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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Friday, July 31, 2009
Niagara Falls
Thursday, July 30, 2009
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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Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Blue Sky, Blue Water
Another place that we stopped to visit on our way to Niagara Falls was Presque Isle State Park in Erie, Pennsylvania. The day we visited was going to be the shortest day of travel up to Niagara and we had some time to do a bit of sightseeing before our friend got off of work. The night before we looked at our maps and noticed that Presque Isle was very close to our route. We looked it up on the internet as well and decided it would be a good place to spend the free hours in our schedule. Plus, it gave us the change to stretch our legs after being in the car for a day and half, and allowed us to show our son one of the Great Lakes up close.
More after the jump.
There are two lighthouses on Presque Isle. The one in the photograph is the Presque Isle North Pierhead Lighthouse. It sits out on a pier that seems to be a popular fishing spot due to all of the people fishing off of it during our visit. The lighthouse marks the entrance into Presque Isle Bay and the Erie Harbor. We were fortunate to have some nice light and interesting skies, although it was quite windy at the time.
There isn't really anything special with how I took or processed this photograph. It isn't an HDR or other digital magic. I simply used Lightroom 2 to boost the contrast, Vibrance and Clarity/sharpness an touch. I think I did use a polarizing filter to cut the reflections on the water and darken the sky. Another element that I liked was the sailboat. It contrasts well with the lighthouse and gives a bit more context to the lighthouse's function.
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Tuesday, July 28, 2009
I'm back
Hi folks. I'm back from vacation. We spent a week up in Niagara Falls, Ontario visiting with a friend. The weather was touch and go most of the time with either rain or gray skies. However, I did manage to shoot some 1400 photographs that I am sorting through. I have gotten through the first two days of the trip which is when we were on the road up to Ontario. During the drive up we did manage a little impromptu sightseeing. Those two days only added up to about 100 photos though, thus it did not take long to sort through them. I've got much more to go though.
More after the jump.
The image above is the New River Gorge Bridge in the mountains of West Virginia. It is the longest single arch span in the Western Hemisphere and is one of the tallest in the world. It stands the height of the Washington Monument plus two Statues of Liberty on top of it above the river to the bottom of the arch. Driving over the bridge, it just seems like any other concrete highway bridge. What caught our attention were the signs for a "Bridge Overlook". We wondered why there would be an overlook for a bridge and stopped to see what it was all about. I'm glad that we did. It is an impressive feat of engineering.
This image is a black and white conversion of an HDR (High Dynamic Range) image I made with Photomatix Pro. It was made from three photographs that were two stops apart. I am new to HDR in general and Photomatix specifically. I did not really like the original color version that I got from the processing. I did however like the increased tonal range and thought that it might work as a black and white image. One thing that has always confused me about the HDR wave that is happening now is why people don't try black and white conversions with the resulting images. A great many of the HDR images you see are of the stylized, almost fantastical saturated color variety. This is especially true of people just starting to learn how to make HDR images. It seems to me that the increased dynamic range and tones between the shadows and the highlights from HDR techniques would be advantageous for black and white images as well. You could push the tonal ranges farther without the overly saturated colors becoming a problem. Anyway, this is my first attempt at an HDR black and white conversion. Not the best, but I see some potential with it.
More images from the vacation to come.
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Thursday, July 23, 2009
Another Link
Another photographer's site that I subscribe to is Ree Drummond's Pioneer Woman Photography. Check it out. She has a lot of good stuff there.
And here is the rest of it.
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Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Link of the Day
I'm out on the road, so can't post longer posts or photographs. However, there are a few links that I would like to share. Today's link is to photographer Jim Richardson's website and blog. He is a National Geographic photographer so you know that his images are amazing. However, he also gives an insider's view of how National Geographic's stories and photography are put together for each issue. Give his site a visit. You won't be sorry.
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Thursday, July 16, 2009
To the moon!
Forty years ago today, the three astronauts of Apollo 11 blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center. Their destination was the Moon. Their mission to land on, walk on, collect samples from and finally to return safely home. NASA has a commemorative website that I recommend.
Keep shooting. Keep reaching. Keep dreaming.
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