第八章?南國飛流盡開顏

Chapter 8 Huangguoshu Waterfall—A Natural Tourist Draw in Southwest China

1987年秋天，正值秋水豐盈，黃果樹瀑布像一條巨龍從綠蔭蔥蘢的絕壁奔騰而下，吞天化地的洪流騰起一片銀白的水幕，在斜照下形成一道美麗的彩虹；跌落深潭仍不息野性的水流越過巖嶂，匯成一道更加寬廣曲美的白簾，流入下一級碧潭···?我把相機(jī)機(jī)位放得很低以強(qiáng)調(diào)水勢，彩虹的柔美與飛瀑的壯烈共冶一爐，組成多維度時(shí)空交響，激起我內(nèi)心深處狂波巨瀾。

It was the autumn of 1987.?Water was overbrimming. Huangguoshu Waterfall poured down a lush green precipice like a huge dragon gulping the universe, splashing up a silvery-white water curtain and carving out a splendid rainbow against the setting sun. Having plunged into a pool, the unbridled torrents tumbled over layers of rocks, converged into a wider curtain, and flowed down to an emerald pool. To highlight the rushing currents, I lowered my camera so that the graceful rainbow and the grand waterfall blended harmoniously into a multidimensional symphony echoing with my inner passion.

說起瀑布, 位處廣西大新縣中越邊境的德天瀑布, 比起聞名于世的黃果樹瀑布, 卻毫不遜色。然而要拍好她，卻非易事。第一次見德天尊容，還是上世紀(jì)80年代在北京偶然見到刊登在《人民畫報(bào)》上她的—幅照片，驚為仙境！90年代移居南方，終于有機(jī)會—見芳顏。95年6月，值大雨數(shù)天后，瀑布徑流大小正巧（過大白茫茫一片；過小氛圍慘淡），參差錯落有致，游人如鯽。選好合適拍攝點(diǎn)后，便架機(jī)等候游人入畫場景。可等來等去，整整數(shù)小時(shí)過去，仍亂不忍睹，按不下快門。時(shí)值酷暑，溫高氣悶，衣衫濕透，然未敢離開半步... 終于功夫不負(fù)有心人，一組衣著光鮮，體態(tài)有儀的人群移動到畫面美妙處，待到她們唱合有形，相對穩(wěn)定的短暫機(jī)會，用二分之—秒的次慢速，終于按下快門。（#08,007圖) 如是動中有靜，靜中有動，動靜有序的圖景終于完成。德天瀑布事后又去過多次，然再無機(jī)會。特別10年后的2005年，《中國攝影》雜志到彼舉行風(fēng)光攝影研討會。人們發(fā)展旅游，到之吃住確乎安逸，然瀑布景觀卻今非昔比。徑流稀松, 卻人滿為患，河中游船比比... 結(jié)果大師高手雖眾, 卻無可奈何，英雄氣短! 翌日便移師明仕田原等地。（#08,005圖)

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然更有甚者，1986年夏，我冒雨在貴州安順龍宮洞瀑處用Mamiya RB67 中片幅相機(jī)匆匆拍過一幅6X7反轉(zhuǎn)片, （#08,009B圖P) 礙于當(dāng)時(shí)器材有限, 心有不甘。?12年后的1998年春，當(dāng)我信心滿滿，帶著頂尖攝影器材有備而來，殊不知到得現(xiàn)場一看，卻叫苦不迭！當(dāng)年洞口游人行走的頗為優(yōu)雅浪漫的石磴子變得七零八落，東倒西歪，竟然被近旁一座不倫不類石橋取而代之；?走進(jìn)洞口張望，原來美妙的洞中天竟被加高的水壩擠成了一條縫（據(jù)說是為了提高水位增加游船而為）... 惜哉，痛哉，此景永難再現(xiàn)！

Detian Waterfall in Daxin county, Guangxi province is a strong contender of the world-famous Huangguoshu Waterfall. Bordering China and Vietnam, this waterfall is hard to shoot well. My first encounter with Detian waterfall dates back to the 1980s. Chancing upon a photo of Detian in China Pictorial in Beijing, I was soon addicted to this wondrous waterfall. In the 1990s, I migrated south and saw the waterfall with my own eyes. After days of downpours in June 1995, the curtains, neither too brimmed, nor too bleak, cascaded in a well-arranged manner, attracting streams of tourists. Choosing the proper shooting spot, I set up the camera and waited for frame-in tourists. However, the scene proved disappointing and my shutter remained unclicked for several hours. It was a sweltering summer, and I was drenched in sweat. But I didn’t dare to move. Finally, my persistence paid off. A group of well-dressed people entered my lens decently and was photoed within half a second (#08,007). Sadly, such a mixture of dynamism and quiescence never recurred in my revisits. When Chinese Photography?held a landscape photography workshop at Detian Waterfall in 2005, attendees were disappointed at the spoiled scene despite comfortable room and board. The falls were skinny but overcrowded, and the pools were teeming with rafts. In the end, the masters bemoaned and switched to Mingshi countryside the next day (#08,005).

Worse still, back in the summer of 1986, I shot a 6X7?reversal film of Anshun Loong Palace Cae Waterfall in Guizhou province with a Mamiya RB67?in spite of heavy rain (#08,009B). Being poorly equipped, I felt dissatisfied and planned for a second try. However, when I brought a top-notch camera kit to the cave in the spring of 1998 with full confidence, the scene was nothing but an eyesore. The stepping stones at the cave entrance, once elegant and romantic, were scattered here and there and overshadowed by a nondescript stone bridge nearby. Inside the cave, the once intriguing thread of sky was squeezed into a slit because of raised water level to increase rafts, which would be irreversible forever. What a pity!?