Here are two views of the same cascade along Quabbin’s Atherton Brook from Sunday’s hike. I saw this from a few hundred feet away and made a bee-line for it……not exactly a straight line, but a quick walk. It has been here before (third down) but from a position in the water which I was not prepared for this time. But there are so many ways to look at a subject.
Cascade 1
Cascade 1a
Do you have a preference? These may end up as monochromes.
Stephen Gingold Nature Photography Blog 
Number 2 for me Steve. A slightly tighter comp and I find the pale lichens bottom left in the upper pic draw my eye too strongly.
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It’s pretty bad when someone describes your image as number 2, Andrew.
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Oops! Then maybe number 3 is better.
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My favorite is the last, Steve.
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Thanks, Bente.
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You seem to be on another of those ‘Gingold rolls,’ nice-picture-after-nice-picture-after-nice-picture. How do you do it? I haven’t tripped the shutter for days and days. I think I might just turn my camera in for a few bucks and a trip to the grocery store for all the good it’s done me this last week or MORE. Joanna says that it’s all about motivation … you’ve apparently got more than your share and I don’t. Hrumph (that’s not in the dictionary .. but you get my drift). These are really nice and, although I am usually one for cotton-candy-water, I can’t make up my mind which I like better. You’ve used that right-in-the-middle shutter sheep which has not frozen and not blurred … but has got the water just right to show motion and yet allow some detail. What did you say that ‘magic’ speed was? Something around 1″? If push comes to shove, I’ll have to go for #1. I hesitate to say, but, keep those beautiful shots coming. D
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The first was .8 secs @ISO 400, the second at 3.2secs @ ISO 100, David.
When it comes to making images, I am motivated. If a free day goes by without making a few I have a very empty feeling. I know of some photographers who only take images while traveling. No way for me. When I finally am fully retired in a couple of years, it is my intention to be out every day possible. As far as good images goes, most of the credit goes to the subjects, of course. But it is hard work and familiarity with my locations.
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Hey D, if you put some butter on one of those Gingold rolls, the extra energy might boost your motivation to go out and take more pictures.
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Nobody butters up a Gingold.
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I’d say I have a mild preference for #1, with the bigger, more defined rocks giving a stronger structure to the stream. It gives me more of a sense of a mountain stream, whereas #2 is very intimate and more peaceful, despite the small cascades.
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Thanks, Jackson. My intent with the first was to sort of frame the cascades with the flowing water drawing attention to themselves where, as you indicated, the second was to be a more intimate look.
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Very nice work, Beautiful fillet water
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Thank you very much, Ptck.
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The first photo is the most pleasing to me. However, I think that I would like to see the water running in some of these photos for a brief change of scene. Either way, Steve, these are both beautiful. The mossy rocks are gorgeous.
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Thanks, Yvonne. Most of the rocks along the stream here are mossy which is a nice addition of color.
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I almost can hear the water spilling over the rocks. There are a couple of low-water crossings in our hill country that, in flood, provide a little of what you seem so rich in: live, running water. The images are wonderful.
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The sound is quite loud and I am often startled to see someone as I cannot hear any footsteps or sometimes even their voice until they are right on top of me. During the summer these streams were fairly dry, but the cooler temperatures and some recent rain have increased the flow and raised water levels a bit.
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1a for me, but they are both very fine.
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Thanks, Rod. To be honest, I also prefer 1a, but I am pleased with the original 1 too.
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ooh, that’s hard as they are both lovely but, if I had to make a choice then number one for me 😀 NO! I’ve changed my mind…I’ve just gone back for another look, the second one, yes, definitely the second one….;)
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I am always happy when the choice is difficult, Lottie. I appreciate the careful consideration and applaud your pick. 🙂 Thanks.
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I like the first one better because of the way it leads my eyes up the creek. Of course if you hadn’t shown me that one, I’d be raving about the other one.
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Thanks, Lyle. That was just my thinking in the composition. Each with a different perspective.
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Your statement that “there are so many ways to look at a subject” reminds me of Wallace Stevens’s poem “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird”:
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174503
In your reply to D you mentioned people who take photographs only while traveling. One advantage to photographing locally is that we get to see a subject at different times of the year, under different conditions, in different weather, at different times of day, from different vantage points, in combination with different things, etc. On my recent trip to Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado I sometimes felt rushed to take pictures of whatever I could, regardless of conditions, because it was most likely the only chance I’d ever get.
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And the poem(s) remind me of Hokusai’s many views of Mount Fuji http://www.hokusaionline.co.uk/code/36_views_mount_fuji.html which is one of my inspirations for my repeated trips to various local spots. One does get to know the subject in all the different ways you mentioned.
I agree on the feeling of being rushed…or in all too many cases, taking images at times that might not be your first choice due to weather, lighting etc…while traveling. We go to Acadia repeatedly because we love the place, but an advantage is getting to know the park well enough to be at the right places at the right times.
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I’d forgotten (or never knew!) that in many of Hokusai’s views of Mt. Fuji the mountain is an inconspicuous element, sometime barely noticeable. Way to go, Hokusai.
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There is one missing from that collection that is a favorite of ours. We saw it at the Freer Gallery…a part of the Smithsonian complex…and from then on sent a Caspari card of the piece to each other periodically during our “courtship” before Mary Beth moved here from near Philadelphia. We eventually bought a print which now hangs over our bed.
http://www.imaginarymuseum.net/2014/01/hokusai.html
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I don’t recall ever seeing that Hokusai. I also think I didn’t know what a Caspari card is nor that there’s an Imaginary-Museum online. So much to learn about, so little time.
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I really like the first one. It is a great example of seeing a subject in different ways. I was immediately struck by how the falls take a back seat to the textures of the rock and moss. A touch of Alice in Wonderland w/o the mushroom! 🙂
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The first seems to appeal more. I often try to approach my subjects in this way ( in some places known as “shooting my way in”), but it isn’t often that more than one composition makes it into the blog.
Maybe I had slipped down the rabbit hole here. 🙂
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