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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Forty: Expressing the force and beauty of moisture in motion > Bridalveil Fall, Yosemite National Park, California, 2008
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13-MAY-2008

Bridalveil Fall, Yosemite National Park, California, 2008

I made this image, hand held, from the Bridalveil parking lot, using my 420mm telephoto lens. Using spot metering, I underexposed the details in the water so as not to wash out the highlights. The underexposure makes the surrounding cliffs and forest darker and more mysterious than they appeared to our eyes. I wanted the image to go beyond describing the appearance of one of the most famous waterfalls in the world. Instead, I wanted to express the essence of Bridalveil’s energy, beauty, and mystery.

Leica V-Lux 1
1/250s f/4.0 at 26.9mm iso100 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Phil Douglis26-May-2008 22:10
Thanks, Dave, for articulating the role of abstraction in this image. As you know, much of photographic expression is based on showing less in order to say more. By showing only part of the fall, I ask my viewers to activate their imaginations to envision the rest of it.
Dave Wyman26-May-2008 21:57
Phil, I agree with your unstated approach to composition, not just with your choice of exposure. To have included all of the fall might have created nothing more than a post card photograph. An added sense of mystery comes, I think, from I assume your conscious decision, not to include the top of the fall.
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