Manitoba waterfall

[earthmanbuck]

These are from a recent camping trip in Whiteshell park, Manitoba—I was trying out a neutral density filter for the first time, foolishly without a tripod. To kill the blur a little (and to give a little more 'movement') I converted them to B&W.

Compositionally, which one do you think makes for a better picture? All other comments and critiques are appreciated too.

 

[terri]

I'll give the composition to the second one, though I'm not fond of the blown clouds.

In the first one, I really like the gentle curve of the rocks on the right side of the frame - very nice, even though a little cramped on that side. The main issue for me in the first one is that it has such a layered look - the top third of the shot is the treeline, the middle are the rocks and falls, and the bottom is the water. It's all pretty, and I really like that curve I mentioned, but the three layers to my eye need to be broken up somehow.

The second one has a stronger composition as the background trees aren't cut off, and the foreground water is lovely. Again, the clouds are blown, and the cool curve of the rocks disappears from this vantage point.

Just my two cents. Sure looks like it was an amazing area to camp in and photograph!

 

[earthmanbuck]

I'll give the composition to the second one, though I'm not fond of the blown clouds.

In the first one, I really like the gentle curve of the rocks on the right side of the frame - very nice, even though a little cramped on that side. The main issue for me in the first one is that it has such a layered look - the top third of the shot is the treeline, the middle are the rocks and falls, and the bottom is the water. It's all pretty, and I really like that curve I mentioned, but the three layers to my eye need to be broken up somehow.

The second one has a stronger composition as the background trees aren't cut off, and the foreground water is lovely. Again, the clouds are blown, and the cool curve of the rocks disappears from this vantage point.

Just my two cents. Sure looks like it was an amazing area to camp in and photograph!

Great points! I'll have to keep an eye on layering in the future. Thanks!