Anvil Loc: Loveland, CO

We just got back from a trip to Yellowstone. We took a leisurely three days to get there, and three days to get back. (We live in the SF Bay Area.) One of the stops we made was at Twin Falls, Idaho. My wife's sister was recently there, and saw the raging Shoshone Falls, sometimes referred to as the Niagara of the West. Naturally, I wanted to try my hand at taking the definitive shot of the falls. (When I use the word "definitive" for anything I do, my tongue is firmly planted in my cheek.)

When one looks at photos of this magnificent waterfall, one can scarcely imagine no water falling. Apparently, if you visit this waterfall in the late summer or autumn, you don't have to imagine no water falling -- that's what you get.

If there is water falling, you don't really have to search for the drama in the scene. The water provides it -- you just have to figure out how to capture that drama, and bring it out, in the photo. But what if the water has been turned off? We were presented with a view that had an extraordinary amount of detail. A photo of all that detail would likely end up confusing the viewer, because there was too much to look at, and no one feature to capture the viewer's attention. My challenge was to focus the viewer's attention, while still providing all the detail that was there.

Fortunately, I had a cloudy, chilly day to work with -- no cloudless, blue sky to distract the viewer. The natural light exposed a lot of coloring. (We did visit this area on our return trip. That day was very sunny, and brutally windy. The cloudy day was much more interesting.) When the water is really running, all those white or gray rocks would be covered with rushing water. I wanted to make it easy for the viewer to imagine the water rushing over those rocks. I felt the way to achieve that was to de-emphasize the background. Some might argue that I made the photo too dark, but I've always felt that the drama lies in the shadows.

(Download)

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

Fantastic image!!!!!

Anvil Loc: Loveland, CO

Thank you!

Frank2013 Loc: San Antonio, TX. & Milwaukee, WI.

An engaging image Anvil…your choice of treatment serves it well, my nit piks are the dark area lower right, almost as if it’s a too strong vignette and stands out, I think lightening up that area might improve and I find the brown foliage too strong, maybe desaturate orange a bit in the HSL section,
and I'm on the fence about the bright break in the clouds in the back ground….purely personal opinions….a wall hanger in my opinion...well done.

Cwilson341 Loc: Central Florida

I love the sharply detailed download. I think the background if fine. It blends with the foreboding sky and leaves all focus on the falls area!

R.G. Loc: Scotland

Without seeing the original it sounds like a good strategy. I think you might get away with lightening the water a bit.

Anvil Loc: Loveland, CO

Thanks, all, for your comments.

That strange break in the sky that Frank brought up is a mystery to me. It's in the original photo. I did not add to or remove anything from the original.

ebrunner Loc: New Jersey Shore

I look at this in download for a long time. It is almost like a de-constructed waterfall. I think all the details of deep spots and edges and shadows makes for an engaging photo. The sky, of course, helps here. But we know the waterfall is usually cascading over the grey rock, so it is great to get to see what is below the water and usually hidden. I've been told that Niagara falls sometimes freezes solid. I would think that would give a similar impression to the viewer. Well done.
Erich

Anvil Loc: Loveland, CO

Thank you for your comments. Fortunately for me, all the other falls we encountered, on our trip, were flowing beautifully. We'll see how those turned out, soon.

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

That's a very neat picture. I've never gone there because people told me there wasn't any water over the falls.

Anvil Loc: Loveland, CO

Thanks! My wife's sister had visited Shoshone Falls on her way to seeing the total eclipse, and she saw the falls in its full glory.

About 25 years ago, maybe longer, I visited Yosemite for the first time. It was in the fall. I was anxious to see those waterfalls. Little did I know that the most, if not all, of the falls in Yosemite get "turned off" in the late summer and fall. The last time we visited Yosemite, we made sure it was in the spring. Those falls were fantastic.