, (not much of a photoshop guy), thanks for the suggestion! (found on HWY30 between St Helens and Claskinite)

I just don't own any physical graduated ND filters I have certainly traveled that highway before!