Mad Flow + Repost

Gallery: LandscapePosted September 18, 20173,986 views11 comments

This past August I headed up to Vermont for a long weekend with family and friends. It was a great time, and I even got away for some early morning photography. I was attracted to this swirling rock pattern along the Mad River. I pushed this one a little further than normal for me to emphasize the patterns and colors in the rock. I'm interested to hear your thoughts.

5d2, 24-105L @ 65mm
Blend of 3 exposures:
0.5s @ f/8, ISO200 for the base
Same as above, processed at -0.5EV in Camera Raw for the foreground rock which was much brighter
1.3s @ f/8, ISO100, -1EV to darken up the highlights and brightest whitewater

Comments

11 comments

Comment posted by Igor Doncov on September 18, 2017 at 7:33 PM

Oh, this is marvelous. The water picks up where the rocks leave off. A well integrated composition. I would have used a slightly faster SS for the water perhaps.

Registered on November 22, 2014, 189 Posts, 2733 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Leggett on September 18, 2017 at 9:15 PM

Craig, river scenes are among my favorite places to shoot. Aside from your blend in post, this is really well titled. I'm liking the "beast" headed upstream. Beautiful natural abstract presentation and thanks for sharing.

Registered on July 21, 2004, 706 Posts, 3233 Comments

Comment posted by Michael Lowe on September 18, 2017 at 9:51 PM

I like it a lot. With our brains hard wired for pattern recognition, I see all kinds of things in the rock patterns. The saturated colors of the rocks are a added bonus.

Registered on February 11, 2004, 777 Posts, 5252 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on September 19, 2017 at 11:41 AM

Craig,

I love the "flow" here - but really it's the flow of the rock! The colors, lines, flow and the geologic story being told of eons of graceful formation and simply wonderful. The water of course is beautiful as well and only adds another element of color, flow, texture and grace.

I think the bottom rock is important for the overall flow and framing, but the only suggestion I have might be to burn down the light gray curving streak. Not a big deal, just pulls the eye a little bit. Also, I think the whites could be pulled up in the water, but not too much!

Wonderful intimate image.

Lon

Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments

Comment posted by Ed Lowe on September 19, 2017 at 2:42 PM

Sweet image, Craig. I think my brother Mike said it perfectly. Great processing and eye to spot this.

Ed

Registered on February 7, 2004, 414 Posts, 7115 Comments

Comment posted by Craig Moreau on September 19, 2017 at 7:45 PM

Thank you all for the comments. Here's a repost with some additional burning of the foreground and dodging of the whites in the water per Lon's comments. Those were small, but helpful changes, thanks!

Registered on April 21, 2015, 64 Posts, 584 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on September 19, 2017 at 9:39 PM

Ca'ching! Small and subtle changes... but I think make a huge difference, especially comparing them directly.

thanks for taking the time to rework and repost!

Lon

Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Jones on September 19, 2017 at 11:03 PM

Wonderful composition, and your "pushing" in post worked well, especially in the repost. The motion is conveyed perfectly for my taste.

Registered on April 18, 2007, 953 Posts, 6435 Comments

Comment posted by Anil Rao on September 20, 2017 at 5:14 AM

Beautiful in concept and execution. There is movement throughout the frame, offered by the flowing water and the gorgeous lines in the rocks.

Registered on November 15, 2003, 234 Posts, 4923 Comments

Comment posted by Harley Goldman on September 20, 2017 at 11:35 AM

Very nice! The changes in the repost are subtle, but very effective. I think you nailed it.

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

Comment posted by Preston Birdwell on September 20, 2017 at 6:36 PM

This image is an excellent study in how water shapes the landscape. The folding in the strata, and the wonderful color variations are stunning. I really like the contrast between the flowing water and the surrounding rock. The changes you made in the rework are subtle, but very effective. Well done!
--P

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