St. Louis River rapids from the swayback bridge in Jay Cooke State Park MN
This is my second choice for ‘best of class’ in the landscape
category. I love how the water flows. The rocks are tack sharp and their
crisp texture complements the bleakness of the sky. The warmth of the
forest promises some shelter from the raging river and the storm. It is
the post processing and presentation that make this picture so striking.
In Lightroom I created the HDR and then played all my games in image
enhancement: crop; sky enhancements; trees/center brightness, clarity,
some contrast; sharpen the rocks and this time the trees too; soften the
water and clouds; and clone out imperfections.
I printed this on 16” x 24” polished aluminum. On metal there is less
ink in the lighter areas. More light is reflected off these areas
making the image “shine”. As you move around and the light source moves
the water dances and flows. You can’t see this on a computer display
but you should see it in person. I get tingles when I look at it.
(Okay, I hear you, get a life Dick.)