The Spirit of Fall +edit

Gallery: LandscapePosted October 29, 2011826 views25 comments

This is one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited and has quickly become one of my favorite locations in the Columbia River Gorge. A friend of mine named Chris and I hiked into here on Wednesday. Stunning is a word we used frequently while making images of the falls.

Nikon D7000, 12-24 Nikkor Dx, polarizer, 4 stop ND

4 image hand blend to get the water right.
0.8 sec at f/16, ISO 100 - no ND filter for the land
5 sec at f/16, ISO 100, 4 stop ND filter for the darkest water
2.5 sec at f/16, ISO 100, 4 stop ND filter for the lighter water
1.3 sec at f/16, ISO 100, 4 stop ND filter for the brightest water highlights.

All C&C are always appreciated. Thanks for taking a look and please check out the larger version.

Comments

25 comments

Comment posted by Todd Liotine on October 29, 2011 at 9:09 PM

Wow, what more can you say. I really like the way the ledge leads the viewer into the falls, and the processing looks really good. The Columbia River Gorge is on my list, I was born there but haven't been back with a camera yet.

Registered on July 1, 2008, 131 Posts, 671 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on October 29, 2011 at 10:45 PM

I agree, Wow! What a beautiful image Scott. The large version is really awesome to look at. Comp, subject, light, color and detail all just wonderful!

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments

Comment posted by scott lanz on October 29, 2011 at 11:04 PM

Excellent comp and beautiful colors.

Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments

Comment posted by Daniel Rappaport on October 30, 2011 at 12:22 AM

beautiful spot, beautiful capture. I wonder about the transition between the dark and lighter water on the left though.

Registered on September 9, 2009, 294 Posts, 2006 Comments

Comment posted by Scott Miller on October 30, 2011 at 2:02 AM

This is awesome Scott, you just nailed the water on this one. If you don't mind me asking, where is this one? I don't think I have seen it before.

Thanks!

-Scott

Registered on May 9, 2011, 23 Posts, 322 Comments

Comment posted by David Edwards on October 30, 2011 at 4:17 AM

Sure looks like a magical spot. I like the curving line of the terrace leading around to the falls... very nice comp. The blend around the rock/water on the left doesn't look quite right, and the blue coolness of the water doesn't seem right with the warmth of the surrounding vegetation. Was the water really that blue? Sorry Scott, it just seems a little out of place or artificial to me.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 142 Posts, 2623 Comments

Comment posted by Basil Greber on October 30, 2011 at 5:10 AM

You certainly did get the water right - I'd say you got it perfect, even.

I really like the composition and the yellow/green-blue color combination. The flow of the water nicely leads the eye through the frame. Great.

Registered on November 8, 2005, 219 Posts, 1340 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Richter on October 30, 2011 at 9:30 AM

The great sense of flow is the most striking element to me in your composition, Scott. The anchoring of the image by the surroundings works very well for me, too. Furthermore I enjoy the details of the vegetation in the larger version.

I think there is a kind of blending artifact at the left, but that is only a minor matter in my opinion and certainly may be fixed easily. An impressive capture, anyway.

Peter

Registered on November 10, 2010, 218 Posts, 2723 Comments

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on October 30, 2011 at 10:29 AM

Wow... I could look at this image for a very long time. What a spot. I have yet to make it to the Columbia River Gorge, but I sure want to. Very nice. Your blend looks great. Superb!

Registered on November 20, 2003, 458 Posts, 4836 Comments

Comment posted by Scott Smorra on October 30, 2011 at 12:49 PM

Thanks to everyone for the feedback. I will take a closer look at the blending where the water meets the rock on the left.

David - Yes, the water really was that blue. It's actually much more blue in person than in this image. The water in the river is spring fed from a huge aquifer which makes it incredibly clear. The water in the pool is about 20-30 feet deep, but we could actually see the bottom. The blue water reminded me of the blue colors in Crater Lake.

Registered on November 2, 2009, 161 Posts, 2143 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Willison on October 30, 2011 at 2:39 PM

Very well composed. The saturated colors and textures really provide a great canvas for that beautiful water, which gives the image its motion. Nice work on blending, too.

Registered on April 10, 2009, 292 Posts, 3967 Comments

Comment posted by Hamed Musharbak on October 30, 2011 at 3:48 PM

wow

Registered on June 1, 2009, 372 Posts, 2282 Comments

Comment posted by Koveh Tavakkol on October 30, 2011 at 7:11 PM

A beautiful scene Scott. Love the comp you went with here, and the greens, as well as chosen shutter speed are fantastic. The only comment I can make is the two falls in the back, the one on the left looks far bluer than the one on the right. I certainly realize there is a lot more water there, but I would still consider bringing the two to match in color a bit more.

I apologize if this was mentioned already, as I am catching up on posts and have not read all the responses.

Registered on September 1, 2009, 41 Posts, 608 Comments

Comment posted by David Edwards on October 30, 2011 at 7:14 PM

That's awesome, Scott. Thanks for the info about the water, I didn't know it was a spring fed stream. Makes a lot of sense now. Cheers!

Registered on December 6, 2008, 142 Posts, 2623 Comments

Comment posted by Danny Laureys on October 30, 2011 at 7:56 PM

Excellent!!!!! Love the color and water. Which fall is this? I'm always looking for new hikes in the Gorge.

Registered on January 5, 2008, 590 Posts, 1261 Comments

Comment posted by John Williams on October 30, 2011 at 9:21 PM

What a cool set of falls Scott, and very well captured. I love the comp, how the water forms a bowl and then flows out the bottom right. Well done!

Registered on September 6, 2007, 221 Posts, 5985 Comments

Comment posted by Scott Smorra on October 30, 2011 at 9:23 PM

Thanks again to everyone for the feedback. Here is a repost with the blending cleaned up on the left and a bit of cyan added to the waterfall on the right.

Koveh - you have a great eye. I noticed the difference between the waterfalls when I was processing the image, but decided to see if anyone noticed. In the repost I put just a bit of cyan into the whites and I think it looks a bit more balanced. The difference is subtle, but I think it makes the image stronger.

Registered on November 2, 2009, 161 Posts, 2143 Comments

Comment posted by Jack Garrett on October 31, 2011 at 9:54 AM

Absolutely wonderful image Scott!! I like the repost a touch better if that helps.

Registered on November 7, 2007, 41 Posts, 251 Comments

Comment posted by Chris Moore on October 31, 2011 at 12:09 PM

I can see why you like this spot so much, beautiful capture, you really nailed it.

Registered on January 12, 2010, 84 Posts, 388 Comments

Comment posted by Tim Donnelly on October 31, 2011 at 5:51 PM

A Cracking result there Scott. Its amazing the difference to the image that small colour correction you did...really does gel the two falls together. Great work indeed

Registered on March 2, 2011, 13 Posts, 54 Comments

Comment posted by Zack Clothier on November 2, 2011 at 1:21 AM

Nice comp and processing Scott, the repost looks great. Looks like a wonderful spot for photography.

Registered on January 28, 2010, 343 Posts, 2257 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Metternich on November 4, 2011 at 9:48 PM

Nice shot Scott!

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

Comment posted by Shantikara Valuska on November 6, 2011 at 5:14 AM

This is really beautiful! Great comp, I love the deep blue colors.

Registered on July 25, 2011, 38 Posts, 451 Comments

Comment posted by Jared Ropelato on November 7, 2011 at 9:14 PM

Nice technique and killer result. this is a beautiful spot!

Registered on March 1, 2011, 25 Posts, 204 Comments

Comment posted by Phil Knouf on April 21, 2012 at 12:40 AM

Scott, just discovered this transfixing image while viewing your gallery. Your edited version has some nice improvements. I would guess that this scene is quite different in the winter from the rains and then in the spring from the snow melt. Care to let us know where in the Gorge this image was taken?

Registered on May 10, 2005, 17 Posts, 35 Comments