The Four Paths

Perception

Place 5 people in a location and give each the same kind of camera. I’m willing to bet none of them produce the same image. The main reason being that we all see beauty differently. Past experiences send us down different paths that skew our perceptions. A sandy beach can mean relaxation to one person, while it can bring another to thoughts of a recent rainy vacation. Both would be looking at the same exact thing but only one would really want to highlight its beauty. A level of passion impacts all photos.  Without it; I’m not sure how anyone would ever produce a great image.

 

The Four Paths – Project River, Seymour, CT

I’ve mentioned an image as being a top 5 or top 3 in the past, but I’m always careful not to say it’s my favorite. Unless I am talking about this one that is. This image is my all time favorite and the reasons go way beyond just how it looks.

I do love how it looks, but there is much more to it than that for me. I always think of the four separate falls as the end result for each drop of water. Starting out as a rain drop somewhere up the river with the journey taking them together at times and abruptly separating them at others. All of those misdirections eventually leading them to their ultimate fate; a wild forceful ride quickly to the bottom; a smooth gentle fall that takes some time;  or a mixture of the two; smooth and quick or rough and slower.

There is one other aspect to this photo that really makes me smile when I look at it. The location.  You might be asking where is this place and why isn’t it a big tourist spot, but the reality of this image is much different than the reality of the scene it sits in.

Just above the falls lay two giant cement pillars and they are holding up a highway that spans across the entire view.  I almost didn’t stop when I saw it because I didn’t want to have to do all the editing work to remove the unattractive objects. The falls were just amazing to look at though so I pulled into the parking lot across the street and headed over.

I took a few wide angle shots before I decided that it wasn’t worth the editing effort.  That’s when I took the camera all the way to the ground and got as close to the water as possible without getting soaked. I tried a few different angles but this was easily my favorite. Editing was relatively simple with minor exposure and color adjustments.

The Four Paths

 

You can see the wide angle photo over on the Facebook page.

 

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