Niagara Falls at Night

Niagara Lights

At night, Niagara Falls are lit up by a set of powerful spotlights. These lights are located on the Canadian side of the river and illuminate both the Canadian Horseshoe Falls and the American Falls. The lights cycle through various colors throughout the evening.

To capture the colors, you need to use a long shutter speed which will also blur the water into the soft, cotton candy that you see in the photograph. A tripod is essential and a cable release very useful as any camera vibration could impact the final image. Post processing involved slight boosts to contrast via Lightroom's Tone Curve (levels and curves in Photoshop) plus increases in Clarity and Vibrancy.

The evening at the falls was a nice end to the vacation.

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Fireworks

Niagara Fireworks

Our last evening at Niagara Falls, we went back to the falls to watch the light show and the fireworks. The fireworks are launched from an old electrical power facility on the Canadian side that is built into the gorge. So, they are launched from below the area the spectators are gathered. The fireworks show wasn't very long, and there was no music piped in to accompany them, but they were still quite beautiful and fun to watch.

This was the first time that I had gotten the change to photograph fireworks. I had been setting up the camera to photograph the waterfalls when the fireworks started. So, I had to rush to turn the camera toward them, get them framed up and start capturing images. I set the camera into Bulb exposure mode and used my wired cable release to trigger the shutter. I would open the shutter with the cable release, count to about 10, and then close the shutter to end the exposure. I would then glance at the image on the LCD to see if I got the amount of light trails that I wanted and reduce or extended the shutter open time to compensate. Over all I'm quite happy with them for a first attempt. I just wish that the spotlight wasn't flaring around the left half of the frame. That just means I need to go back and try again ... right? ;-)

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Butterfly

Butterfly

This is the sort of photograph that I had envisioned getting at the Niagara Butterfly Conservatory. They can be hard to nail down though as they are quite fast. Even the really large butterflies flitted around faster than you can track them with a camera. Still it is fun to try.

This photograph was taken with my 70-300mm VR lens and a 20mm Kenko macro extension tube. The combination gave me a comfortable stand-off focus range so that I wouldn't scare the butterflies away while still getting good magnification on them. Focus was attained by using manual focus and leaning back & forth until the subject was sharp. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.

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Niagara Botantical Gardens

Perched on Light

After the Niagara White Water Walk, we spent an hour or two at the Niagara Butterfly Conservatory which is located at the Niagara Botanical Gardens. The conservatory is North America's largest indoor butterfly garden. Basically, it is tropical arboretum with a netting to keep the butterflies safe and inside.

More after the jump.

This is the reason why I was practicing with my macro extension tubes a few weeks ago. I wanted to have some idea of which one to use and how it would affect my camera/lens before I got there. I mounted the middle sized tube with my 70-300mm lens which allowed me to stand a fairly safe distance away from the butterflies. I think that I got a few nice shots but none that I had really hoped to capture.

The shot above is a butterfly perched on the netter that surrounds the conservatory. I overexposed it so that the netting would be hidden by the hightlights, thus making it look like the butterfly was standing on just the sunlight itself. Generally it worked, but the picture isn't as sharp as I would have hoped it would be. The butterfly's eyes are crisp really. Still, it was a beautiful place to visit and different from the roiling waters of the falls and the gorge.

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Girl and Niagara Rapids

Overlooking the Rapids

I am not much of a people photographer. Taking a stranger's photograph still feels to be a bit invasive to me. However, when I saw this little girl clinging to the fence looking out in to the churning Niagara River's Class 6 rapids, I knew it was a photograph I had to take. The contrast of her small size against the roiling waters was very compelling to me. It was taken at the last observation platform on the Niagara White Water Walk while we were sitting down for a brief rest.

Sometimes a photograph smacks you in the head until you realize that it is there.

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Niagara White Water Walk

Class 6 Rapids

After we had finished the Maid of the Mist ride and eaten lunch, we took the People Mover bus to the Niagara White Water Walk. The White Water Walk is a set of boardwalks and observation decks that allow you to view and get close to the Class 6 Rapids that are downstream from the Maid of the Mist pool and the Falls proper. Class 6 Rapids are the the highest classification of rapids and is generally considered unnavigable. Below these rapids you would encounter the Niagara Whirlpool which makes any attempt to travel down this portion of the river even more dangerous.

More after the jump.

To get down to the boardwalk, you will ride in a small elevator that was built into the cliff in the 1930s. Then you walk through a small tunnel through the cliff and exit onto an observation deck. A boardwalk from this deck follows the river for a comfortable walking distance. There are a couple more observation decks along the boardwalk that get you very close to the river itself.

The power of the rapids is quite evident as you watch it rush past you. The constantly undulating surface seems vicious if one was to fall in to it. Rocks and boulders can be seen fighting for their position against the relentless surge of water. The faces of the gorge that that tower over you serve as stark reminders that even the very stone can not resist the water's constant scouring. However, along the shorelines are small flowers and a lush forest that proclaim that live goes on even in the face of such violent turbulence.

It is a place of beautiful extremes. Nature's fury and it's nurturing in such close proximity. We enjoyed our time here. Plus, the light was nice for once as well.

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The Maid of the Mist

Approaching the Falls

We rode the Maid of the Mist while in Niagara Falls. There are several boats that leave on a staggered schedule. They pass by the American and Bridal Veil Falls. The highlight of the ride is a close approach to the the Canadian Horseshoe Falls. This is why you are supplied with a raincoat. Once you are at the base of the falls you will get soaked. Not wet, but soaked from head to toe. The roar of the water crashing into the pool is quite loud as well. The force of the air being displaced by the water is strong enough to push you around if you aren't steadied. While you can "experience" Niagara's fury this way, you can't really see much of the falls themselves. They are hidden by the mist into an almost whiteout condition. Still you do feel the falls all around you.

More after the jump.

After reading that, you might be wondering how I kept my camera dry. I used an Optech Rainsleeve to protect my camera while on the Maid of the Mists boat. Actually, I used it whenever I was near the falls or was concerned about rain. The Rainsleeves are not very expensive and you get two in a pack. They are not intended for long-term, heavy duty use. However, they are very portable and easy to use. Perfect for stuffing into a corner of a camera bag for those times where you find yourself in a wet environment. While they are meant to be used on a tripod, I did not have any trouble adjusting them to hand held use. They definitely protected my camera from the worse that Niagara could throw at my camera save an actual trip over the falls. Even in that extreme case, I would be more worried about the fall than getting wet.

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Canadian Horseshoe Falls

The Horseshoe Falls

Here is a view of the Canadian Horseshoe Falls. The photograph was taken from the top of the observation deck at the Maid of the Mist pavilion. You can see a couple of the Maid of the Mist boats below. From this observation deck you get a great view of both sets of falls.

Stay tuned for another photograph tomorrow.

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Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls

Our first full day at Niagara Falls was overcast and rainy. First we ate lunch at the Elements restaurant that overlooks the Horseshoe Falls. It was a nice view, but a bit obscured by the rain. Plus, the wind was blowing the mist from the falls right into the visitors' center and observation deck making it even more wet.

More after the jump.

Next we went on the Niagara Fury's exhibit/movie which was in the visitor's center. It starts with a short cartoon that teaches about the history of the falls. Then you go into a 360 degree cyclorama theater where you stand up, watch full motion video of the falls while the floor tips around and you get rained on and splashed in order to "experience" Niagara's "Fury". They do give you a disposable raincoat to keep you dry. Actually, you get a disposable rain coat for almost everything you do at the falls.

After Niagara's Fury, we went on the Journey Behind the Falls tour. This was pretty neat. There are a couple of tunnels bored into the rock behind the falls. Two tunnels have openings where you can see the water falling over the falls from behind. The main tunnel opens out onto a two-level observation area next to the Horseshoe Falls. You can see a close-up profile of the water cascading over the falls which I thought was interesting. You can also watch the Maid of the Mists boats as the approach the falls to get their passengers soaked by the falling water.

Although the tour and view was interesting, the cloudy skies were not very good for photography. Another issue I had was keeping the lens dry. The wind was blowing the mists from the falls right into us which made it difficult to keep water off the front of the lens. I did have a rain cover for the camera itself though which worked like a charm. The camera still works and is none the worse for the wear of getting so close to Niagara's Fury.

More photographs next week. Have a good weekend.

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Niagara Gorge

Niagara Gorge

We hiked down into the Niagara River Gorge one day. It is a few miles downstream from the falls, but the water is still quite rough. Not too far from this location is the Niagara River Whirlpool. It is just upstream and out of the frame near the upper right corner of the picture.

More after the jump.

This was one of the days that we had nice weather while out and about. The hike down into the Gorge was not that bad. We made sure to take the less steep and less slippery trails. We made it all of the way down to a lagoon on the river's edge. That lagoon must be a popular place as there were a couple of other families down there when we arrived.

The hike back up the Gorge's wall was more strenuous though. Going up is always harder than going down. For some reason our hikes usually end with the going-up part for the end after we have already spent so much energy. On the way up we took a few more breaks than on the way down. Plus, we each had water bottles to keep ourselves hydrated. Luckily, most of the climb was shaded by the forest on the Gorge's walls. Only the very last part was in the direct sun. Still, we all had a fun time and saw a part of the Niagara River a lot of tourists don't get to experience. That is a big plus when you have a local to guide your around.

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