My Favorite Creek

Black Creek gets its name from its tannin-stained waters. Tannins are compounds from decaying vegetation that leach into the water, making a transparent, stained, acidic water the color of a glass of iced tea. That water flows into the Ogeechee River and then on to the Atlantic Ocean.

 

With my camera on a tripod, I composed the shot and focused on a spot about a third of the way into the scene. I set the camera to take 5 exposures bracketed two stops each. I pressed the shutter with the camera on 10 second delay hoping to eliminate vibration of the camera during exposure. Back at home, I combined the exposures using the HDR software Photomatix Pro. I opened the result in Lightroom 4 where I used a few of the sliders to open up the shadows, turn down the highlights, and sharpen the image using the Scenic Sharpening Preset. I also added a vignette. Next, in Photoshop I removed a few fallen limbs that took away from the composition. I used the clone tool to paint over some really bright white reflections on the water in the foreground. And finally I applied the Orton effect.

 

 

Done