Repost + The Weeping Gorge

Gallery: LandscapePosted June 3, 2014207 views17 comments

On a rainy morning, I had the opportunity to get soaked inside Oneonta Gorge. Water fell down the walls of the gorge and it was such a beautiful sight to behold. These maiden ferns were catching the water, and also were illuminated by backlight.

It was very difficult to expose and capture this image with the constant spray of water on my camera and lens, and in addition to that, I had to use a telephoto lens at an annoyingly vertical angle. Stabilizing the setup, wiping the lens, and pressing the shutter was all I did for a good 45 minutes.

In the end, I came away with this one. In post, I had to warp the image, and also blend 2 exposures for dynamic range.

Please see LARGER version

As always, I appreciate your comments and critiques.

Comments

17 comments

Comment posted by Andrew Waddington on June 3, 2014 at 12:13 PM

I shot the same composition from the same place only a few weeks ago, it's nice isn't it.

Registered on February 11, 2014, 44 Posts, 183 Comments

Comment posted by Pat Sampson on June 3, 2014 at 12:17 PM

Love the rays of water against the black back drop. I also like the light and composition. On my MacBook Pro, which is not color calibrated, the color looks a touch saturated but that may very well be my monitor or the actual light with the spray in the gorge.

pat

Registered on May 19, 2007, 953 Posts, 15989 Comments

Comment posted by Harley Goldman on June 3, 2014 at 2:02 PM

This turned out real nice and was well worth the effort. I would agree with Pat that it looks a bit saturated to my eye, but that is really a personal preference.

Registered on November 19, 2003, 586 Posts, 11271 Comments

Comment posted by Preston Birdwell on June 3, 2014 at 2:57 PM

Nice light and composition, Sairam. I agree that that it's over-saturated. If you look at the whites of the water, you'll see they over-saturated cyan and green. If you get the whites right, the rest of the color should fall into place nicely. It's a lovely spot, for sure.

--P

Registered on November 1, 2003, 471 Posts, 5188 Comments

Comment posted by Sairam Sundaresan on June 3, 2014 at 3:39 PM

Thanks for the feedback guys, I can tone down the saturation, but the greens were as is, and I didn't tweak anything that much. The blue cast on the water is something I can fix

.
Really looks beautiful Andrew

Registered on March 14, 2013, 100 Posts, 643 Comments

Comment posted by Sairam Sundaresan on June 3, 2014 at 4:34 PM

Here's a repost with the greens and cyan desaturated. What do you guys think?

Registered on March 14, 2013, 100 Posts, 643 Comments

Comment posted by Aaron Feinberg on June 3, 2014 at 4:54 PM

Nice catch. Reminds me of another take of this spot. Might crop out the very top bit as it's a bit distracting. Scrolling down to crop looks good. Way to be patient on this one!

aF

Registered on October 26, 2009, 399 Posts, 2789 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on June 3, 2014 at 7:04 PM

Those thin little streams of water and the gorgeous greens make for a great image. Your tenacity paid off well here. The changes in the repost are a nice, subtle improvement. As I've said in comments on other images, shaded water represents a challenge since the human eye/brain combo "turns" it white, while the camera records the blue. In my mind, how it gets presented in an image then becomes an artistic choice between the "reality" of the camera sensor or the "reality" of the human vision system.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Sairam Sundaresan on June 3, 2014 at 7:36 PM

Thanks Aaron, I can try cropping the top, but it seems a little abrupt without it. Will put up a repost after the crop soon.

Exactly, Mark. It's tricky to balance the blue in shade, and then there's the artistic side of me that wants to separate the water from the gorge

Registered on March 14, 2013, 100 Posts, 643 Comments

Comment posted by gary phillips on June 4, 2014 at 12:03 AM

Sairam, I think the repost is on the money. Love the trickle of this falls and I think you have done as incredible job in delivering an excellent comp. This is right on.

Registered on October 24, 2013, 185 Posts, 4136 Comments

Comment posted by Stuart Williams on June 4, 2014 at 1:53 AM

re-post works well for me! nice work.

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

Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on June 4, 2014 at 2:41 AM

Lovely presentation of these cascades. I would personally remove even more of the greenish cyan from the water itself.

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

Comment posted by Sairam Sundaresan on June 4, 2014 at 11:18 AM

thanks guys! Appreciate the feedback

Registered on March 14, 2013, 100 Posts, 643 Comments

Comment posted by Bruce King on June 6, 2014 at 3:35 PM

I spent some time shooting the same location a couple years ago and came away with nothing presentable. this is very nice.

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

Comment posted by Sairam Sundaresan on June 6, 2014 at 4:08 PM

thanks Bruce. It's pretty challenging to come away with a unique comp from the Gorge, and one, that is worth working on

Registered on March 14, 2013, 100 Posts, 643 Comments

Comment posted by Vance Gese on June 7, 2014 at 11:57 PM

The lines of those ribbons of falling water and the beautiful lush greens of the moss and ferns really make this sing. Your repost looks super. Well worth all the wet.

Registered on November 13, 2008, 298 Posts, 6629 Comments

Comment posted by Sairam Sundaresan on June 8, 2014 at 12:45 AM

Thanks Vance, it was a fun morning to be in the Gorge

Registered on March 14, 2013, 100 Posts, 643 Comments