![\"nevada_falls\"](\"http:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/nevada_falls.jpg\" "\\"nevada_falls\\"")
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I often comment in my workshops that in composing an image you spend more effort on the edges than on the subject.\u00a0 Many photographers call it \u201cBorder Patrol.\u201d\u00a0 This was certainly the case with this photograph.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause of the terrain and the complexity of the forest I was limited to one nearly ideal spot for my set-up.\u00a0 I had the time to engage in a protracted ballet with the tripod \u2013 forward, sideways, backward and raising and lowering\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adams was looking for the proper arrangement of the branches of the trees relative to the waterfall and the cliff.\u00a0 He found it difficult to get the trees on the left just right.\u00a0 And the whole process was complicated by the fact that he was working in a rock-strewn area.\u00a0 So moving his tripod with his 8×10\u00a0view camera attached was an arduous process.\u00a0 And all the time he and his gear were being drenched by the spray.<\/p>\n
One of the things you can count on with Adams is the perfection of his compositions.\u00a0 However, he did point out one defect which he was unable to correct.\u00a0 Do you see it?\u00a0 It\u2019s near the center just to the right. There are two cedar trees in the middle ground and the rightmost tree is behind a branch of a foreground tree.\u00a0 Lowering the camera by a foot would have fixed it but it was already as low\u00a0 as it could go.<\/p>\n
My sense is that it took Adams hours to set up this shot.\u00a0 I think that is one of the lessons to be drawn from this \u2013 slow down.\u00a0 Adams had a clear idea of what he wanted \u2013 the rainbow in front of Nevada Falls at its fullest\u00a0 He knew enough of the physics of rainbows to anticipate where it would appear and worked out his composition in advance with this in mind.\u00a0 Also, he paid meticulous attention to minute details, moving his tripod (with great difficulty) to one by one resolve each of the problems, all but one.\u00a0 It takes time to first of all see the problems and then to work them out.\u00a0 The one remaining defect is instructive in that it clearly shows us the level of detail and perfection he demanded from his photographs.<\/p>\n But all of the problem solving that went into making this photograph (and composition was just one of the many problems he solved) would be meaningless if it did not do what Adams envisioned it would do \u2013 express the power of this magnificent waterfall in the strongest possible way.\u00a0 And the extraordinary talent and skill Adams brings to his photographs are subservient to this supreme goal \u2013 to share his vision and create a work of art that touches us all.<\/p>\n Join the conversation and leave a comment.\u00a0 We always enjoy hearing from you.\u00a0 Also feel free to Like this post and share it on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and more.\u00a0 There is a link for that at the top.<\/p>\n Join me on an upcoming workshop.\u00a0 Click here for more details.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
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