falls » Traverse Earth

Inside the Turf Church, Iceland

Nov 182012

I’ve uploaded a photo of this little church before. It’s constructed with a traditional turf roof. After poking my head inside I decided it could be cool to get a shot of the altar looking up from the ground. I sat down right next to the door and started trying to take a picture from the ground. I had to go lower than my tripod would allow so I was hand holding my camera and trying to line up the pews and the floorboards symmetrically. It was pretty tricky and I was in a pretty awkward position. At one point the door opened and someone came in. I was pretty embarrassed to be caught by a stranger in this odd position on a church floor. I was relieved when the person who came in to join me was my travel buddy who was used to me being in odd positions by then.

Hoggs Falls

Canada, Ontario, Travel, Waterfall No Responses »

Apr 212012

This is the last of the waterfalls I visited on my trip to Ontario. There’s a rope in place to help you down the cliff. Unfortunately, I was low on time so didn’t venture down there.

I’ve decided that I’m going to spend this week going down to Horseshoe Bay for sunrise. I feel like I should have the standard shot from atop the large rock at the West end. Going down for a few mornings should ensure that I get to see a good sunrise.

The Old Gristmill, Walter’s Falls, Ontario

Canada, Ontario, Toronto, Travel, Waterfall 9 Responses »

Apr 192012

If it looks like I’m standing in the water here it’s because I am. Well, not really. My camera was though. I spotted this weir next to this old mill above Walter’s Falls in Ontario. After failing to be satisfied with a shot from the bridge I went clambering down the bank, through branches covered in thorns to get down to the river edge. I landed heavily on a pair of rocks which immediately gave way under me. I looked like I’d be getting wet for sure. Somehow, I managed to back pedal faster than the rocks were falling and build myself a new platform of rocks landing beneath my feet.

From my precarious perch, I lent out as far as I could to place my camera closer to the middle of the river, and fire off 7 exposures, before clambering back up through the bushes. Following this I went down to the bottom of the waterfall to get some shots there. I and my gear got pretty soaked once down there, but that’s a story for another day.

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 5 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.

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 »