Great Falls in Winter #1

Really nice image, Mark, the rock in the sweet spot strongly anchors the view into the water and falls.

Excellent capture of the action and misty colors, Mark. Exposure looks right on for the bright conditions, and I like the ss. 

I guess the government isn't the only thing frozen on the Potomac this winter. Mark this is a very dynamic composition, I like how you composed it to have the flow reverse just above the big triangular rock, it really pulls your eye back and forth across this image. The two little cascades to the right of the rock are a nice accent to this image as well. Given how strong the water flow is, you did well to get the texture and definition in the water, nice job on the shutter speed. Nice work....

Mark, I am really enjoying the bottom 70% or so of the image, very dynamic and engaging, but I find the top area kind of detracts from the rest. I think cloning the log would help some for me, but I might even play with a crop.  I seem to be on my own with that, and as usual, YMMV. 

Very well done, Mark. Great Falls is on on my bucket list. Good choice of shutter speed to get some detail in the water. On the thumbnail it looked like a rainbow, but I see it's the color of the water.

I would crop off the top also. Crop to just above the falls.
Sweet color and SS.

I like this a lot. The shutter speed was perfect for this and shows the different colors in the water. I do agree with the crop suggestion. However, the framing woks as it is, but you might consider cloning out the log. I like the little cascade on the right.
--P

A very nice image of the falls. I agree with Preston's suggestion: keep composition as is and clone out the log. Although, the shadow of the log without a log may be an issue to some.

Yes, that log creates composition problems.  I agree with Igor, that the log cannot be cloned without also cloning it's shadow.  Leaving the shadow will have many viewers recognizing the cloning, which leads to them questioning what else in this view is a modification of what was actually there.  I believe that as a nature photographer it's important to show nature as it is, not as I wish it were (although I will clone some things readily).  The alternative with a major item, like this, is to burn or dodge to reduce it's visual impact.  Here's a version where that log has been burned-in significantly.

This is excellent, Mark. Nicely balanced composition and beautiful mist-bow but I find that protruding log a distraction. I think I would experiment with cloning it out.

Mark,

The star attraction is of course the rainbow colors captured.  The environment that is producing the rainbow is dynamic and full of raw power.  The big rock and overflow cascades are great addition to the overall river scene.

I would agree with others about cropping some from the top to emphasize these features.  I didn't notice this until a second look at the larger view, but if you can you might want to content-aware clone out the forked branch in the ULC; it's mildly detracting.

Lon

Mark I love the bits of ice and the amazing smooth roaring water in this one. The rainbow puts it over the top for me. I like the repost colors a bit better with the log toned down a bit. Beautiful.
 

Mark,

I appreciate and respect the idea that we should be photographing and presenting what was there, what we saw.  I think this is a great topic one could open in a discussion forum so I won't take this any further.... other than to say, once you enter and start calling your work "fine art" and if you were to print this as a fine art wall hanger, personally I wouldn't want the log there.

Disregarding anything I just said, I did want to point out something that is missing regarding the log and its shadow.  Who's to say or know if a projected shadow in the frame didn't originate from an object outside the frame??  It's perfectly logical that the log could have been outside the frame and still cast a shadow, right?  I know I'm really nitpicky with a lot of my comments, cropping here, cloning there, etc. etc., but to be perfectly honest, on first pass, I never really noticed the log.  Upon multiple passes I never once paid attention to the shadow, until it was mentioned.

Just my not so humble opinion, I think not cloning it for ethical reasons (ie. it was there, so it belongs) is a stronger argument than whether or not the shadow should be considered - or even noticed...  Again, it's very plausible that the shadow was cast from outside the frame; the main issue is that YOU know it wasn't...  

Just a thought.