INFINITE DROP Photo

Photographer’s Note

Niagara Falls in eastern North America lies on the border between the United States and Canada. In actuality the falls are comprised of three separate falls: the American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and the massive Canadian or "Horseshoe Falls." Each minute 168,000 m3 water falls over the edge, a figure that represents approximately a quarter of the actual flow rate of the Niagara river, with three quarters of it diverted to run hydroelectric generation.

In shooting this photo I was at the crestline of the falls on the Canadian side, where the water seemed to pour into a bottomless pit. The stark contrast of the dark cliff wall in the foreground, against the frothing water pouring over the edge, and fading into mist and fog made it a dramatic picture. To be sure, there are much higher waterfalls, e.g. at Yosemite Park, but none has the flow rate of the Niagara.

I took the photo in 1992 on Kodachrome-64 slide film using my Nikon-2020. I recently scanned the slide, and performed only minimal adjustment in contrast and aspect ratio. What is clear is that this scene is both terrifying and awe inspiring!

A practical note for TE-members. Normally, I get the maximum allowed size for posting a photo by choosing 800x495, and saved in PhotoShop at quality 8. That seems often to give an acceptable maximum. But in a photo like this, where there is so much dark area, the pixel count turns out to be much less than the 204 kB allowed.

cunejo200, markogts, danarees, Henryk_Bilor, veve, ldhendrix, atilgone, branley, scotthosner has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

tifah (836) 2006-10-21 4:24

hi, this is an awesome photo, you really get a sense of the sheer drop and height of the cliffs edge. the water that cascades is beautiful and the clarity of it as it falls is lovely, a great composition and very alive.

cunejo200 (7237) 2006-10-21 7:39

Hi Bulent,
I love how you framed this image, lovely compsoition indeed. I never knew how strong water falling from Niagara Falls is until I read your informative Note. Good tech details on this image. Good job scanning from a an early 1990s film. Best wishes. Danilo

markogts (1116) 2006-10-21 11:25

I like the water detail in the centre of the frame, but I don't know... maybe there is too much contrast, no details either on the dark nor on the bright side.

mdetay (4348) 2006-10-22 1:53

Hi Bulent,
Nice shot of the Niagara falls.
Quite original and different.
Well done, nice POV and colors.
Cheers.
Michel

missninja (495) 2006-10-22 8:51

Hello Bulent!
It´s a beautiful scenery. It reminds me on the "Prekkestolen" a famous rock in southern Norway. The detail of the water rushing down is fascinating. A very nice picture!
Warm regards, Nina

danarees (2497) 2006-10-23 16:45

Hello Bulent,
I can feel the force of the water as it accelerates past the vantage point of this picture. Just looking at it gets the adrenalin flowing. You have done such a nice job of scanning and presenting this image. After the comments you left regarding the golden ratio, I have been quite aware of this ration in m framing and somewhat in my compositions. Again it provides a comfortable window to the image. The subtleness of the color seems to add to the coldness of the water.
Thank you.
Dana

Henryk_Bilor (20371) 2006-10-25 10:09

Hi Bulent
Hmm, the quality isn`t perfect, but I like very much the light on the faling water. Great structure and colour of the drops. And interesting POV, quite different from the usual of the Niagara :).
Regards

veve (4149) 2006-10-29 16:15

Hi Bulent!
Beautiful shot with Niagara Falls!
I like the framing ,the contrast black/white and the water drops.
Have a nice week.
Regards,
Veronica

ldhendrix (53) 2006-11-01 12:48

Bulent,

Thank you for your observations of my submission from nearly the same vantage point. Indeed, the lighting, angles, etc. very much affect the mood even though the subject matter is very similar. Congratulations. I hope to see more of your work later.

Lowell

atilgone (4749) 2006-11-06 13:11

Merhaba Bülent Bey,

Suyun ne kadar güçlü aktığı fotoğrafınızda gayet net bir şekilde görünüyor. teşekkürler.

setenay (7604) 2006-12-08 11:00

Niagara nın klasik manzarasından farklı bu güzelliğini çok beğendim,aynı noktadan yüzümüze gele serpintilerle ıslandığımız geldi aklıma.Oğlumun lisansüstü bir yıllık Vancouver da kalması sayesinde yaşamımın en güzel 20 günlük gezisini yapmıştım.Teşekkürler paylaşımınız için.İyi haftasonu dileklerimle
setenay

AtillaSoylu (241) 2006-12-13 23:30

very nicely framed non-cliche Niagara Falls picture. Well seen and executed. To be honest, Its very inspiring too and when visit there for the second time i'll look forward to catch something similar.

branley (3681) 2007-01-15 10:46

Hi Bulent,

this is a fantastic image showing us the power of nature. I like the way you've composed it, almost in two halves with the static darkness of the mountain on one side and the full rush of the light water on the other, all it needs is a person to give it scale but....who would be brave (or foolhardy) enough to stand on top!! You did well to get such a good result from a scan, well done. A fine capture and a great note too.

Regards

Stephen

Angshu (34093) 2008-01-03 1:36

Hello Professor "A"
An unique view of the Niagara, an original for sure. Love how you framed this one, with the picture almost in two halves, the right static & solid & the other half, the epitome of motion. Quality is not much of an issue to me, because of the unique POV you show us.
With Warmest Regards
Angshuman

colinbrenchley (6133) 2008-01-15 14:40

Bulent
I like this take of yours on the falls where you have concentrated on just a small part of detail. Of all the pictures that I look at of Niagra (mainly because we have the site on our wish list of places to visit) the pictures of small details always seem to me to look better than the whole!
Regards Colin

woozbman (366) 2008-02-01 10:34

Hi Bulent,

This is definitely not the usual photograph of Niagara Falls. Well composed and well exposed. It truly brings out what nature has to offer. I almost expected to see someone at the top of the cliff parachuting down into the falls.

Best regards,
Lamberto

Silversnow (2121) 2008-04-03 10:24

Stunning contrast here, it is usually tempting to try a wide shot to get the majesty of those falls, but the clutter of Hotels, restaurants & Casinos just get in the way :-))
far better to show such a powerfull close-up.