#200 Calypso Cascades, a photo from Colorado, Ouest

Photographer's Note

#200 Calypso Cascades

Calypso Cascades
Wild Basin Area
Rocky Mountain National Park

When I saw image #200 approaching I came to a decision that this would be the place .. So when I had a day off I took the opportunity to walk up here and get another attempt at this place.

Luckily I arrived here before my bear encounter (see the note of my previous post) ...

Calypso Cascade is a mountainside of rushing water. The river breaks into a myriad of rushing channels traveling between the trees and boulders as they plummet down the mountainside and then reform lower down the mountain. A bridge crosses the first part of the cascade (where I am shooting form) .. then stops at a large boulder .. then a second bridge crosses the rest of the torrent. This is the one view up a channel of water that allows you to see the top of the mountain.

I have yet to figure out how to really present the place as a whole. At least that provides another reason to return. I always think about how such a powerful, loud, wet, cluttered place can be so peaceful ..

I chose this place for this image because it (like TE) is one of my favorite retreats from the real world .. and it is a place that I could not have photographed like this 200 images ago ... and hopefully a place I will see with even a better eye in another 100 posts .. a thanks to you all.

John

tigra, evanrizo, hgupta, japiey, lcarolan, john_c, Angelillo, scobert, happypoppeye, Emiel_Skyfreak, bakes888, Cretense, plimrn, riclopes, feather, gunbud, woladorsky trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

Clementi (52514) 2007-07-14 17:04

Ciao John,
ottima composizione , molto bella la scia dell' acqua, ottima definizione con dei bei colori .
bel lavoro
buon week end
Giorgio

tigra (2968) 2007-07-14 18:04

Hello John
My congratulations with this anniversary:))
I have only 50 posts here right now..
Excellent capture, the water is incredible!!!
How did you manage to make this effect of a "cloud"&
Katia

ls7902 (7380) 2007-07-14 19:13

Hi John,
Perfect show shutter & exposure on the water. Nice POV that make the eyes move towards the top of the stream. Good DOF. Have a good Sunday. Regards. Latiff.

evanrizo (462) 2007-07-14 22:10

Hi John, the perspective you have here, the point you used to shot it gives a superb depth.
I like very much the effect you give to the flowing wtaer.
The light is very good, the green color very nice.
Cheers
Evan
I will be back...

danyy (0) 2007-07-14 23:28

Bonjour John,
Happy 200th.
Il est vrai que l'endroit est bien choisi et la contre plongée nosu met en bas de ce ruisseau qui doit bien chanter en dévalant cette pente.
La photo montre que tu n'avais pas les meilleures conditions de lumières.
Best regards.
Daniel.

Aline_N (3175) 2007-07-14 23:35

Smooth, balanced, deep. A glaucus luminosity. We can feel the cool humidity rising. Excellent !

hattori (0) 2007-07-14 23:49

dear john,
excellent picture, fantastic landscape, very nice details
congratulations for 200
best wishes from turkey
nezih

hgupta (1323) 2007-07-15 0:29

Hi John,

Very very nice picture. I like the watre flowing like foam...colors are strong and vrey fresh.
loverly picture

Hemant

japiey (10163) 2007-07-15 1:14

Hi John.

CONGRATS, FOR THE 100th IMAGE..

An incredible capture.. I always watch deep, how you manage to do this wonderfull frame balancing and exposure. Reading your words for KATIA, that gives me another lesson too.

Wishes for another great day, dear JOHN.

jean paul

lcarolan (930) 2007-07-15 1:26

Hi John,
Nice long exposure showing the movement in the water and good DOF with sharp detail of the surrounding area. With a 15 second exposure, it must have been quite dark. Congratulations on your 200th post!! Larry

john_c (24666) 2007-07-15 8:53

Hi John,
Congrats on your 200th post. It is worthy of the occasion, with a magnificent view up the stream. I like the smooth silky effect from your times exposure. There is also good depth, with a fine view up the stream into the heart of the forest. Well captured.
John

Angelillo (9374) 2007-07-15 14:47

Hi John,

I like this composition climbing down, showing us the strong incline. It's possible almost to feel the water against the stones. I like the trees, it's color, and the deep perspective! Great shot! Congratulations!

Regards,
Angel.

scobert (5355) 2007-07-15 20:59

Hello John,
Excellent work on this rugged cascades. This hike looks treacherous. One mishap and a hiker could easily have have a broken leg. Your usual outstanding composition and this photo has exceptional depth to it. The cascades in the background must be 1/8 of a mile in the distance. The velvety smooth water is surreal looking. 200 images. That is a lot of work, as I am finding out. Congratulations!
Stan

happypoppeye (4819) 2007-07-16 2:41

Great 200th John. Great note to match.

Good composition with the log coming in from the lower right, the stream coming down from the background giving the photo some good depth, the bit of sky up top (although a bit blown out) and of course the smooth cascades you capturd with the 15 sec. exposure. I also like the logs that have fallen over the stream throughout the photo. They really, for me, lend a sense of wildness to the photo - if a log falls here on the east coast, it's there for about an hour before you see 10 guys with chainsaws and orange cones everywhere. Great Oly color also.

Great work. Keep em comin.
Congrats on 200.
John

- PS: you can change your intro picture and text but don't ever take that three line saying off of it. Honestly. It truly is a great saying. I have a feeling for you even more than me...

...and I haven't forgotten about the Botanical Garden shot. I'm just letting in mule around in my mind before I critique it (don't worry, nothing bad).

John

[2] +

vincz (19113) 2007-07-16 3:08

Congratulations on this milestone. Great effect with the water and very interesting dark tones. It definitely convey a great atmosphere.

berek (50518) 2007-07-16 12:18

Hi John,
congratulations for your 200th. very good perspective and colors. greetings.
Burak

Emiel_Skyfreak (3002) 2007-07-16 15:45

HI John,

I think you've made the right decision for number 200. Congrats with it. This photo is you..I think, many many times I've seen all kinds of waterfalls from you..You've mastered them. Great effect here on the water, and it's present many times in the frame..from the top all the way down. Accompanied by good colours, fine sharpness and details, with nice POV & compo. I can only say, well done and up to 250!
As last part, I would indeed say you've improved in taking these and 'other kinds' of photo's since..well, since I've encountered you here on this nice retreat from the real world ;)

I'll hope to spend more time onTE again soon..hope to finish my training period tomorrow..that'll give some spare time.

Well, regards my friend!
Emiel.

barni (15751) 2007-07-17 0:03

Hello John
Congratulation for the 200th picture.
Le travail à 15s donne un bel effet sur l'eau. Et tu as réussi à ne pas surexposé le reste.
Have a nice day
Christophe

bakes888 (18499) 2007-07-17 1:17

Hi John. Excellent photo for your 200th. The “smoky” water effect works well with this shot and conveys that peaceful mood quite well. Great composition with the cascade leading the eye naturally up and into the scene. nice work and I’ll look forward to your next 200 ;).
Cheers, Paul.

Cretense (68709) 2007-07-17 4:04

Hi John!

Happy anniversary, my dear friend! I hope that you' ll keep sharing many more hundreds of photos from the great American landscapes. In this one you leave no space for critisism. Everything (composition, vertical framing and light managment) is perfect, but of course is the long exposure effect on the water that makes the diference. Congratulations!

Hercules

plimrn (21344) 2007-07-17 21:53

Hi John,
Congratulations on your 200th. I think TE is more an escape into a larger world than an escape from reality; well perhaps one's own reality. I do like the way you've framed this length of stream. Great new profile photo too. HLJ, Pat

Graal (103040) 2007-07-17 23:54

Hi John,
congratulations on your 200th post! Very nice view, good POV and composition, great wild nature. I like it. Well done photo.
Gr., Aleksander

riclopes (35577) 2007-07-19 0:03

Olá John, my belated congratulations for your 200th post. This seems a gorgeous place and I remember well your experiences with low shutter speed on these waters. The result here is great. Excellent perspective with a nice graphism from all the branches, fallen trunks and stones. I wonder how hard was to stabilize the tripod in this spot... ;-)
All the best,
ricardo

feather (51130) 2007-07-19 3:01

I haven't visited your gallery for a while and see I could have missed your #200. A belated congratulations! I love moving water taken with a slow shutter and you have done a fantastic job here. Everything except the water is pin-sharp. You also chose your POV carfully so you could use the passage of the water as your lead-in.
I read your note about the bear. What a scary but incredible experience.
Good choice of celebratory photo.
Kath

ollie59 (796) 2007-07-19 7:55

hi john ,
congrats on the 200, good pic for it too.i just love the greens and the silky flow of water and i can see why this place is special in your heart
hope you ,Andrew and rachael are well
take care
ollie

gunbud (34066) 2007-07-19 20:03

Hi John,
Congratulation on your 200th post and what a beauty it is. I love your POV that looks up the roaring brook as it gets narrorer and much higher. All this is beautifully framed by the evergreens as the slow exposure bring a softly tumbling flow down the mountainside.
Regards, Tom

anesugur (18789) 2007-07-20 13:14

Hi John,
Very well captured shot of a great perspective and good sense of depth.
Thanks and best wishes. Uğur

ak47apache (217) 2007-07-23 12:06

this is my favorite from your water shoots, i realy love it!
well done, keep shooting like this :)

all the best, dany

darrasin (2860) 2007-07-23 22:28

Hello John,

Very well done, you are a master of the silky water effect. The highlights of the water contrast beautifully with the various greens of the scene. And the vertical format works really well here giving great depth to the scene.

Well done!
Doug

fserajian (2299) 2007-08-10 10:06

Hi John,

Magic! What can I say, so much happening in your shot that I do not know where to look first, I can almost see water flowing down with an excellent lighting control. Well done and TFS

Regards,

Fara

woladorsky (806) 2007-09-20 0:39

Well John,

one extraordinary and beautyful picture, a great effect as well with the water. I think you must enjoy very much your trips with your son. As a student in Sweden I was workig half time at week end camps with disabled youths, among them many autists, I enjoyed the long walks on forests like the one you are depicting in your pictures as the kids were very relaxed.

regards

Rolando

Bruno_Silva (144) 2007-12-08 14:40

Perfect exposure, the smooth effect is brilliant. Top notch.
Hugs,
Bruno

Photo Information

Copyright: John McLaird (jmcl) (14535)
Genre: Lieux
Medium: Couleur
Date Taken: 2007-07-11
Categories: Nature
Camera: Olympus E 300, B&W 58mm 1.8 ND
Exposition: f/18.0, 15 secondes
Details: Tripod: Yes
Map: view
Versions: version originale, Workshop
Thème(s): Rivers & Streams, Wild Basin, Rocky Mountain National Park [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2007-07-14 16:43