Working a Scene

In landscape photography a common trap is not thoroughly "working a scene".  Too often we capture the obvious photograph of a particular scene and move on, never taking the time to see if there is a different, not so obvious way to capture it.  This has been a hard habit for me to break, as patience is not one of my limited virtues.  It is still something of which I need to constantly remind myself.

I took this photograph of Salmon River Falls just last week.  As the trail to the bottom of the gorge was not yet open I was very limited in how I was able to photograph the falls.  This was the only vantage point that offered an unobstructed view.  While this is a nice photograph I don't feel there is anything particularly special about it.  It is essentially a straightforward waterfall scene, albeit well composed and technically sound. 

In the second picture I decided to break out my 70-200mm telephoto lens (the "big daddy", as I call it) and see if there was a different, more artistic way to shoot the falls.  I experimented with focusing on many different sections of the falls, seeing which one was the most visually compelling.  I eventually settled on the photo seen below.  Is it better than the more straightforward shot?  No doubt there are many that would prefer the former over the latter.  Even I am still trying to decide how I feel about the alternate shot.  But perhaps that is what makes it more special.  It invites contemplation and repeated viewings.  And isn't that what art is all about?