Someone posted images from Burgess Falls State Park. Here are a couple from another park that is near Burgess Falls...Fall Creek Falls State Park. I should have done a better job composing the first one, but it is what it is

I usually hang in the b&w forum, but at this time of year it's all about the color.


The red hues in the plunge pool are from the high iron content in the stream.

Hey Geoff,

Well, it's great to have you wander out of the B&W forum and come spend a little time with us. These are two shots that do really scream color. I think #1 is a pretty good composition, it definately gives a nice view of the falls. #2 is pretty moody. Did you add a little Orton Effect? It has a little bit of a glow to that shot. Which I think works well here.

Hope you stop by a little more often!

Jim

Thanks, Jim.

On #1, I wish I had gotten more of the area above the falls. I had to level this shot a little in PP, and if I ever make a print to hang, I'll probably lose what little there is above the falls. As I recall, the area above was in direct sun, and pretty blown out. I probably should have taken some more shots and maybe done some cloning of the blow outs, I dunno. Looking at it again, I think a little crop off the bottom would make it look more balanced.

On #2, I used a softening filter in Tiffen DFx to get that effect. Best software purchase I've ever made.

Hey Geoff,

A tip for you on your comment on #1. When leveling, and you can't afford to lose anything on an edge, like the top in your case. I suggest that you level it, then use the Warp tool, and then simply on the top drag up on the corner that is now low, and then in the middle just a bit. Just consider, it post production lens distortion... Actually, if you only have to "pull" it slightly, especially if you are pulling in just one direction, it's almost never noticable. A few tree's might end up slightly thinner, but I can't see where this is that unlevel, so it should be a small adjustment, but it allows you the ability to not have to crop off the area that is now above the lower corner... it can be a real saver on tight shots then like this.

So that's the Tiffen DFx. Very cool. It looks nice. Does it simply add a glow? One thing you have to watch if using an Orton Effect Filter, is that it also tends to darken the shot with the glow. So it would be nice to get the glow sometimes without darkening the scene.


Jim

Thanks for the tip, Jim. Sounds like a slick idea. I use Capture NX, and I don't think I can do that, but I think I can do it with another program I have.

As for DFx, I think I used a warm/soft filter on #2. There's a bunch of what are called "diffusion filters". You can edit the parameters for each effect. In this case, you have sliders for preserving highlights, exposure comp, opacity, blur and a couple of other things. If I had wanted that image brighter, I could have easily done so.
DFx is quite a program, in my opinion, anyway. There are so many effects, ranging from subtle to extreme and they can all be edited. It's fun to just click thru all of them and see what they do to an image. The masks are easy to use. It's really loaded with features, and for the $$, I think it's a great buy. I run 90% of my images thru it, and usually find something that gets me where I want to go. I think you can download a full-featured free trial for 15 days, so you could always check it out.