Adams Falls, a photo from Colorado, West

Photographer's Note

Adams Falls,

East Inlet Trail
Rocky Mountain National Park
Grand Lake, Colorado.

The picturesque lake and village of Grand Lake serves as the Western Portal to the Rocky Mountain National Park .. The Western side of the Park is more remote and vast with fewer "big sites" than the East... but the remoteness is in many ways a feature in and of itself.

One of my favorite sites on the Western side is Adams falls. It is an easy destination .. only a third of a mile from the village of Grand Lake on the East Inlet trail (next to the boat ramp).

It is a beautiful fall that I can never figure out how quite to shoot .. it twists and turns down a narrow gorge in multiple stages. For the moment I have decided that this is my favorite view through a lens.

I should mention a bit about the reddish dead trees in the image .. the Colorado Rocky Mountains are under an epidemic scourge or Pine Beetle infestation. The beetles are laying waste to vast stretches of spruce and lodgepole pine throughout the state .. The area around Grand Lake has been hard hit .. there are mountains in this area totally covered with just red dead forest .. I have just recently noticed the beetles start to appear on the East side of the Continental Divide where I more frequently hike. The devastation caused by the beetles is very apparent on the map view .. look at all the red dead trees ..
This is a recent article on the issue:
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_4287134

ls7902, Atousa, dhurjati, snunney, Ertan, evanrizo, john_c, mpb001, gunbud, bakes888 has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

ls7902 (7380) 2007-07-28 21:29

Hi John,
Wonderful depth given by the "V" of the foreground & side view of the waterfall. Nice peek down the stream surrounded in beautiful vegetations & cliffs. Very pleasing. Have a beautiful Sunday. Regards. Latiff.

Atousa (7131) 2007-07-28 21:48

Salam John,
A beautiful natural shot as if no human being has been there before.. I like the foreground and the different color of pines .
And thanks for the useful note .
Regards,
Atousa

dhurjati (2709) 2007-07-28 22:54

Hi John,
I like the wild feel of this composition.It is very natural and wild, perfect mood of the forest.The little stream flowing adds to the depth and beauty of the composition.Amazing white colour of the stream really,is it a stream or ice!!!Nice composition John,
Greetings from India,
Dhurjati
:)Out of

marioana (2256) 2007-07-29 0:07

Hi John.
Very beautiful. Great slow shutter speed. Lovely location with great colour and composition. Well done.
Regards, Steve.

snunney (130967) 2007-07-29 2:06

Hello John,
A vertiginous pov over this rushing water. A very good well balanced composition with good contrast between trees and rocks. Superb light and clarity.

jurek1951 (42198) 2007-07-29 2:47

Hi John,
Great photo with excellent clarity and details.Very well done.

Ertan (2988) 2007-07-29 2:54

Hi John
Very beautiful landscape and nature.Good POV and the colors.Nice composition.Well done
Regards
Ertan

UnTrained (0) 2007-07-29 3:49

Hi John,
the moving water in the quite surrounding creates mood, well done. I like the view down the the gorge and I think I can hear the water and feel the drops.
Lieben Gruss, Ulf

evanrizo (462) 2007-07-29 5:28

Hi John.
I love such places.
It gives me a nice awe, the great depth and the 3D effect are very good.
The lightness is perfect with these very nice natural colors you give us a strong nice impress.
TFS
Evan

john_c (24666) 2007-07-29 6:43

Hi John,
The pine tree in the foreground nicely balances and sets off the overall image. All is in sharp relief throughout, with goo depth. We have the deadly pine beetle in B.C. as well, laying waste to our forests, as well as the spruce budworm. A well conceived and well executed shot. All the best.
John

jafadabret (56501) 2007-07-29 8:49

John, c'est un paysage superbe avec cette cascade qui se pr嶰ipite entre las rochers et les arbres. C'est dommage que le col廩pt鋨e fasse tant de d嶲漮s. L'arbre du premier plan est magnifique.
Jacques

mpb001 (4602) 2007-07-29 10:29

Hi John,

Very nice perspective here with the high point of view looking into the gorge. The pine in the foreground gives the shot depth. I noticed that you used a ND filter here. This helped to get that slow shutter speed no doubt. Great choice on using that here.

Mike

dip (21408) 2007-07-29 13:09

Hi John,
very beautiful shot,great pov and amazing colors!
Thanks for sharing.
Dimitris.

Emiel_Skyfreak (3002) 2007-07-29 14:05

Hi John,

Fine photo with strong POV, good natural colours. It's original to see the effect on the water, which you master so well..with your ND filter (I've gotten a few types too, recently..which I'm going to try..soon enough ;) )......anyway, what I was saying..it is original to see you apply that effect from this high POV. You've done it before, close at the water..but this is the first time I see it from high above and it works well. Good placement of the streaming falls in your frame.
Well done!

Much Regards,
I'll meet you on TE again after my holiday which is going to start in a few hours :-)

Emiel.

gunbud (34066) 2007-07-29 18:22

Hi John,
Great depth achieved with this POV with the lovely gorge coming to a stop in a beautiful v shape. I love the contrast between the grey rock and the green forrest. In the eastern mountains we can see dead pines from the effects of acid-rain.
Regards, Tom

bakes888 (18499) 2007-07-30 1:35

Hi John. Seems you better get out and take photos of your forest before the beetles decimate it completely. Nice capture. From the top is not the norm for photographing waterfalls but a very effective composition all the same. Good work and thanks for sharing.
Cheers, Paul.

captainsgirl (3450) 2007-07-30 8:13

Hello John,
Wow, so beautiful! I wish I could hear them but I can image what they sound like. Great POV looking down at the rushing water which so loooks like its rushing right on my screen! Great Shot! TFS
Donna:o)

paura (25802) 2007-07-30 17:53

John,
Excellent shot from this really beautiful place. Interesting watter efects. Excellent the f/22 option.

Paulo

Hellas (7123) 2007-11-15 6:43

Hello John,
it is a pity those trees to be under this epidemic scourge. May the scientists do the best for recovering their health. You captured very well and from a nice point the water's trail using the ND filter in 4 sec!
Bravo!
Best wishes,
Athanasios.

foozi (7101) 2008-07-25 19:35

Hello John,
what a lovely fall. Indeed such a great point of view. It is dangerous too?
Great shot of the frozen water by slow speed. Look very exciting with the natural framing of the forest trees.

Regards,
Foozi