Waterfalls look really beautiful captured in long exposure—I won’t try to argue that point. A smooth wall of water cascading in an impossibly solid sheet towards the ground is a sight to behold.

But gosh darn it, does EVERY waterfall photo HAVE to be a long exposure? I say no, and I’m submitting this collection of non-long exposure waterfall photos from 500px as evidence.

Every one of them is spectacular, not just because of the composition or light, but also because of the beautiful texture of the cascading water frozen in an instant as it crashed towards its gravity-determined destination.

Not every waterfall photo has to be a long exposure… here are 30 photos that prove it:

Hidden Kingdom by Alister Benn on 500px.com

Awoken Despair by Alexandre Deschaumes on 500px.com

Victoria Falls # 2 by Aubrey Stoll on 500px.com

Beyond reality by Felix Röser on 500px.com

Wash your spirit clean by Baris Parildar on 500px.com

Breathing Dreams :: NY by Shannon Kalahan on 500px.com

Steamy Falls II by Mario Moreno on 500px.com

Enjoying the show by Sus Bogaerts on 500px.com

The light by Russo Francesco on 500px.com

Niagara Falls by Ed Norton on 500px.com

Iceland - Seljalandsfoss by Kristinn R. Kristinsson on 500px.com

High water by Sus Bogaerts on 500px.com

Mooney Falls Vertigo by Mark Gvazdinskas on 500px.com

Crazy Diamond by Howard Snyder on 500px.com

Iguazu Falls (Argentina - Brasil) by Domingo Leiva on 500px.com

Roadside waterfall by Anton Jankovoy on 500px.com

Seljalandsfoss by Sarah Martinet on 500px.com

Dreaming by Renee Robyn on 500px.com

Waterfalls... by Pawel Kucharski on 500px.com

Looking down by Tony Lee on 500px.com

Gasadalur by Graeme Kelly on 500px.com

[ seljalandsfoss ] by Deryk Baumgärtner on 500px.com

Falling Water by John Kitching on 500px.com

On top of the waterfall by Jørn Allan Pedersen on 500px.com

Skógafoss by Florent Criquet on 500px.com

... by Mojlo  on 500px.com

Taughannock Falls State Park by Jordan Confino on 500px.com

Time by Daniel Reuber on 500px.com

Brave Elephant by Marsel van Oosten on 500px.com

Conductor by G.Arnason Photopoetic on 500px.com

Do you have your own non-long exposure waterfall photo to share? Upload it to 500px and put the link in the comments down below! And if you want to see more of the gorgeous waterfall photography on 500px—long exposure and otherwise—click here.