Niagara Falls Photography

Niagara Falls at Golden Hour - Niagara Falls State Park, New York.

I will never get enough of photographing Niagara Falls!

But the problem with returning to a favourite place again and again is that after a while, all my pictures start to look the same. After enough repetition, there is a serious risk of losing inspiration and not taking new photos.

One way to overcome this is to find something new within the familiar.

• Take pictures at different times of day, like sunrise or sunset, instead of always midday.

• Photograph in different weather conditions, like storms or after a fresh snowfall.

• Use a macro lens and explore small parts of the world close up.

• Photograph the opposite of what you normally would—people instead of objects or cityscapes instead of landscapes.

Admittedly, this food photo has nothing to do with Niagara Falls. Except that picnics and campfires have always been part of my NF experience.

On my last trip to Niagara Falls, I tried several new things:

• I crossed the border to photograph the Niagara River from a different perspective.

• It was autumn, so the scenery was beautiful (I normally photograph in mid-summer).

• Typically, I concentrate on sunrise, but this time I did more midday photography because of the unique quality of autumn light and slight overcast conditions.

I focused on three things:

• Interesting pockets of light.

• Warm/cool tonal contrasts.

• Family life (normally, I focus on landscapes and cityscapes).

For Beautiful Photos, Focus on the Lighting

One of the easiest paths to beautiful photos is to get out into the world at golden hour - the hour of light around sunrise and sunset.

The formula is simple:

Look for things illuminated by soft golden light and photograph them.

Golden hour light is so aesthetically powerful that it almost becomes too easy to take beautiful photos at golden hour.

Once you get the hang of it, you can increase the challenge by looking for new elements such as:

• Silhouettes

• Edges of light

• Abstract scenes of light

As you grow with your craft, you can work on mastering photography at different times of day:

• Golden hour

• Harsh afternoon light

• Blue hour

• Deep night sky

The trip to Niagara Falls was my last attempt at Milky Way photography for the year.

Even though we were on the outskirts of town, the city lights were so bright I could only capture the brightest stars, missing out on the subtle beauty of the Milky Way.

The subtle beauty of the Milky Way is not visible. However, the interesting cloud cover adds a beautiful layer of texture.

A Quick Note on Camera Settings

What camera settings did you use to capture these images?

The simplest settings possible!

You already know that Auto Mode is not the way to go.

But losing your mind with Manual Mode isn't the way to go either.

If possible, choose one of the Scene Modes on your camera.

Most cameras come loaded with presets for various photography situations.

When you're ready, try a slightly more advanced setting.

When I pick up a Nikon, Sony, Pentax, or most other cameras, this is the setting I use most of the time.

When taking pictures with a Canon, this is the setting I use.

This setting allows me to focus on taking pictures without being overly concerned or confused about camera settings.

Along with the A or Av setting, I use the +/- button to affect the overall ambiance of my photos.

I can take my time with landscapes, but when photographing fleeting family moments, I don't have time to fumble with unnecessarily complicated camera settings.

This guy is our resident chef. The falling leaves added an authentic garnish.

Niagara Falls has always been about family for me and there were plenty of those moments to capture.

Picking apples and pears at the Niagara Falls KOA - the last available campground of the season.

A walk along the Niagara Glen, the American side of Niagara Falls.

Hiking the Niagara Glen (Canada) down to the whirlpool.

My eyes saw much more even tones, but I knew that the right camera settings would bring out the deep shadows in this scene. Hint: I used the +/- button that I always train my students to use; it makes all the difference to a photo.

Learning to see a scene as your camera does is an acquired skill.

Writing and sketching, overlooking the whirlpool. She is an artist everywhere she goes

Niagara River rapids lead to the whirlpool. My daughter is sitting in that pocket of light you see.

Rapids, Niagara River. Light skims the tips of fall foliage.

The rapids were extremely bright in comparison to the dark foliage. By exposing for the highlighted rapids the rest of the scene fell into darkness bringing out the rich colours at the edge of the light.

Yes, I was using the +/- setting!

Cable car viewed from the whirlpool shoreline.

I waited a long time to get this shot, visualizing the scene before it happened.

The cable car only ran occasionally. The sun rarely illuminated the gorge walls in the background. Passing clouds made the sky more dramatic for a few seconds at a time.

Notice how the cable car is framed by the clouds, the gorge wall, and the silhouetted glen? It was worth the weight.

Rest assured, I'll try for a completely different version of the cable car next time :)

Last light of the day. Niagara Glen viewed from the Canadian side.

I know better than to put my camera away. We made a quick rest stop before hitting the highway for home and I noticed this light on the gorge. I had to make a dash for my camera before the light completely disappeared.

Always keep your camera handy, lens cap off, and ready to take a picture!

The moment you put your camera away, the world wakes up and comes to life.