Matt-Bailey-Xposures

Stairway to Amicalola

Water comes down the stream from the Amicalola Falls in Dawsonville, Ga.

Water comes down the stream from the Amicalola Falls in Dawsonville, Ga.
Read less

DMC-GH4

Aperture f/14 ISO 100 Shutter 32/10 Focal Length 120/10

location

Amicalola, Georgia, US

upload_date

Nov, 2018

Views

103

Likes

+10

Awards

Action Award

Zenith Award

Elite

Absolute Masterpiece

Top Choice

Superb Composition

Outstanding Creativity

Peer Award

Top Ranks

Top 20 rank

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 30 rank

Top 20 rank

Top 20 rank week 2

Behind The Lens

Location

I took this photo at Amicalola Falls State Park in Georgia.

Time

I was visiting my home state of Georgia with my family a week or so after my Dad passed away. I am stationed in Germany so it took a while to get home. With all the stress of travel and having to deal with a lost loved one, my mom recommended we go visit Amicalola Falls one morning a few days before I had to return. We loaded up the truck and got there around lunch time. I took the photo on the way back down from the falls on 9 October 2018 around 1300.

Lighting

The sky was overcast that day with the sun peaking out every now and again. It made for some pretty even light that allowed me to edit the way I wanted it.

Equipment

This photo was shot on a Panasonic GH-4 with a Leica DG 12-60/F2.8-4.0 lens attached to a Vanguard tripod. I also used Tiffen Neutral Density and Circular Polarizing filters to slow the shutter and reduce reflection.

Inspiration

I am a huge fan of mountain streams and love the look of rapid moving water with a slow shutter speed. Even with the raging of the tumbling water I still find it peaceful. I can sit next to a waterfall or a fast moving river with rapids all day; there is just something about the loud roar that drowns out more than just other sounds. I want to share that feeling with everyone.

Editing

I did do post processing using a mix of Lightroom and Photoshop with the Lumenzia panel for luminosity masks. My normal workflow then was to do basic adjustments in Lightroom and send to Photoshop where I would manipulate the colors, boost some mid-tones and highlights while crushing some shadows for more contrast. I was also learning some new techniques in color-grading at that time and may have tried it on this image but I can't recall. And no landscape would be complete without a little Orton Effect, if you like that sort of thing.

In my camera bag

Since this shot was taken I have moved on to a new system. I now have a Fujifilm X-T3 as my body, I love the classic look and feel. My normal lenses are the FujiFilm XF 18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS, which I use most of the time, and a Fujifilm XF 55-200mm for when I need to reach out and touch something. One of my favorite things in my bag is my Lensbaby Sol 45 special effects lens. It creates some very neat effects for the more intimate landscapes.

Feedback

Waterfalls are awesome to shoot and can produce some beautiful, serene, images. To get that soft water flow you will need to get some good Neutral Density filters so you can slow the shutter speed down when it is bright out. I also recommend a good polarizer to remove the glare of light off the wet rocks and the surface of the water.

See more amazing photos, follow Matt-Bailey-Xposures

Matt-Bailey-Xposures

Matt-Bailey-Xposures

Stairway to Amicalola

Water comes down the stream from the Amicalola Falls in Dawsonville, Ga.

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow Matt-Bailey-Xposures

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes. Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes.
Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.