A Moment Forever Caught in Time

[Octane]

So, yeah...

The interplay between light, shade and diffusion aids in providing a painterly feel to this scene.

Once again, I made this image at Stirling Falls, Milford Sound in Fiordland, New Zealand.

A RAW blend processed for luminance in moss, exposure of rocks, falls, and lake.

As usual, slightly higher resolution available here (http://users.tpg.com.au/octane2/amfcit.html).

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
1/100s f/5.6 at 17.0mm iso400

I might add that it was an absolute joy working on this image. Inspired by Mauritz Von Oswald's downtempo minimalist sounds.

Leave a comment if you like what you see, or critique the image, etc.

Thanks for looking.

H

[Jen]

:eyepop: wow H that looks so pretty, something like you would see on Pandora :lol: Nice shot cheers :thumbsup:

[Nightskystargaz]

H,

:thumbsup:, on that beautiful pic. :),

:thanx:,

Tom

[Bassnut]

Thats very nice H, the high contrast effect made the water flow dramatic.

[troypiggo]

Now that is one beautifully processed image. Kind of agree with Jen - Pandora? :) So sharp, but does not appear overdone in any way. Love the moss. Overall effect is magical. Very impressive. Even things like the radial splash as the falls hit the sound surface add to it. You must be happy with this result.

[Liz]

Wow, thats beautiful H - water is very pretty indeed :thumbsup:

[lacad01]

Beautiful shot, another Middle Earth feel to it. Would definitely love to visit NZ one day :)

[bloodhound31]

You.....are the master! This is your best yet mate!

Baz

[allan gould]

Beautiful shot H - you certainly have a good eye.

[DavidU]

Super good one there H.

[Lumen Miner]

WoW!! Simply stunning!
You nailed the processing.

The illumination / saturation is exactly how, I pictured your previous image.

I agree with Barry, I believe this is one of my top 3 favourites in your works.
I would really like to see your previous SF image with this processing, I understand though that it is not necessary possible and my come out different on the full falls.

Lovely work H, I know how good you are, but you never seem not to amaze me.

I could go on and on, about the individual elements in this that I find amazing, yet will leave it as, this is near perfection (perfection being un-attainable).

Well done mate!

[kinetic]

H,

As Troy said,

Magical!

Steve

[spacezebra]

Hi H

This is absolutely beautiful! Great capture.

Cheers Petra d.

[M54]

Wow! I love it!

[Inmykombi]

Nice work again "H".

You seem to be always out roaming and hunting for the next great image.

Can you still remember where your home is ? :lol:

Keep 'em coming mate, they are a credit to your appetite for showing us the beauty around us, that we need to stop and look at more often.

[Analog6]

Beautiful image. I didn't get to Milford Sound last time I went over but going for a month in may so it's on the plan!

[DeanoNZL]

Special shot H.
Can you see the outline of a face half way down the waterfall?
In the bright plume of water.

[Kevnool]

Awesome again H.... just wondering how you will improve on this grand shot.

Cheers Kev.

[duncan]

I can just see it now! A whole book full of your photo's.

Magical work!!!!

Cheers:thumbsup:

[Octane]

Jen,

Thank you. I'm glad it reminds you of Pandora. As I've mentioned previously, one of my personal aims is to transport the viewer to the location. You don't need to know where the place is, as long as something switches in your head and says, "I wish I was there", my job's done.



Tom,

Glad you liked it.



Fred,

Thanks, matey. As I may have mentioned before, I'm a big fan of low contrast images, but, in this image, it wouldn't have worked any other way, so I have selectively added a slight amount of contrast to the water. It only had an opacity of 10%.



Troy,

Cheers, mate. Appreciate the term "sound surface". I had heard of the term before but forgot it!



Liz,

Thanks!

At first I thought I did something wrong with my processing as the base of the falls seems to be a bit brighter than the rest of the water. What's actually going on here is that the water is so clear you can see through it and the rock below.



H

[Octane]

Adam,

Cheers! As I say to everyone, go to New Zealand whenever you get the chance. You will want to move there it is so beautiful. My images don't do the place the justice they deserve.



Barry,

I agree with this being my best to date. Thanks, sir.



Allan,

Appreciate you looking and commenting. Thanks.



David,

Cheers!



Mitchell,

Cheers, bud.

When I have a little more time, I will revisit the other shot and will definitely tone it down. I think it's actually rather horrible after a few days. It was a different quality and intensity of light, but, I'll see what I can do.



H

[erick]

It's alright, I guess.















:jawdrop:

[Octane]

Steve,

Thank you!



Petra,

Appreciate it, thank you!



Molly,

Cheers!



Geoff,

Thanks, mate. I want to spend the rest of my life travelling and imaging. I think it would be quite nice to always have a place to come back to, if required. But, whilst I'm young (relatively) enough, I may as well make the most of my energy and drive.



Odille,

Thank you.

You will really like Milford Sound. I'd suggest doing Doubtful Sound, too, if you can. May will be the perfect weather for it. I'll be there during April.



H

[Octane]

Adrian,

Thanks! Faces are lot more visible in my other shot Of Ghost and Glass (http://users.tpg.com.au/octane2/ogag.html).



Kev,

Not sure, mate. We'll have to see!



Duncan,

Thank you. that would be a dream come true.



Eric,

Haha, thanks!



Thank you to everyone who looked and commented. I really appreciate the encouragement.

H

[StephenM]

Brilliant! Great stuff.

Cheers,
Stephen

[Steve_E]

Sharp, soft and dramatic, outstanding work.

[AlexN]

A joy to behold.. Beautifully captured and processed mate.. :)

[Octane]

Stephen, Steve and Alex,

Thank you kindly, gents.

I have made a 36x24" print of this on warmtone gloss and it looks incredible.

There were a few artifacts that showed up in print that weren't readily visible at lower resolution on screen, so, I'm just going to get it framed and give it to the folks as a gift. They'll never notice the artifacts (which I've since rectified).

H

[AlexN]

Have you got a rough estimate on the price of digital printing Humi? Ie - how much your new printer costs you to print out a 36x24 image?

I would be interested to know.. I could really use a good printer.. The Epson you have is probably a bit above my requirements though! :)

[Octane]

Alex,

Once I've worked it out I'll let you know.

I'm using some really nice, and somewhat dear, warmtone gloss paper which combined with the K3 inkset gives a 200 year archival rating.

At this point in time I'm strictly printing gloss; to do matte prints would mean I have to replace the black, magenta and cyan ink cartridges with the photo matte conversion kit, not to mention carrying stock. I have the kit, however, when swapping cartridges, it uses between 20-25% of the cartridge as it purges all 8 ink lines. To replace the empty ink cartridges will cost me around a thousand dollars at a time. So annoying.

I have a feeling it'll be somewhere between $50 and $70 a pop.

These are rough figures. As mentioned, I'll have to do the sums and work it all out.

H

[AlexN]

50 ~ 70 a pop is worth it when you're printing work like yours mate.. Some of these shots are truly priceless.

[RobF]

Agreed. Just stunning Humayun - showing us how its really done. Wow.

[Ric]

Just caught up with this thread H, I'm glad I did.

What a fantastic capture, you've done a great job with this one.

Cheers.

[rogerg]

Very nice shot H, one of my favorites of yours :thumbsup:

[Octane]

Rob, Ric and Roger (the 3 R's!),

Thank you kindly, gents, for your words of praise and compliments.

Cheers.

H