The Flow #3 [explored on 2021/01/07]

The Val Bregaglia is one of the most beautiful valleys in the Alps. Although it is on the Italian side of the Alpine watershed, the high valley has been in Switzerland since the Italian protestants wanted to be part of that country in mid-16th century, to avoid the Inquisition. However the low Val Bregaglia, often called Valchiavenna, lays in Italy and the river Mera (Maira in the Swiss part) flows into Lake Como. Acquafraggia* is a short and frequently steep stream flowing from one of the tributary valleys on the right orographical side of the Val Bregaglia. Almost at the end of its precipitous course, the Acquafraggia reaches the outlet of the hanging valley where it flows, forming a couple of twin most beautiful waterfalls. Even Leonardo da Vinci was impressed by these waterfalls, and they are mentioned in the Codex Atlanticus (a marvel I have been able to see and touch only once during my years working at the Biblioteca Ambrosiana). Curiously, I have been not able to find any statement about the height of the final waterfalls of the Acquafraggia: they always quote that Leonardo says they are about "400 braccia Milanesi" ( = Milanese unit of lenght, an arm's length; Leonardo was working in the Duchy of Milan between 1482 and 1499).

I have photographed the Acquafraggia waterfalls times upon times, but I have never found those shots even remotely satisfying. At last I have realised that trying to depict the twin waterfalls in their entirety has a reductive effect on their beauty and majesty. So I decided to capture a small series of details, mainly to be processed in bw. This photo is the third one, and it sported a beautiful rainbow at the feet of the waterfall, where the cold water fall in a rock basin before starting to flow in a more tranquil way towards the river Mera. A colourful trick of light I have given up by choosing to process in bw (to be honest, I tried to blend the rainbow into the bw image, but it didn't work). And an hint at the nature of beauty and reality...
Since I did not expect to engage myself in "serious" photography that day (I had my camera mainly for family & friends candid portraits), I was shooting handheld single RAWs.

Explored on 2021/01/07 n° 52

RAWs processed with Darktable. Further processing (including the monochrome via LAB channels decomposition) with The Gimp.

* This apparently silly name derives from the Latin phrase and toponym Aqua fracta, i.e. "precipitous water" or "fragmented water" (because of the many waterfalls it forms during its brief course covering a staggering 2,000 mt drop (more than 6,500 ft))

Taken in: Italy / Lombardy / Piuro / Borgonuovo (show map)

Taken on: August 15, 2020

Tags:

Italy

Italia

Chiavenna

Bregaglia

Acquafraggia

cascate

waterfalls

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rocks

weeds

Leonardo da Vinci

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aerosol

sunlight

sunbeams

Codex Atlanticus

Codice atlantico

Mera

river

stream

flow

Darktable

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LAB

monochrome

titanium

black & white

rocce

channels decomposition

Nikon

D5100

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Latin

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