Waterfall » Traverse Earth

Batoka Gorge, Victoria Falls

Africa, Travel, Waterfall, Zambia, Zimbabwe No Responses »

Apr 022012

During the wet season water cascades over these cliffs. During the dry season you get to walk along them. It’s amazing how the water carves this chasm in the landscape. While down in the gorge rafting I felt like we were surrounded by mountains. As a result, when I went micro-lighting a couple of days later I was shocked to see just how flat the landscape is. It’s completely flat, all the way to the horizon, but for this fissure gouged out of the Earth’s surface. Also shocking is the zig-zag shape of the gorge as the waterfall has cut back on itself, forever retreating, the old face of the waterfall being left dry as a new face evolves.

I shot 7 exposures bracketed from -3 to +3 but decided that the two extremes were not adding any detail so I only used 5 exposures, bracketed from -2 to +2. After running the exposures through Photomatix I actually masked in a lot of the original photos to keep the shadows looking natural. I really like the details that have come out in the turbulent water below. You can get a closer look by clicking the image and selecting a larger size.

Niagara Skyline

Canada, Ontario, Toronto, Travel, Waterfall 2 Responses »

Mar 302012

Before going to Toronto I wondered how my experience at Niagara Falls would compare to visiting the Victoria Falls in Zambia. It’s definitely different. The falls are equally impressive, but there’s much more concrete around them… and safety rails. There were a few that I desperately wanted to climb over but decided I didn’t feel like getting arrested. The whole place is very cheesy with its tourist attractions, replica CN tower and casino. But I kind of liked it. It was so over the top it was interesting, and I probably would have liked to spend more time there.

There was a lot of luck involved in this shot. The limitations on access to the falls (that safety stuff) was frustrating me as I was searching out an angle on the falls that would allow for a shot a bit out of the ordinary. As part of this attempt I was taking a photo of a section of the falls through a vine-covered doorway. I’m not sure that photo will ever see the light of day as the concept may have been a bit better than the reality. But, as I fiddled with my tripod trying to find the right angle a man I later found out was named Jay started chatting with me. Then, he told me about a somewhat secret viewpoint on the balcony of the hotel restaurant behind me. At this point I realized Jay was wearing chef whites and asked if he worked there. Sure enough he did. 5 minutes later I was stood on a tiny balcony outside the restaurant with this view in front of me. Then, I saw these five puffy white clouds drifting across the sky into a perfect position.

Indian Falls, Bruce County

Canada, Ontario, Toronto, Travel, Waterfall No Responses »

Mar 292012

Bruce and Grey county are no distance from Toronto, but feel as far from city life as is possible. The landscape is dotted with farms, small towns and waterfalls. There are nine waterfalls, all of which are relatively easily accessible. This is the second waterfall I visited. After leaving the car in a well sign posted parking lot (this wasn’t always the case) I took off down a trail. I’d read that the majority of the falls in the area are a 5 minute walk from the road. I generally found they were a 5 minute walk back to the road, but on the way there I was either a bit lost or busy taking photos. This waterfall was particularly deceptive. About half way there the path disappeared. Eventually I decided the river bank had shifted and climbed down where I found the path again, going back up hill. There’s a viewpoint of this fall on the path that comes out just to the right of the top of the falls. This was my first stop, where I took a few photos with my camera perched on the edge of a ledge, on the outside of a safety fence. But, I wanted a shot from the bottom as this is where you could see the remainder of winter’s ice visible in today’s photo. Fortunately, on the way up I’d spotted a crack in the cliff face I could climb down. Soon I was on the river bank, hopping from rock to rock to get here. I set my tripod up so that each leg rested its foot on a separate rock, with my feet on an additional pair of rocks and got the shot I wanted.

Beneath The Falls, Niagara Falls

Canada, Ontario, Travel, Waterfall 1 Response »

Mar 242012

This is the view of Niagara Falls that can be seen by going down behind the falls. The first stop is here, where you can look up at them prior to moving further down the tunnels to see the wall of water from behind. My camera and I got pretty wet getting this shot.

Safety First?

Africa, Travel, Victoria Falls, Waterfall, Zambia, Zimbabwe 4 Responses »

Feb 202012

Victoria Falls at low water lets you really explore the falls. They have a real untouched feel about them. On one side there’s a simple path leading you past views across the Batoka Gorge. On the other side you can leave the path to walk across the top of the cliffs. There’s nothing to stop you walking right up to the edge, as you can see in this picture.

I’ll be visiting Niagara Falls in March and wonder how it will compare. I’m expecting a lot more attention to be paid to safety, distancing you from the falls. I’m also expecting there to be buildings visible all around the falls. Maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised. It’ll certainly make for great photos either way.

Victoria Falls

Africa, Travel, Victoria Falls, Waterfall, Zambia, Zimbabwe 3 Responses »

Feb 052012

This is where the hike to the Devil’s Pool at the top of the Victoria Falls becomes a swim. The pool is located just on the other side of this waterfall. To get there, you have to swim up-stream against the current and then across. There’s a rope strung across in case anyone should succumb to the force of the water. Fortunately, it’s not actually a particularly difficult swim.

On The Edge – Victoria Falls

Dec 272011

The Victoria Falls are incredible. My friends and I were inspired to plan our recent trip to Africa, which included Cape Town, Zambia and Rwanda by a viral e-mail we received showing pictures of people swimming in the Devil’s Pool at the top of the falls. In order to do this we needed to visit during the low water season. The benefit of going in this season extends beyond swimming in the Devil’s pool. As a result of the low water we were able to walk across the top of the falls – providing multiple photo opportunities. That being said I do feel a need to return at high water to get the full experience of the Mosi-oa-Tunya (the native name for the falls meaning “the smoke that thunders”).

The below picture was taken on my second visit to the falls and left me with a huge adrenaline rush. I’m not a big fan of heights, and certainly not the 108 meter drop I was facing here. Still I decided that I needed to lower myself down onto this outcropping of rock to photograph this portion of the falls, which I believe is called the angel falls. Once reaching the ledge I stayed seated, gradually edging closer and closer to the edge, sliding my camera, and tripod ahead of me. The most nerve racking part was taking my lens cap off, I had already dropped a lens cap at the top of the falls on my first visit. It rolled within a foot of the edge – a very tense moment for me. I would not have been allowed this leeway with the spot I was in here. In hindsight, I really should have taken off all my loose bits and secured them before moving out to the edge.

In the middle of the picture you can see the area called the boiling pot. I’ll be posting another picture of this area in the near future. It’s from just below this point in the river where rafting trips start, on the category 5 rapids of the middle Zambezi.

December 27, 2011 Africa, Travel, Victoria Falls, Waterfall, Zambia, Zimbabwe 2 Responses »

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