source of a river

[Marija]

Hi all!

I tried to capture the size and the beauty of the source but it was simply impossible to put the whole source in the frame. This is one of the largest sources of drinking water in Europe and it's magnificent.
Limitation factors (among else) while I was taking the photo were:
- no filters
- no tripod
- 14-42 lens
Instead of filters I used my husband's fly-fishing sunglasses. Off course, camera was handheld and I was in an awkward position, squatting on one of the slippery rocks.

Post processing - I had some glare produced by sunglasses so I fix that with a brush with low opacity and soft light mode.
Little dodging...unsharp mask...levels...color balance...
I didn't want to do any "hard" pp work.
Note: It doesn't look as dark on my computer as it looks on Flickr.

Questions: composition? post processing? impressions? is it a good photo or I just have to buy the rest of equipment? and everything else I forgot to ask but it crossed your mind...
I really want to learn so critique please...
Thank you for your time and effort!



I tried many settings but with these I got the best results.

Camera: OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP. E-520
Exposure: 0.5
Aperture: f/16.0
Focal Length: 18 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: +2 EV

[Marija]

so...no one?

[Lightwriter]

You have very steady hands! There is no way I could get this shot handheld. If you want to continue doing long exposure work I would invest in a tripod and filters. I like it. but I'm unsure about the framing but I as I do not know the layout of the area (whether or not you had any alternitive angles available) I won't comment on that.

[Francis Foley]

You have really steady hands, 0.5s and no movement. Nice shot.

[Marija]

Originally Posted by Lightwriter

You have very steady hands!

Originally Posted by Francis Foley

You have really steady hands, 0.5s and no movement.

Oh thanks! It is the second time I hear this kind of comment (the first one was about a portrait) so maybe i should start to believe in it

Originally Posted by Lightwriter

If you want to continue doing long exposure work I would invest in a tripod and filters.

I sure will one day. When I bought the camera I didn't know anything about photography. When I started to learn I wanted tones of equipment cause I thought, that would make me a better photographer. Then I stopped for a moment, took a deep breath and realized that I first want to learn as much as possible with just the equipment I own (just a camera and a lens)...

Originally Posted by Lightwriter

I like it. but I'm unsure about the framing but I as I do not know the layout of the area (whether or not you had any alternitive angles available) I won't comment on that.

The framing...well... believe me that's the hardest thing about this source... I was trying to capture it from all available places on both riversides but it was simply impossible for me to get a decent shot because it is a very wide source with wild riversides. And also it is constantly under sun. One riverside is a hill, other is relatively flat but inaccessible. Hope I explained a little bit more...
I certainly have intention to go there again and try as many angles as possible.
Thank you for your comments!

[Michael_2010]

Is that a rock in the lower right, or a moss covered garden sculpture of some sort? Looks like it has a face.

I like it and you obviously put a lot of time seeking out your location and trying to frame it at its best. Wish I had some waterfalls to experiment with down here, but the closest I've seen was my neighbor standing on his back porch after a six pack of beer. lol

[Marija]

Originally Posted by Michael_2010

Is that a rock in the lower right, or a moss covered garden sculpture of some sort? Looks like it has a face.

it's a rock.

Originally Posted by Michael_2010

I like it and you obviously put a lot of time seeking out your location and trying to frame it at its best. Wish I had some waterfalls to experiment with down here, but the closest I've seen was my neighbor standing on his back porch after a six pack of beer. lol

Oh...
I live in a place with many beautiful small waterfalls...I tried to capture some but, for now, I'm not succeeding... Generally, it's very hard to take a photo of a waterfall but it's even harder to do that without filters and tripod...

[Krusty79]

Originally Posted by Michael_2010

Is that a rock in the lower right, or a moss covered garden sculpture of some sort? Looks like it has a face.

I like it and you obviously put a lot of time seeking out your location and trying to frame it at its best. Wish I had some waterfalls to experiment with down here, but the closest I've seen was my neighbor standing on his back porch after a six pack of beer. lol

Haha! I hope you weren't planning to post any of those "beer waterfall" shots!

Marija - If you can hand hold a half second exposure, are you a surgeon in your day job? It seems like your image has blueish cast that could use some "warming up." I think I would have preferred composing the image with some more centered foreground interest, but it sounds like you didn't have a lot of room to maneuver around there.

Greg

[Marija]

Originally Posted by Krusty79

Marija - If you can hand hold a half second exposure, are you a surgeon in your day job?

omg what a compliment! Thanks!
No, I'm not a surgeon, but I wanted to be one when I was a child

Originally Posted by Krusty79

It seems like your image has blueish cast that could use some "warming up."

Yeah.. I tried to warm a little bit but it didn't seem right with this photo. I was comparing this two versions for about 20 minutes but this one seemed to be more appealing.

Originally Posted by Krusty79

I think I would have preferred composing the image with some more centered foreground interest, but it sounds like you didn't have a lot of room to maneuver around there.

I didn't, really...
I'll try again...
Thank you for commenting!