MAIDEN OF THE FALLS Photo

Photographer’s Note

MAIDEN OF THE FALLS

In 1994 I gave lectures on the Royal Viking Queen, and again in 2002, on the Crystal Symphony, both cruises plying the magical waters of the Norwegian fjords. On both occasions the ships visited the mighty Sognefjord, Norway’s longest and deepest fjord, and both times, when the ship arrived at the small town of Flåm, I took the historic Flam Mountain Railway to Myrdal. This train ride is one of the most scenic excursions in the world — climbing to an elevation of over 900 m (3000 ft) in a distance of only 19 km (12 mile). Numberless tunnels dot the undulating, meandering trajectory of the train ride, which reaches its crescendo at the roaring waterfalls seen in the picture.

In the 2002 trip, I found that the local authorities had added a little extra drama. Periodically, the ‘Maiden of the Falls,’ a young woman draped in a red flowing robe, was seen to emerge from a hut on the rocky outcropping in the center, and saunter to the edge. In this, the first of two images in this series I am posting, the ‘maiden’ can be seen, her size providing the scale for the site. (She is about two-thirds of the way up from the bottom, and about one-third of the way from the right.) I must confess feeling trepidation and fear for the woman, standing on what must have been slippery and slimy rocks, and so precipitously close to such lethal white water.

PS Two discerning observers (ben4321 and untrained) pointed out the small red specks near the top of the falls. These would have been easy to correct, if I had seen them earlier. Thank you Ulf and Ben.

bakes888, rigoletto, Tezic, stego, emjleclercq, branley, asajernigan, THY has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

bakes888 (18207) 2006-12-15 4:35

Hi Bulent. These are surely one of the most impressive waterfalls I have seen. You have captured the power of the water well. Good composition and POV. Thanks for sharing.
Cheers, Paul.

UnTrained (0) 2006-12-15 5:07

Hi Bulent,
very impressive fall. I think a description for the maiden standing close to the ruin on the right side might make it easier to find her. (Or am I wrong?) Like Paul I must say, that the power from the water is just a part of your capture. It seems to be a result of your excellent POV. What are these small red spots close to the top of the fall? TFS and my best regards for you.
Ulf

maltese (21535) 2006-12-15 6:01

Hello Bulent,
Nous avons marché dans les memes traces. Ce trajet dans le Flamsbana et ces cascades resteront un grand souvenir de notre voyage! Elle est également dans ma galerie, mais sans la fée!!
Beau travail
Amicalement
Hervé

ben4321 (9795) 2006-12-15 6:45

It's a bit of a shame about the strange red spots at the top of the waterfall, and they could have been easily removed.
Apart from that though, this is great. Your composition is good, and the shutter speed was well chosen to emphasise the power of the water.
It could do with a bit of sharpening though.
Great shot, let down slightly by your PP work in my opinion.

Cheers,
Ben

rigoletto (26302) 2006-12-15 15:36

Merhaba Hocam,
The title resembles the "Madonna of the Rocks" by Leonardo. Your note is also very interesting and curious. The proportions are awesome and depicting the glory of nature. The lady with the ruins make this a ghasty photo, as is taken in the haunted lands of Scotland. Thanks for sharing.
Warm regards,
Deniz

Yar (795) 2006-12-15 16:25

a very dynamic and dramatic image
well captured, just, can hear the roar of the water!

thea0211 (1355) 2006-12-15 16:26

hi bulent,
this is a spectacular view - very strong image about the power and beauty of nature. like the cascading water a lot.
thanks for sharing,
t

Tezic (16927) 2006-12-15 23:49

Merhaba Bülent Bey,
Bakış noktanız ve dik kadraj tercihiniz fotoğrafı çok "heybetli" ve etkileyici yapmış... suyun sesini duyar gibiyim adeta..
Saygılar-Coşkun

Angshu (33645) 2006-12-18 5:00

Hello Professor
The image shows us in full, the power of nature & it's force. Fantastic is the flow of the water as it streams out, letting out a mist. Good idea to include a small bit of sky. The PP could have been better IMO to bring out the raw power more, but it's your compo. that I really like. Well done!
Regards from India
Angshu

stego (22352) 2006-12-18 20:11

Hello Bulent,
Perhaps it's far from the technical perfection, but everything else is great in this photo.
I can feel very inteseively all the wild energy of that fall and the small figure of the lady makes me imagine fantastic stories of mythical ancient times.
Congratulations.
TFS, Regards, Jose

karinegl (172) 2006-12-22 17:53

Hi Bulent,

Very nice also your pictures of these falls.
I advice you to go one day at Iguaçu in Bresil, the most impressive and beautiful falls I've ever seen, bit Victoria falls are not bad too...

Best wishes for this Greatings Seasons

Karine

emjleclercq (14292) 2006-12-31 17:43

I have seen the two red specs, not the maiden, but never mind, this waterfall remains beautifull. Perhaps a possible improvement in sharpness, but not for the beautifull foam effect of the water.

All the best,

Emmanuel

branley (3681) 2007-01-15 18:35

Hi Bulent,

now the maiden really does give this impressive fall scale. Sometimes the subject matter over rides the technical aspects of an image. It's an awesome shot and a superb demonstration once more of the power of mother earth. Well captured.

Regards

Stephen

pablominto (40712) 2007-01-29 1:43

Hello Bulent,
The light on the whitewater makes this a very attractiuve scenery!
Waterfall is well framed, and I like the diagonal movement...
And I notice the red maiden!
Greetings,
Pablo -

asajernigan (14132) 2007-02-08 22:10

Bulent,
I do remember this impressive waterfall. I was not able to get a photo as nice as this one because of the crowd of people in the way. You have captured the power of these falls very well. The lighting and colors are great with good sharpness.
TFS,
Asa

jrj (34779) 2007-03-14 5:25

There are not many places that remain unvisited for me in Norway. BUT I must admit Bulent that the train: "Flåmsbanen" is one of them (probably as I use trains very rare). However as you point out a most interesting place and for sure visited by lots of tourists, especially those coming in with the cruiseships to Flåm (when there I normally go by car (over or under the mountains) app. 2,5 hrs from my mountain cottage)
Good capture of the fall, still at large in mid June. Interesting with the girl (Huldra) there but seeing her more clear had been even better. Impressive waterfall well captured here.