Back on Colorado 149, after departing Thirty Mile Campground, I stopped for a snack and to stretch my legs at a pull out along the Rio Grande. I remember this spot from other visits. I think I probably stopped here many years ago on my first drive along this route.
Rio Grand River, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/250s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
There is a good view of a bend in the river and the cliffs along the river banks at this large pull out.
CO 149 intersects US 160 at South Fork. I headed west on US 160 towards Pagosa Springs. Along the way, I noted a viewpoint sign for Treasure Falls. There is a large parking lot for this attraction and there were many vehicles in the parking lot. It was a weekend day and maybe the crowd would be much smaller on a weekday. I actually drove a little past the official parking lot, pulling out at a wide pull out a little further down the highway. I walked back to the parking area to check out the area, taking a mask and just my camera with the 24-70mm lens.
There was no view of the falls from the parking area. There were information signs for the falls and two trails to the falls, the typical tourist type trail, which most of the folks were taking, and a primitive trail. Wanting to maintain a social distance from all those here, and because I wanted something more natural, I chose to take the primitive trail. I do not suggest this trail for anyone not in fairly good physical shape. It was, indeed primitive, steep with slippery muddy slopes, logs and rocks to scramble over; but there was not a crowd of people on it. However, I was behind a family that had to stop frequently to catch their breath (giving me a good excuse to stop for the same), so I waited at a distance for them to proceed. The primitive trail took longer than I had anticipated to get to the falls.
An information sign at the Treasure Falls parking lot.
Arriving at the falls, it took more effort to keep a distance from others and I made sure to wear my mask all the time in that area. There was a small viewing platform at the falls, which I avoided, electing to keep to the downstream area away from as many people as possible.
Since I did not bring a tripod on this hike, I hand held my camera, so I could not get a long exposure shot of the falls. I also did not have filters and the sky was bright and over exposed.
Treasure Falls, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm (before crop), f/8, 1/25s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
It was possible to hike to the base of the falls, but I decided not to try that on this visit.
Treasure Falls, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm (before crop), f/8, 1/60s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
I took the easy trail back to the parking lot. That trail was quite busy with folks coming up the trail, so I wore my mask and stepped away from those approaching. The trip on this trail back to the parking area only took a few minutes.
I went out just before sunrise to photograph along the Rio Grande in Thirty Mile Campground, getting wet by the early morning dew covered vegetation that I had to walk through to get to the river’s edge. It was a cool, but not really cold morning and it warmed up quickly, after the sun came up.
The Rio Grande in Thirty Mile Campground, Colorado. Nikon D90, 0.8s, f/11, ISO 200, Nikon 12-24mm @ 18mm.
I found a spot with boulders along the river bank that looked favorable, so I began shooting prior to sunrise, making a few tentative exposures with longish shutter speeds in the still dim light.
Wanting an even longer exposure, I added a darker neutral density filter to my setup, getting a 30 second shutter speed to smooth the river current. The neutral density filter also increases the color saturation. I probably had a circular polarizer mounted, too; but I really do not recall for sure, since it has been a couple of months since I made these images.
The Rio Grande in Thirty Mile Campground, Colorado. Nikon D90, 30s, f/11, ISO 200, Nikon 12-24mm @ 18mm.
Since I was in a valley, there was no golden hour light, as the sun had been up for a while before direct sun rays impinged upon the scene.
The Rio Grande in Thirty Mile Campground, Colorado. Nikon D90, 0.6s, f/11, ISO 200, Nikon 12-24mm @ 12mmRio Grande in Thirty Mile Campground. Nikon D90, 0.5s, f/11, ISO 200, Nikon 12-24mm @ 12mm.
I think the image below may be the best one that I got during this morning’s shoot; although, I do like the earlier 30s shot, which has a more serene appearance, as compared to the more dynamic later photographs.
The Rio Grande in Thirty Mile Campground, Colorado. Nikon D90, 1/10s, f/22, ISO100, Nikon 12-24mm at 12mm.
I favor the composition above, because it has more colorful vegetation, with wildflowers, along the river banks, prominent boulders, dynamic flow in the river current and those wonderful, early morning clouds in the sky and the river cutting diagonally across the image leading to the cloudy sky.
Having decided that there was not much variety to shoot at this location, I decided to move on to my next destination today, rather than trying to stay over another night here.
On my drive out of this area, I stopped along the river to shoot a few scenes, even though it was getting well into the morning with harsher light to deal with.
Adult and baby ducks swimming in the Rio Grand Reservoir, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm (before crop), f/8, 1/100s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
There were many ducks, adult and young ones, in the river. So I had to try to capture a few of those. Maybe I should have put on my 80-400mm lens to shoot the ducks, but I like to travel with the 24-70mm mounted on my camera, since it gives me more flexibility for wide to medium telephoto range landscape images.
Reflections in the Rio Grand Reservoir, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 29mm, f/11, 1/250s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
My destination today is Teal Campground north of Pagosa Springs, Colorado.
An interim stopover on my journey from Ridgeway, Colorado to the southeastern corner of Colorado in July, 2020 was Thirty Mile Campground. It is a long, slow drive on rough county/forest service roads to the campground. This campground has sites that one can reserve and others that are on a first come first serve basis. There were only a few sites available, when I made my reservations prior to my trip to Colorado. I wanted to be sure that I had a place to stay at least one night, so reserving a site assured that I would not have to search for a free site in the forest. I thought I might be able to get one of the free sites, if I decided to stay a second night; but the campsites were all full or reserved on the day that I arrived and there were no reserve sites available for a second night. I would have to wait until the second day to find any available free sites, if I wanted to stay a second night.
My campsite in Thirty Mile Campground, Colorado, July 2020. iPhone Photograph.
Thirty Mile is a nice campground and my site was just inside the campground along the Rio Grande, where it was pleasant to hear the rushing water in the river. After checking into my campsite, I took a walk along the river to check out possible locations for photography late in the day and/or early in the morning.
The river is pretty, but there seemed to be limited possibilities for photographic variations along the river. This is a popular place for anglers and many of the people in the campground were there to fish for trout in the Rio Grande.
I watched a doe grazing on the opposite side of the river, shooting a number of photos and videos with my phone. The doe did not seem to care that I was watching it. One of the unedited videos can be seen here.
After my walk along the river, I drove along the road past the campground to check out the scenery along the Rio Grande Reservoir, which is a very long reservoir. The road beside the reservoir is mostly a narrow one lane road with periodic pullouts, where vehicles can pass each other. It was a rainy, overcast day, which created some photographic opportunities.
An iPhone shot through windshield on a rainy day along the Rio Grande Reservoir, Colorado. iPhone Photograph.
I drove almost to the very end of the reservoir before turning back. Near the end, the water shallowed, revealing the trace of the river going into the reservoir. In the upper end of the reservoir there was colorful vegetation and I got lucky when a break in the clouds allowed sunlight to highlight some of that vegetation.
Near the upper end of the Rio Grande Reservoir, Colorado. iPhone Photograph.
During my drive back towards the campground, I stopped to shoot with my iPhone at a few locations.
Wildflowers and Boulders beneath cloudy sky along the bank of the Rio Grande Reservoir, Colorado. iPhone Photograph.
There were a few scattered wildflowers and large colorful boulders, some covered with lichen, in various shapes between the roadway and the reservoir.
Boulders and a mountainside along side the Rio Grande Reservoir, Colorado. iPhone Photograph,Sportsmobile framed by boulders with a mountainside in the background, along the Rio Grande Reservoir, Colorado. iPhone Photograph.Pointy and flat top boulders along the bank of the Rio Grande Reservoir, Colorado. iPhone Photograph.Wildflowers sheltered against a large boulder along the banks of the Rio Grande Reservoir, Colorado. iPhone Photograph.
The next post will have DSLR photos taken along the river and along the reservoir.
In route from the Ridgeway, Colorado area to the southeastern portion of Colorado, I stopped by North Clear Creek Falls. This is a popular place with tourists, maybe because it is easily accessible and just off of Colorado 149 between Gunnison and Lake City. There is a marker sign along CO 149 and a large parking lot with restrooms near the falls.
North Creek Waterfall, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 32mm (before crop), f/11, 1/60s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
I photographed the falls from a number of view points, first from a distance perched on rocks away from the crowd, where I could get a downstream view of the falls.
Then I moved to the nearest view point along the fenced off area, keeping my distance from others and wearing a mask, since there were people coming and going in that area. Most people were wearing masks, but a few were not.
North Creek Waterfall, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm (before crop), f/22, 1/6s, ISO 31, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
It was mid day, but overcast, which was fortunate, since I did not have filters with me. Still I had to use a small aperture to get a slow enough shutter speed to get the silky smooth water effect.
I think these two photos are the best ones that I got of the falls. The heaviest flow is in the spring, due to snow melt; but the flow was good here even in July.
Backtracking along CO 141 from the Dolores River Overlook, after our lunch there, we found the dirt road, Y11, that we had seen below the overlook. We traveled in the canyon along the river for a while, checking out scenes along it.
There had been a uranium mine off of this road that was shut down a few years ago after a number of employees developed cancer due to the radiation exposure. We saw a number of signs posted on the fence along the roadside warning of radiation hazards in the area to the west of the fence. Needless to say, we did not try to cross that fence.
After a few miles, we found the information sign that we had seen from up above. The sign marked the location of a rebuilt section of a hanging flume. My son had noted the hanging flume marked on a map before we began this outing, but thought it would be seen from CO 141. If we had not taken this side trip, we would have missed this interesting piece of Colorado mining history.
A reconstructed portion of a hanging flume along the Dolores River, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, f/11, 1/80s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
The only part of the original flume that remains are the supports mounted into the cliff face. This flume ran for a long distance and was an engineering marvel for the time it was built. Unfortunately, there is no surviving engineering information detailing its design or construction. More information can be found at hanging flume.org
A reconstructed portion of a hanging flume along the Dolores River, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, f/11, 1/200s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.A reconstructed portion of a hanging flume along the Dolores River, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, f/11, 1/30s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.Remnants of supports for a hanging flume along the Dolores River, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, f/11, 1/200s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
The last full day of our stay at Ridgway State Park, the weather report predicted a high chance of rain, so we decided it best to avoid the dirt 4WD roads and stick mostly to paved and/or well maintained gravel roads.
So from the city of Ridgeway, Colorado, we traveled CO 62 to CO 145 to CO 141, making a big loop back to US 50 near Delta, CO and back to US 550 at Montrose.
This route took us through some beautiful canyons along the San Miguel and Dolores Rivers.
We stopped for a picnic lunch at a newly made overlook of the Dolores River.
A lunch break overlooking the Dolores River, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.A dizzying view down onto the Dolores River. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.An overlook view of the Dolores River along CO 141. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/400s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.An overlook along the Delores River, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/500s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.Colorado Wildlife. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm (before crop), f/11, 1/250s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
I spotted a number of small lizards scampering around the rocks along the overlook. One even got aggressive with my son, charging at him as he briefly looked away. I guess that lizard thought his personal space was being violated.
A small Colorado inhabitant. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm (before crop), f/11, 1/320s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.A piece of weathered wood in a rock niche. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
I’m always drawn to the twisted, weathered evergreen type trees that grow in these arid environments.
A weathered and twisted evergreen tree along CO 141. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/250s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
A close up of the lower trunk details of the tree above:
A weathered and twisted evergreen tree along CO 141. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, f/11, 1/160s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
Below our lunch site we could see a marker type sign beside the dirt road on the opposite side of the river. After lunch, we decided to backtrack to find that dirt road and check it out.
During one of our drives on US 550 between Ouray and Silverton, we noted an unmarked gravel road heading towards a mountainside, but it appeared to end after a short distance, so we initially ignored it. On a subsequent trip past it, we decided to check it out.
After driving a short distance, not being able to see the road ahead and concerned there might not be a place to turn around on the narrow road, we decide it might be best to park at a wider spot in the road and walk ahead. We did not have to walk far to the end of this road, but it was mostly uphill. Fortunately, it was not very steep.
We passed a small, cascading mountain stream, which crossed the roadway.
A small waterfall just off of US 550 in Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/160s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
Even though this was not a big stream, it was attractive and captivating as most such streams tend to be.
The road ended at what appeared to be a minor mine exploratory site. A mountain stream with a long section of it visible going up the mountain side ran past the site. I made a number of images shooting down onto the stream nearest the roadway, but I could not get any attractive compositions that way.
Scrambling down rocky ledges away from the roadway and up the stream, gave better views of the stream and the wildflowers along the stream edge.
Mountain stream cascades and wildflowers. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, f/11, 1/60s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
The photo above is an example of including too much in an image. The stream acts as a leading line, but there is no center of interest in this photo. My eye goes to the most prominent part of the cascade in the lower left; but when my eye follows the stream towards the upper right, I do not see anything of great impact. I was zoomed in as much as possible with the 24-70mm lens, so I could not isolate anything any better from my view point. I could try cropping this image on portions of the image and maybe make a more interesting one; but the composition cannot be changed via cropping. Getting closer to a portion of the stream might have been the only way to get an impactful image here.
In the distance I could see a waterfall. I think the image below is better, but the waterfall in the upper right is maybe too distant to have real weight. Still I think this image has some intrigue, making one want to know more about what is in the distance down the stream.
A mountain stream with cascades and waterfalls. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/25s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
It was beginning to rain lightly and we were not wearing rain gear, so we decided to head back to the vehicle and save exploring along this stream up to the waterfall for another time. It began raining harder as we walked along. I put my hat over my camera to protect it, which resulted in my getting more wet. Fortunately, it was not a Texas type rainstorm.
During our July, 2020 stay in Ridgway State Park, Colorado, after our early morning photo shoots, my son drove us around the area, exploring 4WD roads and other Colorado State and County Roads.
I captured some of the local scenery with either my DSLR or my mobile phone camera. I will share a few of these photographs in several blog posts.
There are numerous 4WD roads and county roads that can be accessed from US 550, aka The Million Dollar Highway, which is a treat in itself to drive.
An abandoned mine site near Silverton, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/320s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.An abandoned mine site near Silverton, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 26mm, f/11, 1/320s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
This area is rich in minerals with many old, abandoned mine sites, as well as modern mining operations.
An old mine site near Silverton, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, f/11, 1/200s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
My son posed an interesting question while walking around the mine site shown in the images above, “Did the miners who worked here enjoy the beauty of this setting or were their lives so hard that they did not appreciate this scenery”?
I think some, at least, would have admired the local beauty, while maybe others just wanted to be drinking in a saloon and enjoying other delights of a more populous area.
Remnants of an old wheel at an abandoned mine site near Silverton, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 50mm, f/11, 1/80s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.Abandoned mine site near Silverton, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 62mm, f/16, 1/250s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
We stopped to enjoy our picnic style lunch at the site of these last two images.
A lone tree on mine tailings near Silverton, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 45mm, f/16, 1/320s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
We were all immediately drawn to the lone evergreen tree standing near the top of a large mound of mine tailing. This image, was selected for Flickr’s Explore page, the day it was posted, much to my surprise, as I was not too keen on this photograph, waffling about whether to crop it more severely to remove some of the bottom, making the tree more prominent. After lunch, I even tried shooting this again with my phone camera, as I kept thinking none of my photographs were capturing this well and the story told by my photograph would not be clear.
On the mountainside across the road from our lunch site was a beautiful, long waterfall. We were too far away to get a photograph of that fall. Even my 400mm lens, if I had had it with me, would not have been sufficient to get a suitable close up shot of that waterfall and one might have to cross private property to approach that mountainside. I will try to remember that waterfall and maybe try to get nearer to it on a subsequent visit.
After one of our morning photo shoots in Yankee Boy Basin, we decided to check out Governor Basin, which is accessed via a 4WD road off of the road to Yankee Boy Basin.
We only planned to spend a few minutes in the basin, since we wanted to get back down before the morning traffic, typically tour groups or people in rented jeeps traveling the 4WD roads in this area, complicated the drive back down the narrow roadway on the mountainside.
Consequently, I did not get out my DSLR and other camera gear. I walked around with my iPhone getting images of the general area and the many wildflowers in the meadow here.
A panoramic view in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.
There is an old mine site in this basin, along with a currently operating mine. The mine is on private property and off limits for visitors.
An old mine site in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.
I was not initially aware of the profusion of wildflowers here, until I walked away from our parking location on the roadway.
Columbines in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.
Initially, I only saw a few batches of wildflowers among the large boulders scattered around near our vehicle.
Western Yellow Paintbrush in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.Chiming Bells in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.Western Yellow Paintbrush in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.
As I walked further along the roadway, over a slight rise, I began to see large batches of wildflowers.
Wildflower Meadow in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.Wildflowers in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.Governor Basin Wildflower Meadow. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.
I’m not a wildflower expert, so I cannot guarantee that I’ve got the names of the wildflowers correct. In trying to identify the flowers via online information, I find that many of the sources have inadequate photos (small, too far away, low resolution), making it difficult to have complete confidence in the identification. There also appear to be hybrids of some of the flowers with variations in colors. I suppose I will have to acquire wildflower books to do a better job with this task. If readers note misidentified flowers, please let me know.
Rosy Paint Brush in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.Rosy Paintbrush in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.Wildflowers in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.Paintbrush variations? Governor Basin Wildflowers. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.Paintbrush variations? Governor Basin Wildflowers. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.Wildflowers in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.
I got down low with my iPhone to get close ups of some of the wildflowers with the mountains in the background, focusing on the nearby flowers with the background out of focus. Since I only used my iPhone, I could squat down among the flowers and avoid trampling them, which I might have done had I used a tripod and DSLR.
Wildflowers in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.Rosy Paintbrush in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.
Since the background was already blurry and not the focus of my images, I used a vignette blur or a lens vignette on some of the images to aid in directing the eye onto the subject matter.
Western Yellow Paintbrush in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.Wildflowers in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.Wildflowers in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.Western Yellow Paintbrush in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.Rosy Paintbrush in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.Rosy Paintbrush and Chiming Bells in Governor Basin, Colorado. iPhone photo, edited in Adobe Lightroom and/or DxO Nik software.Rosy Paint Brush and Chiming Bell Flowers in Governor Basin, Colorado.
I have used artistic license in the shooting and editing of these photos in an attempt to get striking images. I hope that I have not over done the editing and that viewers will enjoy these images.
I did not plan to have a part 4 in this series of posts on photography in Yankee Boy Basin. However, one of my photos that I posted to Flickr was selected for Flickr’s Explore page. Consequently, that photo got lots of attention with over 4600 views and 160+ favorites within a very short time interval.
Screen shot of my Flickr image that was selected for Flickr’s Explore Page, showing stats as of Aug. 23, 2020.
I do not pretend to know how Flickr chooses photos for its Explore page. I know many of the photos on the Explore pages are very good photos, while many others that I see there have little interest for me; but I suppose that is just a matter of individual preference and one’s most preferred photographic genre. In my case, I prefer landscape photography, while others may prefer people, animals, insects, macro, etc.
I do not think that this image is the best one that I made in Yankee Boy Basin, during this visit. As I pointed out in an earlier post, I think this image is the best of all the photographs that I made here in July, 2020:
Sunset light in Yankee Boy Basin, July 2020. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/3s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 2.
Yet, this image has received much less attention than the one chosen for the Explore Page. This is understandable. While it is good to get the attention that a photo selected for Explore gets, I am concerned that there are so many other better photos that get less attention and that Flickr’s Explore photos might bias viewers opinion of such photos and the artistry of the photographers whose photos are selected. I also know that it is not possible for Flickr to add all of the great photos on Flickr to its Explore page nor it is it possible for a viewer to look through all of the photos posted to Flickr and select favorites from all of those. In the end, I hope that the photos chosen for the Explore page result in viewers deciding for themselves how well they like such images and whether the photographer is one that one wishes to follow and learn from.
Seeking more professional input on the image that I like best, I submitted it to a well known professional photographer, based in the northeast USA, who was offering a webinar for the purpose of suggesting compositional and editing advise on selected photos. He selected my photo along with a few others to critique. I had already recognized one of the items that he suggested, but for different reasons. He cropped the right hand side just to get the waterfall closer to the edge and remove some of the unnecessary portions of the image. I was concerned about the two little tree stumps on each side of the image, especially the one that protrudes from the lower right edge.
Additional editing notes.
I’ve cropped the re-edited image as shown by the outer blue rectangle. Initially, the critiquing photographer cropped the left edge similar to mine, but then restored that edge to its original, probably to keep more of the highlighted peaks and clouds on the left side.
The sky and the mountain peaks are the important items in this image. The professional photographer commented that the waterfall could not be seen completely. Unfortunately, there was no place that I could stand to get a full view of the waterfall without cutting out a significant portion of the stream, which is a critical leading line feature in my composition. The stream almost disappears between the bushes on the lower left and those on the opposite bank of the stream as it is. Tilting the camera down more would show more of the stream, where it runs off of the bottom edge, but would eliminate some of the sky, which I definitely wanted in the image. I was already at 14mm on my 14-24mm lens, so I had no more zoom out range to get a wider view.
He also lightened the stream and darkened the rocks and foliage along each side to make the stream more visible as a leading line. Additionally, he darkened the front most mountain side to emphasize the brightness of the upper part of the image. Then he reduced the temperature to cool the sky a little.
I’ve applied similar edits in my re-edited version, but I have been more conservative with my edits. So those edits may be so subtle as not to be readily noticeable, when comparing the two versions. In the end, I’m not sure that I see a significant difference, other than the cropping, between my initial edit and the re-edited image. I also tend to like warmer images over cooler images. Much in the editing of an image is based upon one’s preferences. I certainly see his point of bringing out the stream more. I have used that technique in edits to other images from this area, but maybe not to the extent that he might do.
Additionally, the professional photographer commented that making a grand scenic image presents problems of scale, which makes it difficult to simplify the image. He spent much less time critiquing my image and applying edits than he did for other images, which I take as an indication that my composition and initial editing was not too bad : >).
Here is my re-edited image:
I’ve cropped the original image and applied a few other subtle edits to this image.
Feedback from readers is always appreciated.
Best Wishes, Stay Well and Safe and Thanks for following,
