Behind a waterfall
Part of my growth in photography (such as it is) has been of late: I no longer take pictures of any old thing, but instead I look for a purpose. There can be many different reasons – “I was here” (as a snapshot), or “this was neat/beautiful.” But as I get older and experience more, I find myself letting many of the beautiful things slide. They’re no less beautiful, I’ve just seen them before. As such, they hold less interest for me.
The pool in Kauai had a waterfall. It was neat – but then again, it was a rather small waterfall. You could get inside, and that was interesting – but it was somewhat dirty, and not much to see. From the outside, it was just a wall of water. People were constantly moving in & out, and angles weren’t that interesting.
Because I was drawn to it, I knew I would make some photographs. My goals: to remind my daughter what it was like, and to imprint a memory on myself about why this pool was special relative to all others. So thus began the search for an intimate, unusual view. Something that would stand out in my mind.
Although the photograph associated with this post isn’t really that good on any artistic level, it meets my purpose for shooting in this case. It’s wet, as you are in the cave. The view is unusual – from behind the waterfall. You’re close to the water that is falling – intimately close, in fact. There are people nearby – a little girl taking photos of everything with her camera (that was cute!), her mother with her, people lounging in the sun in the distance, and the building where the magic man made magical drinks that relax mommy and daddy.
Although no award-winner, I consider it a success.
. The author (Freeman Patterson) devotes one of the first chapters to “thinking sideways,” and specifically uses the example of a spiderweb:
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