Reflected Light, The Virgin River, Zion National Park, Utah, USA
This was taken in 2005 in Zion National Park. The park had just experienced a heavy rain and minor flash flood down the Virgin River. The water was incredibly muddy. Then the sun came out, glancing off the red canyon walls and exploded on the river. I took lots of pics with a polarizer but did not have a neutral density filter with me, so I dropped the Aperture down to f/32 to get a slower shutter speed.
Specific Feedback Requested
Any comments/critiques appreciated
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Canon 1Ds II, 70-200 f/4 @ 131mm, 0.6 sec @ f/32, ISO 100, Tripod, Polarizer
Processed in Capture One
This image is very soothing and peaceful due to the subdued pastel color palette and the sinuous, flowing lines. I find it to be comforting and could look at it over and over. I’m glad you were able to capture it even without an ND filter.
David, a lot of photographers would likely have been tempted to process this with stronger contrast and more color saturation. But I’m really glad that you chose to use a more gentle processing approach. It creates a very soothing delicacy in the image, that distinguished it from most “reflected light in the water” shots. And the texture of the water is very nice, it’s softness adds to the overall gentle feeling of the image. Really nice work, I’m enjoying this a lot.
I totally agree with the observations and feelings of the others. Two other things I observed also contribute to the gentle impact of the image – the diagonal nature of the sweeps, and the curly sweep toward the top gently contrasting with the others.
