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Cripple Creek Spring *(w/edit)
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Cripple Creek Spring *(w/edit)

by Phil Knouf

Gallery: LandscapePosted August 19, 2012162 views8 comments
Cripple Creek Spring is an image I made along Cripple Creek; a small tributary of the Clackamas River. Cripple Creek drains from the high country of the Roaring River Wilderness and dumps into the Clackamas Wild and Scenic River. This location is passed by literally thousands of travelers on FS 46 on their way up the Clackamas River. However, as there is a quite dense row of trees between the road and this section of Cripple Creek, very few travelers stop in this location. Just upstream from this spot there are the remains of a small camping spot next to a mostly collapsed wooden bridge. I presume the old road is a long abandoned logging road. It had been raining as we arrived but the heavy showers soon stopped. Gradually the sun started peaking through the clouds, which made the contrast way too significant for a useable image, so we waited for the shade to return. We were rewarded with the beautiful light that illuminated this lovely and serene forest scene. I have another image from this spot taken in early spring before the vegetation leafs out that provides a very different feeling for this view. I'll post that shortly as I work my way through a large back log of images which I have not been able to keep up with due to the 15 months of Chemo therapy I recently finished.

Comments

8 comments
Comment posted by John Mumaw on August 19, 2012 at 7:37 PM
Man, this is one beautiful scene, but the HDR or overly aggressive Shadow/Highlight processing has sucked all of the contrast out of this. I would start all over again with the processing, as this scene looks very well worth the effort.
Registered on September 9, 2005, 62 Posts, 2289 Comments
Comment posted by Ed Williams on August 19, 2012 at 11:33 PM
Beautiful place and well captured Phil. Love the soft flow of the water and the bright little tree in the center. I hope you recover well from your treatments and never have to face that again. Peace and grace to you.
Registered on December 28, 2010, 636 Posts, 3499 Comments
Comment posted by Rick Turner on August 20, 2012 at 10:00 AM
Philip~
Wonderful image and prayers with you for a recovery. :toast:
Registered on February 18, 2012, 534 Posts, 2755 Comments
Comment posted by Bill Chambers on August 20, 2012 at 10:03 AM
First of all, congrats on completing the chemo - hope all is well!!

I like the composition here a lot, and excellent shutter speed. I agree with John's comments about either HDR or Shadow/highlight. It definitely needs contrast. It's an excellent capture and well worth the reprocessing effort.
Registered on April 10, 2005, 753 Posts, 21216 Comments
Comment posted by R.Bill Moser on August 20, 2012 at 12:01 PM
This is a gorgeous scene and i like your choosen shutter speed. I agree with John about the HDR or shadow/highlight comment.
Registered on January 29, 2010, 285 Posts, 4281 Comments
Comment posted by Phil Knouf on August 20, 2012 at 12:32 PM
Thanks to John and all the others who suggested that I adjust my overall contrast a bit. The original image was not done with HDR software nor with a shadow and highlight adjustment. Rather, I used various luminosity(alpha channels) to bring back the soft light effect we very often experience in the Pacific Northwest. I obviously went a little too light. I have adjusted one of my luminosity masks for the repost image. Hope you like my change. You can see a larger version of the reposted image by clicking through the thumbnail image on my blog.
Registered on May 10, 2005, 17 Posts, 35 Comments
Comment posted by John Mumaw on August 20, 2012 at 6:30 PM
This is much better, Philip! Lots more depth which serves to accentuate the water even better.
Registered on September 9, 2005, 62 Posts, 2289 Comments
Comment posted by Tom Haxby on August 21, 2012 at 9:00 PM
The thumbnail drew me in, but the first post lacked contrast. The second post is so much better. Hope that you are well down the road to recovery. Keep clicking :jump:
Registered on July 6, 2006, 126 Posts, 647 Comments