Secret Paradise

Devil's club... hope you didn't get any of the thorns in you. They are almost impossible to remove.
Excellent composition and I love the translucent greens.

Guy

Beautiful image, Floris! Good eye for seeing the comp, and wonderful colors too. Had fun shooting with you this weekend! Come back soon, buddy! Aloha - Bruce

Devil's club, despite their beauty, were one of my least favorite plant species in the world when I was back in high school. It's nearly impossible to go anywhere off-trail in the Tongass NF without running into these plants. Their spines, in addition to having a tendency to permanently embed their tips under your skin, are slightly poisonous as well. Thick leather gloves that I was not in the habit of wearing back then go a long way in making their acquaintance more tolerable/rewarding. If you like them, come on up for a visit.

Excellent way to get a new take on Ponytail! Everything looks nice here Floris. Way to go!

Very cool idea, Floris, and well composed. I love these sorts of images.

Very creative composition Floris. Beautiful falls to boot.

Simply fantastic, Floris. I love the placement of the falls along with the subdued light.

Ed

Great job of framing the waterfall with those lovely translucent green leaves.

Serious DOF. Must have been a very tranquil moment.

That is awesome!

I like how you messed with my head on the scale of things here, Floris. I also like the peek-a-boo pov, great green color and the streaking falls. Beauty!

Nice take on this Floris, thats some serious depth of field. What aperture were you shooting at?

Thanks Guy and Kent for the ID. fortunately I did not get stabbed too much.. my friends Plamp did come into play a little, though.

These leaves are gigantic (nearly a foot across I think), so while it may look like some extreme perspective tricks are going on, the nearest leaf was I think 2 feet away or so. f/18 captured it all, though the background could be crisper in some spots.. but with the light motion of the leaves blending for depth of field was simply not an option (I prefer slightly soft details to strange though perhaps subtle blending artifacts).

What a unique view of Ponytail! Beautifully done.

Great image, Floris.

Old dinosaur wants to know, what exactly is "creative luminance processing" ? :)

I think that's just a fancy term for Photoshop, Gary
Nice shot, Floris, i really like the exposure and nice backlighting here!
I have to confess, my initial thought was that it reminded me of someone vomiting (the rock looks like a mouth), but that's probably because i just finished work and im anxious to hit the Pub....

Thanks Gary - yep, Stan's right but I thought it was a little more enlightening than just saying Photoshop.. eg. I made some significant adjustments to the luminosity of the leaves to make them stand out the way I wanted

Stan.. you have a strange mind, but I salute your going to the pub

Wonderful image Floris. I love the unique composition!!

Floris, I like your play with sense of scale in this image. The main point of interest for me are the amazing leaves and the details of their structure, the fall makes for an original background to my eye.

Peter

Such a bold composition . . . I don't think I would have even considered it, let alone shot it. Yet it works very well and places me right in the scene, peering through the leaves at the waterfall. Also, excellent Plamp usage!

Floris - you nailed this one! I'm not sure what you did "creatively" with the luminance processing, but I love it! When all is said and done, though, it's your decisions in-the-field that make this so exceptional. The composition and placement of available elements is fantastic. Just very cool.

Lovely Floris. Created with a delicate touch.

Wonderful shot...and idea. Great comp really made this work! along with some nice processing. I really like this. Excellent work Floris.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Very unique, Floris. I like it. You have a very good eye.
Strong FG and wonderful colors with a good shutter speed
for the falls.

A delicate beauty! I would have never ventured so close to those god-awful plants. Great stuff, Floris.

hmmm, too bad - the link to your website, for some reason, doesn't load so i cannot see your image.

Seems to be working now Stuart - let me know if there's still trouble, thanks!

Just beautiful! Love the comp, a very new take on this place.

What a unique image from the Gorge. I love the first layer of leaves. This really adds the illusion of depth. :)

I don't know why I think this is so cool, but I love looking at the leaves that are on edge in the lower frame. Actually the whole arrangement of the foliage is like a dance. It's such an interesting comp

Great comp and fantastic depth to this one Floris. I had to scroll down a long way to add this comment.

I really enjoy new and creative takes on icons. Well done Floris!