Autumn on the Edge

The 2:3 that includes the leaf. Quite spectacular.

Great view of the falls, but I prefer a little more detail in the moving water. Put me down for the 2:3 and I LIKE the leaf. If you are willing to share, what is your technique for blending the two images? That's a very sharp boundary between them.

I think I also prefer the 2/3 view. The far right of this image does not add anything. However, my opinion may be influence by the overall presentation, including dark bg and larger view, on flickr. I also would include the leaf. Very nice image with pleasing subtle color.

Interesting comparison, Navin. I don't think it's particularly a fair comparison because the Flickr image seems notably brighter and more contrasty. Both of those make the Flickr more attractive. I like the long sweep of the river in this one, but do wonder about alternate crops... a bit off the left to move the falls off center and maybe a bit from the bottom although I'm uncertain about the latter. Both views are excellent, especially with that hint of color in the sky.

Beautiful rugged landscape Navin, if I had to choose I would pick the 2:3 but both are excellent.

Gary.

I like the 2:3 the best. Really nice processing, sort of a surreal look.

I like both, Navin, but the 2:3 wins out. Love the mood presented here and for this shot I like the SS. The silky flow really accentuates the S curve of the river. Nice work.

Definitely the 2:3 for me. Real sweetly done!

It's the 2:3 for me, as well--that composition gets to the heart of the scene. Both are nicely done, Navin.

--P

How to choose? ... How to choose? I can't choose. Both are great! One nitpick about the image on Flickr is that the leaf you mention is right on the edge of the image. I don't know ... maybe you could clone the leaf to move it up just a smidgen.

Thanks, all for your very helpful perspectives. I have gone with a 2:3 with a little more room at the bottom to let the leaf breathe.

@Ron - you could determine the optimal sharpness for each lens, much like Mark Metternich has done, and blend 2 or maybe several more images to obtain the best sharpness possible in an image. I think on the canon 14mm L2.8 it's somewhere at f/5.6 and I believe it's similar for the 14-24 (someone please correct me if I am wrong). Instead of going for the best possible sharpness, I decided for something better than f/18-22 ish which was what would work well for a scene as deep as this (the foreground rock was about 8 inches from my lens). So, I went with an aperture (f/8) that would adequately cover large parts of the fore and backgrounds without a significant difference in sharpness that would be hard for PS to blend.

After taking both images into Photoshop (performing RAW functions respectively for the sky and foreground images, and selecting a similar WB), I auto-aligned, then auto-blended for focus. PS gave me a draft mask that I used only for the foreground rock and its edges towards the water, then I cleared out the mask in the water. Hope that all makes sense.

@Mark - the pano and 2:3 presentations are the exact same image save the crop. Perhaps the contrast is a function of NPN vs. Flickr (i know size is)

I would like to vote for the 2:3 image.

I really like the interesting foreground, and how the curve and texture in the water bring you through the rest of the image. I love the mood you have captured here Navin.

I really dig this one

Both are great Navin but the 3:2 by a nose. Great job on your blending and very nice tones, colors, and comp. Really nice job on this.