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River and branch #1

Fast flowing river with dead branch, Schladming, Austria

The story behind this image

Walk along the side of any fast flowing stream or river and I'll bet that before too long you'll come across some interesting flotsam or jetsam to photograph.

I took this particular photo while hiking with my wife Liz along the fantastic 'Wilde Wasser' trail during our holiday in Austria last summer, and it's one of my favourites from the day.

I'm always on the lookout for scenes and compositions that go beyond just a record 'postcard' type shot, nice though they are, and important for preserving memories and showing to friends, and this particular image is one of those photos with a deeper meaning.

It's a photo based on contrasts. At the bottom there's the fast flowing river, ever restless, never still, and captured at a shutter speed designed to emphasise this swift motion. Above the river there's the contrast of the timeless, immoveable rock, worn smooth yes, but enduring nonetheless. To me this speaks of the contrast between time and eternity, time being the ever flowing stream while eternity endures forever. (It would, wouldn't it!)

Image data


Filename - river branch 01.jpg

Camera - Canon 5D

Lens - 24-105mm zoom @ 67mm

Exposure - 0.8sec @ f22, ISO50

Location - Schladming, Austria

This image - 800x640px JPEG

Conversion - ACR & PS-CS2

Comments - Slow shutter speed used to blur water.