falls

[steve]

hey, it's my first post. i'm a novice photographer, let me know what you think.

[Teewinot]

Hi Steve! Welcome to DPS. This is a great place for a novice to learn...I can attest!

The first thing that struck me about your shot was its color. I think you have really captured the greens and blues well. I also really like the lighting...bright but not washed out. Nice exposure!

Couple of things to consider:
-In some spots the water isn't completely sharp. Were you going for a freeze-motion effect here? It would be cool to try a long shutter speed (classic effect for falls) to see how much it changes the shot. In any case, play around with different shutter speeds to achieve different effects.
-I always struggle with objects that clutter my waterfall shots. In this case, those few branches in the upper left corner are slightly distracting (they don't block anything, but rather draw my eye away from the water...but, then again, that could just be me wanting everything to look 'perfect' in nature which almost never happens).
-Your edge at the bottom of the photo seems great, but I'm having trouble liking the top edge...it seems a little less defined, almost like you interrupted something in the frame. Perhaps you could play around with the crop/framing and see if you can get a smoother/more defined edge.

Great shot and once again, welcome! I look forward to seeing more of your shots!

[enc]

hi steve, and welcome!

i think i would have done the shot with 1 or 2 seconds exposure. the water flow would blur and even out which would give some sence of smoothness between edgy grass, stones and other "natural things" .) other than that - i do miss some natural framing as Teewinot said...

anyhow - nice shot and keep them coming! .)

[jiminyClickit]

steve, Welcome

You have a wealth of information here, almost more than one frame can hold. With some careful crops you could reduce clutter, narrow focus and direct the viewer to smaller groups of subjects. The color does stand out, and the first thought was, 'has this been oversaturated?' Your information (settings, edit if any, equipment) would be helpful in Critique.

[steve]

thank you for the feedback, it's much apreciated.
now that it was pointed out i can't look at the top edge in the picture without geting aggervated, i'll have to pay more attention next time to make it a bit more defined, looking back at most of my pictures i now see that there is at least one edge that i don't like.
and looking back now i wish i thought of changing the shutter speed it really would have been a nice touch. oh well, nex time.

as for my equipment i have a kodak z650, there was no editing done to the picture, but i have photoshop 8 for when i do.

once again thank you for the feedback, i hope to take in a lot of knowldge here.

[Teewinot]

Originally Posted by steve

once again thank you for the feedback, i hope to take in a lot of knowldge here.

It seems that you already have taken in some knowledge, just considering the fact that you have begun to "see" your old photos (and hopefully your new ones) in a new way. It's great to get different perspectives...what a way to learn!!