ROCK WALL - VISUAL FLOW

Canon EOS REBEL XS, Promaster 19-35 lens @ 19mm, ISO 400, f/14, 1 sec.

 Back in January I posted some shots from a wonderful little spot on N. River Rd in the Cherokee National Forest (HIDDEN TREASURE).  The attraction to this place is the large rock wall blocking the river's path.  The river is forced around the wall on the opposing side from the road or pour through a single, faucet-like waterfall through the center of the wall. This single waterfall faucet is unique and beautiful and along with the large wall, sets this place apart.
  As most photographers do, I made a return visit to this spot this morning. When I visited this place back in the fall, it was after the fall color had faded away. This morning, the setting was gorgeous with lush green foliage.
  Another difference to today's visit is that I now have my waders and could travel to the other side of the river to photograph it. After maneuvering my way across the river I discovered that the water route around the rock wall was just as gorgeous as the faucet waterfall.  There was a beautiful stepladder cascade before the water wrapped around the wall. I will have a shot of that cascade in a separate post.
  Something that I don't necessarily do a very good job of in my images is creating visual flow. Accomplished nature photographers like Ian Plant talk and apply visual flow in their images all the time. This morning, visual flow was the first thing that popped into my mind.
  I framed this shot attempting to use the flowing water as it wraps around the rock wall to carry the viewer's eye from the foreground to the background, where the faucet waterfall is. I tried to accomplish the same effect with the top and bottom edges of the rock wall as they carry the eye to the waterfall as well.
  I merged two separate images in Photoshop Elements Photomerge Panorama to fit everything in one single image.  I had actually captured a great deal of the green foliage in the background before realizing that my white Ford Explorer was in the background as well and it forced me to crop the shot.
  More posts are coming from this spot and a few others from my jaunt into the forest this morning so be on the lookout.