Tortoise-shell Water

This mountain creek rolled and boiled where the bubbles cleared after a small waterfall. The upwelling currents interfered geometrically, like sections of a colourful tortoise's shell, making the water's surface flex and bend like a muscle.

The water moved more slowly than I expected, seeming thick and sluggish in the heat of the summer. Leaning out over it with a close-up lens, I let the shapes compose themselves in the frame, quickly releasing the shutter when I sensed the moment was right. The randomness was very satisfying: I could have made thousands of exposures of this small scene without making any two the same.

I like this photograph. The composition is naturally very candid and uncontrolled, but the graduated colours and stacked patterns convey a sense of athletic, dreamlike movement.