Stumped by northy

Stumped

I was kinda inspired by Jase's recent shots to try some long exposure photography again... so there ya have it... a tree stump and some rocks... and water... the dark bits in the back at the top are reflections of buildings, btw... this was converted to black and white in lightroom... thought i'd give it a go again after some recent discussion threads...

tx for the continued views and favs on my TGIF shot, and for Sk8tr (my boy was quite tickled to hear it made the PP ;p)
Amazing!!! So dramatic and dreamy.
March 4th, 2013  
I really like this shot. It has an eeriness that is very cool. Nice contrasts.
March 4th, 2013  
Beautiful
March 4th, 2013  
I just love the space of interaction between the water and rocks.
March 4th, 2013  
very stunning, you definitely did a great job, love the exposure
March 4th, 2013  
It is a nice mixture of soft and rocky!
March 4th, 2013  
Simple and fantastic! I always love how the water appears like fog between the rocks.
March 4th, 2013  
love the cool editing---:)
March 4th, 2013  
So beautiful
March 4th, 2013  
Magical
March 4th, 2013  
Very pretty, even for a stump lol.... not much open water around here yet!
March 4th, 2013  
Beautiful...I love the look of the water!
March 4th, 2013  
Great sense of gentle movement!
March 4th, 2013  
Simple and lovely
March 4th, 2013  
Lovely, love the black and white as well, wonderful shot
March 4th, 2013  
I love the shapes here and the contrast really brings them out against the smooth water!
March 4th, 2013  
I feel the shot is a bit too cramped, more negative space needed ... also I think the pic looks a bit crooked because of the non-straight reflections (buildings', but also the rocks'...). The foggy effect of LE water is cool though. You could go to the Islands and shoot a low POV LE skyline shot... ?
March 4th, 2013  
I love the foggy goodness :) long exposures are one of my favorites :)
March 4th, 2013  
Beautiful long exposure shot, love the contrast between the water and rocks.
March 4th, 2013  
pretty cool lady! :)
March 4th, 2013  
Works terrifically. Very eerie
March 4th, 2013  
gorgeous! I love that misty water
March 4th, 2013  
lol my comment sticks out like a sore thumb :)
March 4th, 2013  
Just love that smoky water. Fabulous xx
March 4th, 2013  
This is lovely...great water!
March 4th, 2013  
Trying to get things straight drives me mad!
I think it doesn't feel straight because of the angle of the rocks - and probably the dark reflection in the top left not being parallel with the edge of frame.
Love the effect of the wispy water around the rocks. Very cool.
I think Lightroom does a pretty good job with b&w conversions, especially if you play with the curves, but I still think Silver Efex is better. :)
March 4th, 2013  
like the eerie feel but agree with @janim with less rocks
March 4th, 2013  
@janim Well mine will make yours a little better.
I was thinking maybe the water is a little to softened. It lost the water for me.
March 4th, 2013  
I like how LE silkifies the water. Lovely texture in your objects up front, especially the stump.
March 4th, 2013  
awesome shot. love the long shutter
March 4th, 2013  
Beautiful shot.
March 4th, 2013  
I do love the misty waters, but kinda agreeing with Jani about the need for more breathing space around the rocks and stump. And definitely agree with Humphrey Hippo on the matter of Silver Efex. ;)
March 4th, 2013  
Personallly these work better with more negative space, as said, and also if you can get the camera down more at the level of the rocks. I use a little travel tripod, the type with flexible legs, so I can have it at floor level if needs be. My limited experience tells me I get my best results at around f/8.0 and then adjust shutter speed according to amount of light, though this may not work for you as I am using my homemade big stopper, so haven't used a proper ND filter. Still like this though, that bigger rock needs another visit I reckon
March 4th, 2013  
The slow shutter speed makes it look all dreamy and calm. I like it a lot.
March 4th, 2013  
Great smoothness and love the B&W!
March 4th, 2013  
@janim @humphreyhippo @tigerdreamer @joa @jase_h

first off - thank you all for your honest and constructive feedback... really really helpful...

for the blown out water - this is where i get really stuck because i start obsessing on getting the pure whites and end up sacrificing detail... guess opinions will vary on this - i think the water may almost have looked better in colour...

for the negative space... yes totally get that point... i was seduced by the stump and there was no way to get it alone ;p

for the angle and pov... i do have a gorillapod (which i suck at using, but presumably i can sort that out)... my problem with a low pov is that other rocks get in the way, or the break waters mess up the horizon line... if you saw my ELT on flickr, the two things on either side are breakwaters, not piers, and they do not quite line up with the horizon... they totally mess up the background on many shots with low povs... it's frustrating...

but ok - all points well taken and maybe next sunday i will head off in search of an ELR... thank you!!!!

oh - one last thing... Jani, you're going to give me a guilt complex if you keep mentioning the island... i would love to get there... but getting there inevitably means time off work... getting there in decent light for photography means time off work and help with the kids... plus it's been bloody cold out recently which just gives me an excuse to not try very hard to solve these problems... i WILL get out there one day with a tripod and the NDs... just might not be for another few weeks :)
March 5th, 2013  
@northy no worries, you'll get there when you get there :) I won't mention the Islands for a while, have to think of something else...
March 5th, 2013  
Lyn
You do these SO WELL!!
March 6th, 2013  
Loving the stumps and water. fav
March 9th, 2013  
thats so beautiful! fav!!
March 10th, 2013  
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