Uvas Canyon

[PrevailingConditions]

This is from a nice little park in the hills south of San Jose. It's a beautiful little spot, but it seems like very few people in the south bay even know about it.

As for the shots, what works? What doesn't? What should I do differently the next time I'm here?

Thanks in advance for the comments.

PC

#1


#2


You can also see a couple more in this flickr set.

[LeeIs]

I don't think there's anything you coulda done better. In my opinion you nailed both shots. Just beautifully breathtaking. The exposures are right now, love how the longer exposures give the water that running feeling. you've captured this area very well. well done!

[icicle]

I agree, they look great.

[cm_mtb]

I can't offer any suggestions to change a thing. Both shots are amazing. The colors, composition, and exposure are great. I also like the soft background in the first one; it adds to the feeling of serenity. Nice work!

[PrevailingConditions]

Thanks for the nice comments. I guess I'll throw in the issues that I have.

On the first, it feels like the top of the little cascade is too centered vertically and tends to split the shot in two, but I wanted to catch the water falling and the trees behind so I compromised.

On the second, I feel like there's decent foreground interest along with some decent background interest, but they're not tied as well as I would have liked.

Right, wrong?

Thanks again for commenting.

PC

[skunkty14]

Wonderful colors and I really like the motion of the water. #2 comes in slightly ahead for me, the darkness of the upper right for #1 isn't for me if I had to nit pick, but I think both are great work. Well done.

[readingr]

My only very minor critique is the bottom one there is a twig on the bottom left which could be cloned out to make it even better.

Other than that nothing to say other than love them.

Roger R.

[Frog]

The exposure is excellent!

I do not think the top of the falls is too centered. There is a natural draw for the eyes from top left to lower right or vice-versa and that line leads to the falls in either way. Centered subjects aren't always against "The Rules"
I will say that I wish there was more vertically, especially at the bottom but I realize that whatever is there might not be as attractive or possible to shoot. It appears you did shoot vertically and cropped, which makes me wonder what's there.

The second also has beautiful exposure and is a lovely shot. It does seem rather cramped, though, at both top and bottom. What lens? Perhaps you couldn't get any wider here.

[herg]

i love both of these shots. i can't think of anything to change. (maybe just cloning out the twig, like readingr mentioned)

i like the blueish shine on the rocks at the bottom of the first shot. i wish we had small creeks like this where i live. it's mostly big, not-visually-appealing rivers around here.

[dl4449]

You are right about people not knowing this park I have been there with my granddaughter she calls it the secret park.

For me I like #1 the best I think or maybe #2
I will try to describe as best as I can. In #1 my eyes want to follow the stream up and around and through the trees and up the canyon.
# 2 is just pleasant to look it with the colors
Nice capture
Troy

[PrevailingConditions]

skunkty14 - Thank you for taking the time to look and comment.

Roger - thanks for pointing out the twig, I hadn't really noticed it before.

Frog - The first was shot with a Canon 40D and a Canon 10-22 lens with a polarizer. The second was at 28mm. Here's another with a slight wider view although I don't like the lighting as well, and one from a little different perspective.

herg - Thank you for commenting as well. I'm glad that you like the shot.

Troy - I have to admit that I've been in the bay area for a long time and this was my first visit as well. A coworker had a picture from here which prompted me to take the trip.

PC

[Phil Tompson]

All of those are beautiful. Great work.

[GB1]

PC,

It's hard to find anything bad about these shots, both content-wise and in the post processing and presentation area. The exposure is outstanding: how did you get it that consistent throughout, without blowing out or losing detail in the shadows? I read that you used a polarizer but it seems like something else was done to smooth it out -- perhaps a graduated ND?

I think the best one is the 2nd pic in the first post. I really like how the bottom rocks create their own little area, with the waterfall just enough in the frame to supplement it. The amt of blur is perfect. However, the 2nd post's pix seem to have just a tad better exposure (brighter).

Also .. I'm wondering why they call it Grape canyon? I doubt you'd see many grapes out there.

G

ps - If I could critique anything about them, I might say that there's obviously a lot of objects in the photos. It doesn't clutter them though; it's more like a reality shot versus a fantasy one that isolates some particular object, like a young tree, in a clearing. You do see those type scenes in the woods, but this scene is much more prevalent.

[Lang]

Certainly the images are beautiful and a lot of effort has gone into them, one problem I have with this type of presentation is the the eye does not see flowing water in this ,how to describe it?, a sort of dreamy milky flow, it seems to detract from the obvious nature of the setting. The first image grabbed my attention, the others seemed a little not quiet correct.. That's my very amateur opinion..
I do like the first, very much so.

[PrevailingConditions]

Phil - Thanks for commenting. I'm glad you like the shot.

GB - The consistent exposure is due to a combination of overcast skies and the foliage of the trees. The sun came out later and it was much harder to work with. I have a graduated ND filter, but didn't use it here. I have no idea why they named it Uvas (grape in spanish), except that perhaps at the mouth of the canyon it might be more suitable for growing, but that's just a guess. I'm glad you like the shots.

Lang - Thanks for commenting. I know that the smooth water is fairly popular with a lot of people, but it's not everyone's cup of tea. I have other shots where I used a fast shutter to freeze the water, but here I wanted to go slow.

PC

[Len J]

Awesome, awesome shots. The DOF in the first really helps set the mood.

Thank you for sharing these.

What was your camera settings and focus point on the first?

Len