Iguazu!

Gallery: LandscapePosted June 29, 20101,017 views30 comments

Iguazu Falls in full flood after the heaviest rainfall in 25 years. This was taken from a platform on the Brazil side that takes you out to an island in the throat of the falls in an area you could never reach by foot. It's not exactly wilderness here, but the sheer power, sound and feel of the water puts it near the pinnacle of all the natural spectacles I've ever witnessed. The IQ looks a bit muddy to me from all the mist, despite adding a bit of extra contrast. I'm curious to see what your thoughts are on this one. If it looks OK, I'll put some time into stitching a big pano I have from this spot.

-Mike

Hasselblad H2D-39 f29 1/3 second, 2 stop soft Singh Ray GNDF diagonally above the rainbow.

Sorry to post and run to work. I'll be back to comment on ESS this evening.

Comments

30 comments

Comment posted by Marc Adamus on June 29, 2010 at 12:45 PM

Sensational, Michael. Wow! This place must be a rainbow-fest with all that spray in the air and you caught a great perspective here. That big piece of land kinda breaks up the flow just a little but I'd still love to see a pano from here. You've got such a great collection from this place.

Registered on September 17, 2005, 780 Posts, 8091 Comments

Comment posted by Mohsen Al-Dajani on June 29, 2010 at 1:17 PM

Can't imagine that there is such place on planet earth...beautiful image Mike.

Registered on August 23, 2007, 160 Posts, 432 Comments

Comment posted by Ben Horne on June 29, 2010 at 1:27 PM

This is such a stunning location. The rainbow is a perfect addition to the shot. The overexposed area of water in the foreground is a bit of a distraction to me. I imagine that was exaggerated a bit by the bump in contrast to make up for the excessive mist. Is there enough detail there in the original shot to mask it back in with a double RAW conversion?

Registered on August 27, 2009, 51 Posts, 959 Comments

Comment posted by Ricardo La Piettra on June 29, 2010 at 1:46 PM

I´ve never been on the Brazil side but looking at your photo it seems that there are better spots to put the tripod closer to water than the Argentinian side. Awesome work with the exposure. Outstanding image Mike. Congrats.

Registered on July 22, 2009, 62 Posts, 730 Comments

Comment posted by Andreas Resch on June 29, 2010 at 1:54 PM

I've recently done a rainbow/waterfall shot too. But looking at this one makes mine being insignificant. Excellent capture from this unique place, Michael.

Registered on November 14, 2007, 322 Posts, 6101 Comments

Comment posted by Kate Silvia on June 29, 2010 at 2:04 PM

Mike...WOW doesn't quite cut it! This is Awesome! Well Done!

Registered on January 12, 2009, 56 Posts, 158 Comments

Comment posted by Alexandre Deschaum on June 29, 2010 at 2:21 PM

Amazing scenery Mike ;) Love the lines , everywhere .. nice compositions of this crazy' place .

Registered on May 10, 2010, 29 Posts, 101 Comments

Comment posted by Kevin Trinkner on June 29, 2010 at 2:22 PM

this is an amazing spectacle for sure, very inspirational.

Registered on June 30, 2008, 203 Posts, 2641 Comments

Comment posted by Bruce King on June 29, 2010 at 2:31 PM

Great composition of a very dramatic scene. I'm sure it looks awesome in full res.
I'd really like to see the pano.

Registered on January 14, 2010, 276 Posts, 2212 Comments

Comment posted by Luis Argerich on June 29, 2010 at 4:02 PM

Hi Michael,

This is fantastic, a fall of rainbows. Do you call this a rainbowfall?

Really stunning

Registered on December 22, 2009, 91 Posts, 1349 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Wong on June 29, 2010 at 4:42 PM

Very powerful. Maybe a bit wider angle so you could get more foreground water.

Registered on February 2, 2006, 79 Posts, 2629 Comments

Comment posted by Josh Anderson on June 29, 2010 at 5:25 PM

There is so much to look at. This is amazing. Well done.

~ja

Registered on June 2, 2005, 493 Posts, 2996 Comments

Comment posted by SimonRumford on June 29, 2010 at 6:23 PM

amazing shot, very nice

Registered on June 25, 2010, 28 Posts, 80 Comments

Comment posted by Roman Kurywczak on June 29, 2010 at 6:37 PM

Just outstanding!!! You've just added another must do to the bucket list!!!

Registered on November 20, 2009, 56 Posts, 748 Comments

Comment posted by Kyle L. Krause on June 29, 2010 at 6:46 PM

Mike,
Wow this is fascinating. The power of nature is amazing. Wonderful shot!
Love to see the Pano.
Thanks.

Registered on June 15, 2010, 29 Posts, 605 Comments

Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on June 29, 2010 at 7:16 PM

Power and beauty. What a shot!

Registered on September 27, 2006, 636 Posts, 10682 Comments

Comment posted by Raymond Marlow on June 29, 2010 at 8:54 PM

Love what you did with the water and in catching the rainbows. I shot from this location but was blasted out with the mist as you must have been with the rainfalls, had no luck with the rainbows and the grass to the left was looking strange, great work with this image and I'd love to see a pano.

Registered on October 15, 2008, 158 Posts, 531 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on June 29, 2010 at 9:30 PM

Well, the double rainbow is totally sweet, that alone makes this an exceptional shot. But to be honest, the comp is a bit too busy/crowded for me, there's too little sky and the front falls are too in-my-face which is a distraction. Just my take, im sure you can safely ignore it

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Metternich on June 29, 2010 at 9:34 PM

Yowza!!!

I'm jealous! Killer shots from here including this one!

Image does look like it could use a tad more sharpness and color.

Registered on June 19, 2009, 276 Posts, 6240 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Pelton on June 29, 2010 at 9:40 PM

Awesome.

Registered on November 25, 2003, 380 Posts, 4647 Comments

Comment posted by Jack Brauer on June 29, 2010 at 9:49 PM

Insanely awesome! I'm blown away by your latest work.

Registered on September 12, 2005, 40 Posts, 627 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on June 29, 2010 at 10:18 PM

I can almost hear the din. What an amazing place, and, you have captured it's power again.

Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments

Comment posted by Chris Chamberlain on June 29, 2010 at 10:35 PM

I suppose it comes down to how picky you are. It sure looks fine to me. I enjoy how the arc of the rainbow parallels the arc of the foreground falls. I think a really nice shot overall, showing elegance, and beauty with the rainbow, but also the power of nature as well.

Chris

Registered on March 13, 2007, 500 Posts, 8365 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on June 29, 2010 at 11:25 PM

Mike,

Stunning imagery as always. I don't really care that it was captured from a platform... it's why photographers, me included, continue to hit Tunnel View in Yosemite; it's the changing conditions, light, atmosphere that are always changing and presenting new possibilities that keep us coming back. You may not get back here, but I'm sure glad you walked out on the platform.

I'm really enjoying the contrast between the clarity of the foreground vegetation and falls against the mist-covered background.

Would love to see that pano too!

Lon

Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments

Comment posted by Floris van Breugel on June 30, 2010 at 12:57 AM

This is great Mike, definitely work up that pano! Mist is what makes this image, so muddy IQ isn't an issue..

Registered on December 19, 2008, 306 Posts, 4840 Comments

Comment posted by Kent Mearig on June 30, 2010 at 1:45 AM

Just a smattering of clean edges and the textures of the greenery on the left is enough to make this work without having to worry about what the mist does to the rest of the details. You might try some tweaking of the highlights. Besides being bright, they have some other funkiness.

Registered on September 4, 2006, 237 Posts, 4748 Comments

Comment posted by Stuart Williams on June 30, 2010 at 2:37 AM

fabulous - this captures some of that noise and power!

Registered on December 7, 2007, 247 Posts, 4792 Comments

Comment posted by Matt Anderson on June 30, 2010 at 6:16 AM

Just Amazing. The rainbows and waterfalls like I've never seen.

Registered on September 6, 2007, 346 Posts, 2696 Comments

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on June 30, 2010 at 10:04 PM

Looks like fairytaleland Mike. Beautiful scene and especially love the double rainbow.

Registered on January 4, 2009, 1015 Posts, 13229 Comments

Comment posted by Anthony Vincent on July 1, 2010 at 6:24 PM

Holy smokes, gorgeous Michael. Doesn't look muddy to me at all just the affects of mist.
Really nice, thanks for sharing

Registered on February 5, 2009, 199 Posts, 2775 Comments