Veliki Prstavac

Gallery: LandscapePosted March 31, 20091,424 views36 comments

Hi everyone,
This title is Croatian and means something like "The big sprinkler" or "sprayer". I think the name is obvious from the image.
I had one week (week 13) off from work and spend three days in an Croatian National Park called "Plitvice Lakes"
Plitvica is the name of a town and a river in the region. The park is famous for its system of lakes on different levels, connected via waterfalls. The falls and lakes are formed from solidifying Calcium Carbonate. Barries over which the water falls grow some cm each year - the park changes it's look over some decades..

I try to post images in chronological order to portray the trip a bit.

This is one of the bigger waterfalls in the park. Luck made it happen that the afternoonlight was just right and lit up the spray from the waterfall. For the first hike (afternoon, afer arrival, scouting) I decided to leave the tripod and other lenses in the hotel - so this one (and some of the following) are all handheld at Iso 200.

At the third day, a blizzard covered everything under 30cm of fresh snow, so I will post some rather wintry images later.

Thanks for comments and opinions about this one!

Regards,
Dietrich

5D, 70-200mm@200, f/6.3, 1/400 sec
Raw-conversion. TK's masks, contrast, color-balance, saturation, Nik efex film (Fuji 160s) filter.

Comments

36 comments

Comment posted by Giovanni Allievi on March 31, 2009 at 2:23 AM

Hi Dietrich,
the shot looks promising and I look forward to see the entire serie.

Btw, I'll have to go to Plitvice N.P. sooner or later....

Giovanni.

Registered on March 26, 2008, 87 Posts, 379 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Sieren on March 31, 2009 at 2:27 AM

Power to the background here Dietrich. Of course the warm cool contrasts always work well together as shown here. Awesome capture!

Registered on January 2, 2008, 360 Posts, 5321 Comments

Comment posted by Kent Mearig on March 31, 2009 at 2:39 AM

Classic contrasting colors and splendid light steal the show in a photo that also seems to have each element in an agreeable location. Nice work.

Registered on September 4, 2006, 237 Posts, 4748 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Crabbe on March 31, 2009 at 3:37 AM

Great scene & wonderful elements and light. I'm not sold 100% on that one tree placed so strongly in the center. Perhaps there are is a crop option or three that might strengthen the overall scene.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 182 Posts, 1840 Comments

Comment posted by Benjamin Glatt on March 31, 2009 at 4:05 AM

Very cool lighting here Dietrich. The comp really takes advantage of the light provided and accentuates those trees. Nice work.

Registered on July 15, 2007, 171 Posts, 3566 Comments

Comment posted by Alex Mody on March 31, 2009 at 4:47 AM

This is just awesome. I love the juxtaposition of barren trees, backlit mist, and the huge waterfall. Wow.

Registered on December 25, 2007, 163 Posts, 1896 Comments

Comment posted by Prashant Khapane on March 31, 2009 at 5:36 AM

this is really nice didl. I'm looking forward to more.
whats the plan for easter?

Registered on November 1, 2003, 492 Posts, 4580 Comments

Comment posted by Verena & Georg Pop on March 31, 2009 at 6:21 AM

I like it.
you went beyond the obvious and created an interesting and moody image.
georg

Registered on July 5, 2006, 272 Posts, 2823 Comments

Comment posted by Larry Lynch on March 31, 2009 at 6:48 AM

Clearly among your best work. Terrific image.

Registered on September 16, 2006, 773 Posts, 9940 Comments

Comment posted by Andreas Resch on March 31, 2009 at 8:59 AM

I already eagerly waited for your images from Plitvica. Great initial shot with a nice mood contrast between foreground and background. The mist does a nice separation work and adds some depth as well. I'm curious about the upcoming images - especially the snow shots.

Registered on November 14, 2007, 322 Posts, 6101 Comments

Comment posted by Kevin Trinkner on March 31, 2009 at 9:06 AM

Nice contrasting colors didl, and the atmosphere is great. Good work.

Registered on June 30, 2008, 203 Posts, 2641 Comments

Comment posted by Rafal Goraczniak on March 31, 2009 at 9:30 AM

Dietrich,
I like the color contrast here, but have a problem to accept the tree in the central position.
I have seen a documentary movie about this place in Croatia and it is like paradise so I'm looking forward to see more of your work.
Rafal

Registered on October 31, 2008, 8 Posts, 39 Comments

Comment posted by Julian Barkway on March 31, 2009 at 10:08 AM

Well, I can hardly not like this one as it's somewhat similar in concept to my recent upload. Not too bothered by the central tree as it makes a nice pivot-point for the largely symmetrical composition. That wall of water in the BG is really amazing, however, and presents a nice backdrop for the trees. I do hope you took some great pictures of the tufa deposits, though...

Registered on January 18, 2007, 344 Posts, 1961 Comments

Comment posted by Martin Stankiewicz on March 31, 2009 at 10:34 AM

Nice shot Dietrich. I don't really mind that tree in the middle. The composition works for me. The lighting and the mist give it a pleasant mood.

Registered on October 26, 2008, 52 Posts, 462 Comments

Comment posted by Dorin Bofan on March 31, 2009 at 10:42 AM

Easily seen, the light is the key element here and you managed to capture it in such a unique way. Very original piece of work, Dietrich! Can't wait to see more!

Registered on April 30, 2007, 122 Posts, 3086 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Richins on March 31, 2009 at 11:16 AM

I've seen pictures of Plitvice, and I want to visit it some day. I like the halo effect the mist + light creates around the tree. But, I'd rather the tree was a little off center. I also might enjoy a wider view of the falls.

I look forward to the other shots of the area.

Registered on March 6, 2008, 113 Posts, 1009 Comments

Comment posted by Dietrich Gloger on March 31, 2009 at 11:30 AM

Thanks for the feedback!
About the center position: I agree this is not ideal in light of the rules. I have some alternatives, but overall this one seemed to have most impact.
About the comments regarding the park itself. If you have the chance: yes visit it, it's really worth it. The waterfalls are not massively huge, but highly interesting and many of them! The term paradise certainly comes to mind when seeing the area! Avoid the peak-season (April till Oktober). Unfortunately, this is obviously the most attractive time in terms of vegetation. As you can see from my shot, the trees are not in bloom yet. So I was happy about the fresh snow that came two days later. Late spring and Fall are for sure eye-candy there, but you have to share your experience with Bus-loads of tourists. Since many interesting spots are only accessible via narrow wooden foot-bridges tripod-photographers go crazy because the briges will always shake a bit...

Thanks again for the response to this one!

Registered on January 26, 2007, 360 Posts, 9876 Comments

Comment posted by Greg Cope on March 31, 2009 at 12:16 PM

Outstanding work. I just love the light, and that backdrop is just perfectly lit to not overpower the foreground. I for one like the centered comp, it keeps me on my toes and plays off the symmetry on both sides. In fact I would suggest a crop off both sides for a 4x5 dimension to even accentuate it more.

Registered on January 22, 2007, 212 Posts, 2737 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Baumbach on March 31, 2009 at 12:19 PM

I like the feeling that you created by the spray of water in the background.

- Dan.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 473 Posts, 7980 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on March 31, 2009 at 1:15 PM

The light and color contrasts are working very well. And I like that the mist is in the light, too.

Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments

Comment posted by Igor on March 31, 2009 at 1:16 PM

There's a celestial feel to this image. Almost like being in a cathedral. Yesterday, when I first looked at it I didn't like the row of white thistles on the bottom. But this morning I've grown to like them. What I was going to suggest was a composition of mostly mist and waterfall with a minimal of branches protruding from the bottom (i.e. cropping some of the bottom). But as I said those were yesterday's thoughts on the laptop and today things look really right on the big screen. In fact, their warmth contributes considerably to the composition.

It's very creative and transcends reality in an appealing way. The tree in the center, by the way, is perfect, in my opinion.

Registered on February 22, 2009, 12 Posts, 618 Comments

Comment posted by Marc Dilley on March 31, 2009 at 3:05 PM

This is a great capture, Dietrich. Regarding the central placement of the tree, consider cropping out the half-seen grouping on the left side.

Registered on November 21, 2007, 57 Posts, 1494 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on March 31, 2009 at 3:06 PM

Dietrich,

Wow, this is wonderfully unique. I can't help but feel the separation between the trees and background falls - is a composite! The mist help emphasize that separation; but also the colors a separated between the cool tones of the falls and the warm colors of the light, mist and trees. I thought about a crop of the tall tree on the left, but I think any crop would reduce the effect of the mist and so I wouldn't change anything.

This is an amazing image. I'm looking forward to the rest from your trip.

Lon

Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments

Comment posted by Markus Zaiser on March 31, 2009 at 5:03 PM

beautiful light Dietrich, and yes its a Topspot for landscape shots. Have seen this area only in summertime with tourists as you descripted it.

Registered on September 4, 2008, 31 Posts, 179 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on March 31, 2009 at 7:44 PM

I applaud the originality, but to be honest this one doesnt work for me. The thistles or whatever they are at bottom i find very distracting, and cropping is not an optiion since you need the fg. Im sure ill like your wintry images better!

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments

Comment posted by Larry Gloth on March 31, 2009 at 8:32 PM

Really well conceived and executed image. The background makes the shot for me. It has an abstract, almost psychadelic feel with the shapes of the water falling. The blue tones in the water go well behind that warm light up front. The light on the mist is awesome. If I could have anything, I'd like to see more than just the tops of the grasses or thistles at the bottom but it's a very strong image regardless.

Registered on August 29, 2007, 96 Posts, 1003 Comments

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on March 31, 2009 at 9:02 PM

I think this is spectacular Didl! I just love the light and the mist. Very powerful.

Registered on January 4, 2009, 1015 Posts, 13229 Comments

Comment posted by Chris Chamberlain on March 31, 2009 at 10:07 PM

This looks very realistic, and creatively unique. I like the concept, and you have done very well with it. Aside from the few little things popping up from the bottom( I kind of agree with Stan about those) I like this a lot.

Chris

Registered on March 13, 2007, 500 Posts, 8365 Comments

Comment posted by Gale Rainwater on March 31, 2009 at 11:58 PM

Dietrich I really like this one. The mist really adds to the image and makes the trees pop. I was wondering if you shot one with a slow shutter speed to blur the waterfall. I think this might work better and add to the look of the mist.

Registered on June 17, 2007, 1 Posts, 75 Comments

Comment posted by Michael E. Gordon on April 1, 2009 at 12:25 AM

It's beautiful, Dietrich. Fantastic mood. It's personal taste, but less DOF might make it even stronger. The falls compete with the trees for my attention.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 90 Posts, 2482 Comments

Comment posted by Steve France on April 1, 2009 at 10:35 AM

lovely image...like the cool /warm combination.. May have chosen a shallower dof to make the mist and tree more dominant, but then again...?

Registered on September 26, 2007, 89 Posts, 1477 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Gordon on April 1, 2009 at 2:03 PM

The back lighting works beautifully..

dobro, dobro..

Registered on May 31, 2007, 224 Posts, 1490 Comments

Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on April 6, 2009 at 7:06 PM

By far the best image I have seen from Plitvice. Magical atmosphere. Congrats on the EP.