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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Seven: Making time count > Deluge, Plitvice National Park, Croatia, 2005
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07-SEP-2005

Deluge, Plitvice National Park, Croatia, 2005

At first glance, this photograph reminds me of a rainstorm battering a mountain valley. But it’s not. This is the impact point of the Big Slap, the highest waterfall in Plitvice National Park. The Plitvica River plunges 250 feet over a cliff, and this is where it lands. The amount of water may vary by season, but it always makes a big splash when it strikes bottom. I was able to get fairly close to this point, needing only about 100mm of telephoto reach to fill my frame. I used a medium shutter speed of 1/250th of a second to extend each drop of water into a streak of flying liquid. The grasses bend under the weight of the deluge, while the huge rocks become miniature waterfalls in themselves. This image harnesses a moment in time expressing the fury and force of nature in all of its energy.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20
1/250s f/4.0 at 18.5mm iso80 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Phil Douglis25-Jul-2006 17:30
Not only does this image harness time to express its idea, Jenene -- it activates the senses as well. You are right -- if you listen, you hear the slap of the deluge as it slams into the rocks. The closer I come to the point of impact, the louder it seems to get.
JSWaters25-Jul-2006 14:39
Every aspect of this image allows me to hear the 'big slap' of water striking bottom. Your close vantage point certainly magnifies that sound, and gives us a glimpse into the power displayed by nature.
Jenene
Phil Douglis24-Jan-2006 05:03
An eloquent summary, Mia. You have invested in this image a form of "genesis" -- a primeval force exploding as water upon the rocks. A volcano of water, indeed. And yes, an abstract one at that.
Mia 18-Jan-2006 16:34
I take your last sentence as the main theme here – a moment in time expressing the fury and force of nature in all of its energy. I forget that it is a waterfall. This picture is so powerful and far reaching. Two vibrant images come to my mind. In the first one, you have stopped the time. It is like a “volcano of water” in all its fury, or cool fireworks – a celebration of light and water. Just replace water with fire and you will see what I mean. In the second picture that comes to my mind, I see something more far reaching, primitive. I imagine the beginnings of our planet with its first forms of vegetal life, the different shades of green and the sharp rocks. It is wild, unspoiled, constantly moving and boiling, sometimes violent. Yet, it is beautiful.
Beside all that, this picture remains abstract, allowing us to give it more interpretations. As some would say, this picture “keeps giving”. It is not in Croatia, it is in our imagination.
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