Near Bond Falls, Fall 2003 IV

I like this even better than the similar #2, because there is a bit of detail in the tree trunks. I like the light on the trees too. Beautiful image.

Ken,

This is really nice. I like the colors in the sunlit foilage, and also the composition with the trunks to the sides. This far, my favorites are this one and number one (because of its great foreground).

Anders

the water. i live near a lot of running water. it has such power and force. i even run it on occasion in an open canoe to experience it up close and personal. what a rush - literally and figuratively.

so, what i don't understand here is the foamy, soft and textureless rendition of running water. what's up with that?

this image does evoke a sense of emerging from the woods, perhaps after a hike of some length. having done this many times, i am always lured/urged forward on the hike by the ever intensifying siren call of the rushing tumbling water. the water in this image has no "sound". it's foamy and ethereal. it's like watching tv with the sound turned off.

so again, what's up with that?

Ah, the never-ceasing debate regarding shutter speed and flowing water. I don't think that there's a right or wrong answer to this; it's highly subjective.

In this instance--and of course this is no more than my opinion--I think the softer water works well with the rest of the elements in the image. The soft light--in the trees and on the water--and hints of fall color convey a peaceful, pastoral ambience that is (again, IMO) complemented by the soft water. That's not to say that a shorter SS with the resulting "harsher" water wouldn't work--I can't venture a meaningul opinion on that hypothetical without seeing the results--but it's my sense that it would be more jarring and that the outcome might well be a clashing juxtaposition of competing moods.

Ken, I'd love to see a scan of this without the whites blown. You've done a nice job of including the foreground trees in the composition without allowing them to distract, as is their wont. You've handled the elements in this tricky scene in expert fashion, to say nothing of the technical aspects of the image. This is one of my favorites of your images that I've seen to date.

--Kerry

Mark, I do not intentionally try to blur the water. It is a product of the other settings that I use and the time of day.

Shooting at 85mm I needed to stop down to maintain DOF between the trees and the water and the BG. So either 22 or 32 was used here...

i understand that consideration, but there are faster films with incredibly fine grain. i've even done the two shot thing with an image like this in order to render the water without the fuzz.

i'm not trying to be a contrarian here. i think image #2 without the fuzz would be majestic.

Another very nice shot of this location!

I like this one -- better balance than #2, and it has a nice peaceful feel, as opposed to #1 which is the most dramatic to date.

Are the whites more detailed in the film? I recognize the challenges of preserving whites in soft water. Personally I like the soft effect, but others have a point about liking a shorter shutter. I really prefer the way you chose to expose in this instance because I think it fits the overall mood of the image. In #1 it could have worked with a faster shutter for drama, but the way you did it gives it a dream-like quality that is equally pleasing, just in a different way.

Ken,

That branch that has its leaves right in the middle of the frame detracts from the whole scene, had they not been there I think this would have been the best of the series so far.

Very nice, Ken. You have a bunch of nice ones here.

- Dan.

Ken, what a wonderful series! I particularly like this one and 'the third one'. I think the flowing water works well here. After capturing water that way myself a few times, and getting the actual falling water the way I wanted (kinda like you did), there will always be nearly fully white areas where the water is landing and churning. I don't think you have blown whites, but rather the same slow shutter phenomenon that gave you the fine falls. Thanks for showing these great images.

Very nice composition!

A very nice series Ken ... after repeatedly looking at all of the series I like #2 &3 best of all. I think I like them best as the far bank... looks like a road...is hidden behind the trees.

I like to think that such a scene as this is often hidden and the adventure of finding and capturing the image is a large part of the mystic of our photography.