Plitvice Lakes by Alpha Whiskey Photography

Anyone with an aversion to fall colours should probably look away now. Somewhere I had wanted to visit for some time, the famous Plitvice Lakes in Croatia were awash with vibrant autumnal hues reflected in crystal clear emerald waters. My friend and fellow photographer, Parrish, and myself both had the idea to plan and execute this excursion and it proceeded pretty much flawlessly.

The Unesco site is comprised of a series of upper lakes connected to some lower lakes through a succession of streams and waterfalls, no less than 90 all told.

I'm not sure what it is about waterfalls that draw me to them so much. I have seen some of the largest and most beautiful falls that this planet has to offer in places such as South America, Iceland, Canada and even Wales (still my favourite). Perhaps its the sheer power of the flow or the sound of the rush, or perhaps it's the simple beauty of seeing nature pour water freely over an edge.

Many of the waterfalls in Plitvice are, of course, small, trickling affairs, while others have a more interesting aesthetic. The largest, known as The Big Slap, isn't really that large at all and is merely a trap for tourists wishing to capture it as yet another digital friend on their selfie sticks.

But the entire national park is a pleasure to roam for a couple of days, hiking through its woods or clapping ones boots on its many boardwalks. While overcast skies are probably better for accentuating seasonal colours and limiting blown highlights the glaring sun, solitary in a cloudless, blue sky, reached its fingers of light through the canopy above and touched the leaves with radiant glows of red, orange and yellow. Tanned and ochre leaves pirouetted down around us, denuding their host branches to leave a ceiling of bare, black dendritic webs.

Every corner turned would reveal a new waterfall or stream, the view often obscured by tall yellow reeds or wistful orange spots. As they gurgled into the waiting lakes lush highlights of crimson and gold would interrupt the green foliage at the banks and become twinned by the mirror of still water beneath. Our steps crunched along the caramel carpet of leaves under us, stitched together with patches of rose and amber.

Surprisingly, around water, we saw very little wildlife but for the abundant fish and ducks. Fearless coal tits and nuthatches would flutter around us hoping for a morsel and the island in the main lower lake hosted a few cormorants.

Branches and tree trunks often crowded our views of the waterfalls but in retrospect this added an authenticity to the unspoiled environment.

En route to Plitvice Parrish and I stopped at Rastoke, a picturesque little town also populated by a series of waterfalls flowing into a long canyon. It proved a terrific appetiser for the main course and I shall post some images from there later.

We finished our trip in Zagreb, a small but bustling city of trams and colourful cobbled streets. The Croatian people were generally helpful and friendly and we enjoyed driving through the country's vivid autumnal landscape. I thank Parrish for his excellent company and knowledge, and that's two polarising filters I now owe him. Please don't lend me anything else.

There's still more to come from this excursion but for now enjoy the images below. All shot with Olympus and mainly the 12-40mm F/2.8.

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Comments

StephenNov 7, 2017 06:10 AM

Beautiful as usual

charlotteNov 7, 2017 06:45 AM

wonderful waterways & wonderful walkways!

ParrishNov 7, 2017 02:31 PM

Super series my friend, it was certainly a wonderful place to visit and your images have done it proud. Thank you for the kind words..... and yes you are banned from touching polarisers anywhere in the world lol, only kidding you know it's the least I could offer.

Grand job done here mate.....until next time

Gunjan PuriNov 8, 2017 08:30 PM

Fantastic. Which month did u travel ?

marc sitkinNov 14, 2017 02:19 PM

Beautiful photographs. I'm glad you had a great trip. The results were certainly splendid. Enjoyed looking at them.. Thanks for sharing.

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