Stream

Cornflake

Criticisms are always welcome.

Don

WernerG

I like the strong lines in this, very nicely seen and processed.

Cornflake

Thanks very much, Werner.

Roadkill

Ya, I agree, It kind of sucks you into it. Nice shot.

Azzaro

Well done

wfeller

Very nicely done Corn.

black mamba

I've got mixed reactions toward this one, Don. I like the overall scene but the presence of the stream is a little obscure to me. I'd like to see it stand out more. I think also that the contrast could be higher...with a stronger black point and white point....that could add a touch more " pop " to the shot.

Tom

Cornflake

Roadkill, Azzaro, Walter, thank you.

Tom, thanks for the suggestions. I couldn't figure out a way to get more separation in the stream. I'll see if more contrast helps.

Dogdots

I didn't see the stream in the beginning. The fallen tree caught my eye. Wanted to walk out onto it and I did visually with my eyes. Only then did I see I would of ended up in water .. story of my life tho. I never look ahead of me

So really the stream wasn't a big draw for me in the photo. The 'tom boy' in me took over when I took a look at this photo. Works for me because of the fallen tree

DaddyO

Very interesting image. Very carefully composed. Really nice balance. The way you have it set up I really get led deep into the woods. The little creek providing an assist there. Everything in the pic is providing sweet curves and such. A natural pic for BW workup. Nice mysterious going on. The lighting is something curious to figure out. Daylight shot with ND filter? Do you figure you were lucky getting such a nice comp position and the Sun, I figure is not the moon, behind that tree limb in a great spot in frame? You used the word blend in the .jpg name. Hmmm... what kind of blend? This is more than 1 image perhaps? The processing is really really close. I can see it is the kind of image that can give one the fits getting a great final but I believe you are so right there. Some burning here and there comes to mind. Or not. Other little things experimented with. Things I figure you have either done or will do.

Cornflake

Mary, Michael, thanks for the comments.

"The lighting is something curious to figure out. Daylight shot with ND filter?" It was daylight--early morning--with no ND filter. I'm pretty sure I used a polarizer. I was aware that the approach to processing I was using might make it look something like moonlight, and I didn't mind that.

"Do you figure you were lucky getting such a nice comp position and the Sun, I figure is not the moon, behind that tree limb in a great spot in frame?" I had to move around to get the sun behind a limb while still keeping the other elements arranged acceptably.

"You used the word blend in the .jpg name. Hmmm... what kind of blend?" It was a single exposure. I tried the conversion to B&W in both Lightroom and Silver Efex Pro. For the most part, the conversation in SEP was better, as usual. The tree branches at the top of the image, though, were better in Lightroom, because I could alter the luminosity of the various colors with more precision. Maybe it can be done with equal precision in SEP but I haven't figured out how. So, using a mask, I blended the top one fifth (roughly) of the Lightroom version with the bottom four-fifths of the SEP version. It sounds more complicated than it was; the processing wasn't all that complicated or time-consuming.

marionet

I love the lines and feeling- seems kind of mystical, like I expect if I went in there, I'd meet at least one gnome.