Above Mohawk Falls

Mid-May is a great time of the year to visit Ricketts Glen State Park. The water is generally flowing strongly. The foliage is bright green and some flowering flora can be found.
 
In this image, I was trying to use the lines in the foreground rock to lead the viewer's eye into the frame and directly into the interesting exposed roots. The sharp contrast between the bright water and the roots and rocks also serves the same purpose with perhaps even stronger emphasis. I find the curved path of the water through the frame to be pleasing and the bright green foliage adds color. The white flowers do not have a strong presence in the frame, but they are a positive subtle addition nonetheless.
 
It is rare to find me photographing a waterfall scene without a circular polarizer filter in use. This filter cuts reflections and makes a huge difference in the color saturation in such photos. Unlike many other filters from the film era, the effects of this filter cannot be duplicated in Photoshop (except perhaps by a handful of the top experts). This filter also reduces the amount of light reaching the sensor, requiring a longer shutter speed to adequately expose the image at the same aperture setting. The resulting .5 second exposure creates a nice motion blur to the water, conveying its movement.