Catoctin Mountains Steam Photo

Photographer’s Note

This is my entry to the overly done segment of long-exposure stream shots on TrekEarth. This is a trout stream in the Catoctin Mountains in Maryland. This is in an area of mountains west of Frederick called the Frederick Watershed. It’s well-kept secret from the locals and you can hike, mountain bike, off-road, or even take your horse out. The reason I attempted this shot was because I saw Wes Wang's shot of a Yosemite Stream and decided I had to try it. Sure there's no comparison but I still like it.

If you look carefully on the left side you can make out a road cut paralleling the stream. Several years back on my mountain bike I hit 56mph (90km/hr) on that gravel road. That was windy!

Hand-held shot: 1/2.5 second

weswang, lukkul, Mishe, MarekP, jhm, nwoehnl, Tue, ChrisJ, supereira, Emile, Jeppe has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

eev99 (1198) 2005-07-05 20:07

Love your shot.. What makes it so special is that you are intimate with that place. You have rendered that feeling very well

lukkul (510) 2005-07-05 20:19

Stephen,
Good introduction notes and picture. I have a delay in your post like the water fall have also delay in the path. Interesting and nice angle of view things. But not things, because is a great picture and composition-. You did a great nature moment with fine shot.

Thanks for your work and nature sharing!
Luis

john_c (24635) 2005-07-05 22:45

Good evening Stephen. I trust you have that wild stage of mountain biking out of your system. A very successful stream shot. It is certainly not redundant or trite; each of these well rendered scenes are a joy and possess their own unique persona. These little rapids are as dramatic in their own way as a tall waterfall, especially from this great POV. I like the framing here too, as the stream appears snugly nestled in a small verdant valley. The ferns in the right foreground and the fallen tree help balance and enhance the scene. Well done.
John

PJE (19357) 2005-07-05 23:51

Very nicely done. Personally I think Wes overdid his time exposure too much..but by just a tad..because I like him and he never says anything bad about others photos.
What I really like is the bottom half of this scene. Namely how the water flows off the rocks so softly. I would crop a little and focus more on the water. Nice shot though.

quantabeh (5203) 2005-07-06 0:07

Hi Steve,
nice work, excellent framing, with excellent exposure. I see a very interesting composition, especially, I like the fallen tree in the background.
Nice work!

Behrang

CliffW (2310) 2005-07-06 1:14

2.5 second handheld? Wow, you are steady! But it came out crystal clear and the nice white motion that I think you were after. Reminds me that I need get back out to the woods more.

Mishe (3513) 2005-07-06 4:50

Hi Steve!
Is it a Pelister?:)
Very beautiful place.Excellent job.
Best Regards,
Mishe.

huynt (5077) 2005-07-06 4:59

Hi Stephen
Wonderful milky and clear water. Very nice shot. Well composition. I like this landscape. Thanks. Huy

jemaflor (38911) 2005-07-06 6:01

Very nice effect Stephen,
Also good framing with lovely water in a large foreground, refreshing.

MarekP (4744) 2005-07-06 7:51

Hi Stephen,
Perfect exposure resulting in this great shot. The stream is captured exactly as it should be. Perfect sharpness and very naturally looking colours. Well done!

Thanks,
Marek

jhm (81817) 2005-07-06 8:23

Hi Stephen,
Superb picture specially the small waterfall, the chosen angle is wonderful, great work here!
My compliments,
John.

sergecross (3438) 2005-07-06 10:40

Stephen, nice picture, great movement of the water. I like the stones and the plants around the corners. Well Done!
Sergio

weswang (18223) 2005-07-06 10:41

Hi Mr. Steve, This is an excellent shot. I do think you have done a better job than mine with a slower speed and the combination of the milky and clear water. You have well captured the dynamics of the cascade waterfalls, the strange formation of the rocks, the depth of the forest and the nice contrast of the different colors. I really enjoy this picture. Well done and thank you for sharing.

nwoehnl (118) 2005-07-06 14:23

Hi Steve. The half-a-sec speed (or rather 1/2.5) you chose gave you just about the amount of softness - even dynamism - in the cascades that I still enjoy to watch in photos of this type. Other than that, waterfall photos with really long exposure times usually bore me to tears. What is also nice here is the gentle curve of the stream which gives a bit of depth to the view. The natural colors and the way in which you were able to use the light is very nice, too.

Rockyboy (20580) 2005-07-06 16:24

A town with my nearly first name (spelling in french is Frédéric) You did a very nice picture and I like the effect of the slow speed in the water. Very well done and not easy as this is an hand-held shot!!

Tue (25608) 2005-07-06 17:25

Hi Stephen,
Wow, you captured the stream here really well! I like the surrounding nature as well and the POV is good too, very well done!
Groetjes,
Lars

Steft (5962) 2005-07-06 21:13

Wow, the water looks amazing here, one can almost hear it and see it streaming on the photo. I always find it a bit hard to take photos in the woods, but your photo shows that it also is possible to take beautiful photos in there.

ChrisJ (69618) 2005-07-07 3:48

Hi Stephen

Superb use of blur to convey movement in the water. The diffuse lighting allows maximum shadow detail, & the diagonal axis of the stream, enhances the composition. Good work!

supereira (9576) 2005-07-07 5:47

I like the composition and point of view.Good colors,light,textures and sharpness.I like the effect in th e water.I like it.Good job!

cessy (13647) 2005-07-07 7:36

wonderful water stream
seems you must get wet to take this shot :)

robiuk (10763) 2005-07-07 18:12

Hi Stephen,
Wes's photo is beautiful but yours is beautiful as well, even though completely different.
There's much more natural light in here, thus more colours in it - to be honest, I would rather choose this one for my walk than the one at Yosemite!
Robi

Emile (19811) 2005-07-07 19:30

Hi Stephen.
This is an impressive picture.Very nicely how the water runs and form this blurred foam in the foreground.
Very beautiful wild place, captured in an excellent way..
Well done.

Jeppe (18623) 2005-07-08 1:58

Oh Stephen - good you survived that trip on your bike - a fine mode you greated by that soft running water, nice place indeed thanks for sharing the secret.

Kenny10pin (19301) 2005-07-09 9:23

Very good exposure time here, I like the flow of the water and also the nature itself, well done

mumek (17464) 2005-07-10 11:25

Very well captured a beautiful forest scenery.
Nice stream, good details and very natural colours.Good shot Stephen! Thanks for the note
ziggy

nbournas (3223) 2005-07-11 15:05

Amazing that you took this shot hand-held. You are also crazy going over 50 mph there!!!!

Galmeida (12559) 2005-07-11 18:31

Hi Stephen,
You are very good in nature capture like also my previous critiques in this area. Excelent enquadrement, great colors, contrast and vision. The water fall is spendid and a very well composed picture in this area.

Congratulations and very well seen and composed.
Good work.
Fernando

danielswalsh (13297) 2005-07-19 21:57

Great shot Stephen;

That is one thing I do miss about North America, seems everywhere you go- you can find these meandering streams through the forests. Maybe it has to do with the fact that there aren't many hills here in Singapore- let alone mountains! Hahaha

Great control over your exposure in this shot, coupled with a good choice in composition makes for a sure winner.

Bravo-
Dan

rabdelnoor (2973) 2005-07-28 19:59

Hi Stephen,
Your shot is just great. I liked much the smooth effect by the long exposure. Everything is so sharp and the colours are very nice too.
Very well done.
Ricardo