Boardwalk, Plitvice National Park, Croatia, 2005 photo

Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Six: Vantage Point makes the difference > Boardwalk, Plitvice National Park, Croatia, 2005

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07-SEP-2005

Boardwalk, Plitvice National Park, Croatia, 2005

Sixteen blue and green lakes, stacked one underneath another, are linked by foaming cascades and pounding waterfalls at Plitvice, a Unesco World Heritage site in the Istria region of Croatia. Visitors can get a close-up view from boardwalks that carry them across marshes and along the lakeshores. The lakes flow into each other through a deep valley, with forested hills on all sides. As I walked along one of the hills, I could see one of the lakes emptying into another at the very spot where a boardwalk provided a classic “s” curve from one corner to another. All I needed to do was to wait for a few people to walk through my curve, and this pair soon obliged. From this high vantage point, the unique character of Plitvice becomes evident -- an ever-changing fluid landscape, created by water, gravity, limestone, and time.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20
1/500s f/5.6 at 15.1mm iso400 hide exif

Full EXIF Info
Date/Time	07-Sep-2005 12:33:58
Make	Panasonic
Model	DMC-FZ20
Flash Used	No
Focal Length	15.1 mm
Exposure Time	1/500 sec
Aperture	f/5.6
ISO Equivalent	400
Exposure Bias
White Balance	(10)
Metering Mode	multi spot (3)
JPEG Quality	(6)
Exposure Program	program (2)
Focus Distance

other sizes: small medium large original auto

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Phil Douglis		02-Aug-2008 19:22
Thanks, Bartosz -- I was drawn to the great variety of greens in this image, as well as the scale incongruity offered by the tiny people and the graceful "s" curve of the boardwalk. In the end, everything here works because of my high vantage point.

Bartosz Kotulski		02-Aug-2008 10:13
Thanks Phil for sharing so nice images. This one is really wonderful. Love this simply composition with really strong color. All the best Bartosz

Phil Douglis		28-Sep-2007 19:32
An eagle view! I like that phrase, Sandi. Others would call this a "birds-eye" perspective. In any event, it is the high vantage point that makes the work as expression. Thank you.

Sandi Whitteker		28-Sep-2007 17:46
This is a gorgeous eagle view of this beautiful walkway and lake. Very pretty shot and wonderful perspective. V

Phil Douglis		14-Aug-2007 19:42
Thanks, legendz, for coming to this image. I am delighted that you like the way I've organized it. It was this high vantage point that made it possible.

Guest		14-Aug-2007 17:47
Great composition - lovely shot

Phil Douglis		31-Aug-2006 17:06
Keep applying what you learn here, Dan, to your own vision. I look forward to seeing the results in your galleries.

Guest		31-Aug-2006 09:31
Thank you Phil for your response. Yes Romania is a beautiful country with a lot of places to visit. I would like to see this beautiful places through your artistic eyes. For sure with what I've learned from your work in the future I will take better pictures. You can see some of the Romania places in my gallery: http://www.pbase.com/aureliandan/romania

Phil Douglis		30-Aug-2006 20:21
Thanks, Dan, for your comment. The composition was a direct result of my vantage point. I could have never worked with these elements without this high camera position. Thanks also for visiting my cyberbook. I will respond to all of your comments and questions. I enjoyed this visit to Croatia very much, and hope someday to also focus my cameras on Romania. You have a beautiful country.

Guest		30-Aug-2006 19:24
great composition, great use of lines and shapes. Phil, your cyber-book is now on my favorites bookmarks :) great work !

Phil Douglis		21-Aug-2006 21:38
Without those people, there would be no picture for me here, Chris. They give the scene scale, adding a touch of incongruity in the process. And they provide meaning -- this long boardwalk and indeed, the entire park, exists to benefit people like these. The angle is more than just interesting -- it makes the image tell its story. It is the only way to really show how the park itself is structured -- with one lake emptying its waters into the next, and so on.

Chris Sofopoulos		21-Aug-2006 08:01
I love this wide angle image and most of all this curve of the road. Of course the composition becomes stronger with the people that passes by. I learnt that from you. Really very interesting image!

Phil Douglis		13-Jul-2006 05:00
No, Sun Han, people can't swim here. This is a wildlife preserve, and humans must respect the privacy of those creatures who live in these waters.

Guest		11-Jul-2006 14:46
fascinating green, i wonder if people are allowed to swim there

Phil Douglis		06-May-2006 00:35
Thanks, Shirley, for your suggestion regarding more branches. I was fortunate to have been able to include any branches -- there just were not that many to bring in to my image. And I am not about to clone them, either. I do not feel that the existing branch is in any way a distraction. As you say, it layers the image and implies depth. It is not an accidental intrusion -- it is deliberate. I don't see how this small branch could possibly detract from the power of this image, if , at the same time, it is helping to imply depth.

Shirley Wang		05-May-2006 12:54
Like this picture a lot because of the beautiful form and color. Both the branch and people are important to me since this vantage point has made the scene flat. A couple more of small branches may be even more effective to make it less like a distraction.

Phil Douglis		10-Mar-2006 21:31
Thanks, Xin, for the question. Without the people, this image is a study in form. With the people on that boardwalk, it comes to life, as their tiny figures give a sense of scale incongruity to the entire area. They can't see what we can see -- the smallness of man compared to the vastness of nature. The people do not disrupt the serenade of nature here, Xin. They give nature its meaning.

Sheena Xin Liu		10-Mar-2006 15:18
The scenery is heavenly beautiful. I love that boardwalk, meandering throw the streams as if it will keep idling without end. Now I start to think of the meaning for the placement of two people there. Will it enliven the picture or disrupt the serenade of the nature? Phil, Could you please share with me some of your insights? Thank you!

Phil Douglis		09-Oct-2005 16:50
Thanks, Kal. I agree that to some, the branch might seem intrusive. Yet I kept it in as a mini-layer to suggest the height from which we are looking down at the scene. The leaves are each larger than the people, and tell us how far away they are from us. Ana described its function beautifully in her comment. Thanks for grasping what I was trying to accomplish here, Kal. I tried to express the essence of a very special place here, and I'm glad you see it.

Kal Khogali		09-Oct-2005 12:37
An image that feels almost like a painting in it's perfection. The compostion, colour and perspective turn this in to a story about the place. If I had one problem with it, it would be that branch at right which detracts. But ultimately as you once said to me, a half baked bread is better than no bread, when the opportunity can be lost or won.

Phil Douglis		03-Oct-2005 16:26
Feng Shui, indeed! To me, the positioning of the couple was pure instinct. I waited for them to reach the middle of the grassy area at lower left, and shot. That's where they looked best, and where they felt best. I am glad this image makes you want to be there. In a sense that is why I made the image. I wanted to take you there, Dandan, to share what I was seeing with you. Is that not what travel photography should be all about?

Guest		03-Oct-2005 08:43
Phil, What a beautiful image here! I love how you position the “S” shape of the boardwalk diagonally; the flow of waterfalls creating a motion on the opposite direction. The boardwalk also divided the image into two totally different spaces contracting with different textures and energies. The couple walking through this perfect “FengShui” location, definite adds positive energy through the all image. It just perfect! It makes me just want to be there.

Phil Douglis		02-Oct-2005 20:55
Glad you feel the lushness of this place, Ana, from this image. I included the small branch on purpose. It gives us a point of reference and adds to the sense of depth.

Ana Carloto O'Shea		02-Oct-2005 06:43
This is quite a beautiful place... All that green... the different plants and the water... that by flowing in such green environment also painted itself green! I love the way you've captured that boardwalk and let it serpent itself from one edge to the other of the photo. No mistakes here has we follow the two people in there as the cross it. We know the way here :) It's great that you've included the people here has they really help us see the scale of things. You must have been stanting at a really high point and if it wasn't for little branch on the bottom right corner of the image, I would have though that you had taken this photo while flying...

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