Elakala Falls; Time In Motion

Long exposures fascinate me because they allow us to see what is right in front of our faces in a way that we simply can’t with our eyes alone. The images made with a long exposure present, in one frame, all that has occurred during the period of time the shutter was open. And our brains take it in and view the image as if all in the frame occurred simultaneously (because that is how we normally see) causing a sense of amazement - it’s there but yet it isn’t there. At least that’s my interpretation.

Elakala Falls © Howard Grill

When I visited Elakala Falls on my trip to Blackwater Falls State Park in West Virginia, I could see bits of white foam on the water moving around in a circle, trapped in an eddy caused by the shore and some large rocks. I wondered if the moving bits of foam would make an interesting pattern in a long exposure. After a few tries, I could see on the back of my camera that the answer to that question was a resounding yes!

I wanted to make the circular pattern that the long exposure had revealed the main subject of the photograph, so I used a wide angle lens and moved in very close to the eddy. I made several different compositions, but this was one of my favorites.

And of course, how can one talk about the effects of time without offering this up:

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