Going to Niagara Falls, any advice for the DSLR newb?

Hi folks,

Looks like I'm going to Niagara Falls with my wife and baby son this weekend. I was planning to take my gear along (listed in sig below) in my lowepro slingshot 200. I was hoping if anybody who has already been there with more experience would kindly share any advice for me.

e.g.
- camera water protection
- should I get a circular polarizer?
- bring my tripod?
- general tips on getting good shots there
- should I just leave the gear at home and take a P&S?
- (semi-related) good places for lens shopping in Buffalo?

best regards,
Rob

I visited Niagara Falls a couple of years ago.

The first thing to be aware of is that it can be very very wet. If there's any wind at all, the spray from the Canadian Falls travels a very long way. If you go on the 'Maid of the Mist' boat - and you really should - then it's unbelievably wet. Wetter than you would have thought possible. But the views are great too. Having some sort of water protection for the camera is a good idea - you know the sort of thing, a transparent plastic bag around the camera with only the lens protruding - but you'll need to keep wiping the front of the lens.

I'm not sure whether a circular polariser would help very much. The water is so turbulent that you won't be getting much in the way of reflections off it, so a polariser won't help much there. (I guess it might darken the sky a bit though.)

You don't say whether you're planning to visit the USA side, the Canadian side, or both. Your question about Buffalo suggests you're American. However you need to be aware that the best views by far are from the Canadian side.

Another issue is the orientation and the time of day. If you look at a map (or preferably Google Earth, which has good resolution here) you'll see that all the best views of the Canadian Falls are basically looking south. So if you're there in the middle of the day you'll be looking into the sun. Generally speaking I'd say afternoon would be better than morning because the sun in the west is more helpful than the sun in the east.

Tripod... No use at all on the 'Maid of the Mist'. It might be useful from the land if you want to shoot with a slow shutter speed and blur the water. However the water is (obviously) pretty fast-moving and doesn't take much to blur it. I took all my shots handheld, so with shutter speeds presumably from 1/30 up to 1/500 or so, and I was quite happy with the results. On the other hand, if you're there at night then a tripod could be helpful. There's a great shot of the American Falls illuminated by coloured floodlights in the 57th post of this thread.

Good luck!

I'm assuming you're going to be shooting the falls from the Canadian side. If not, get yourself over there since that's where the better photo ops are.

You won't be able to get close to the falls without getting your camera soaking wet if left out in the open for more than a minute or two so make sure you have at least a small garbage bag or a big Glad bag to put the camera in when not in use or wear a rain coat so you can keep the camera under it.

If you want to get a good falls picture with a rainbow going across it, shoot in the afternoon after around 2:30 PM. The rainbow will first appear near the base of the falls and eventually rise up as the sun moves across the sky. I forget how long it took but it may have been something like 30 minutes to an hour.

Tripod will be good if you're shooting the falls from a distance but forget about it if you're going to be up close. Too many people around to make it worthwhile. Maybe a monopod would be better but you really aren't going to need it. If you were thinking of using it for self portraits, there are lots of people you can ask to take your picture.

If you are going to be taking a boat tour to the base of the falls you ARE going to get soaking wet and that includes your camera. They'll provide you with a rain poncho but it's not going to help your camera any. Make sure you have the appropriate rain cover or Glad bag to put your camera in.

Besides the falls, there are other interesting places to photogragh close to the falls. Just follow the road (in a car) along the Niagara river going North for a couple of miles.

Have fun!

BTW, if you drive South along the river, there's a pull-off about less than a mile from the falls where you can get some nice river scenic shots. It won't be as spetacular as the falls itself or what you might get going North along the river but if you have time, you might want to consider it, too.

Don't drop the camera. It get's tricky to retrieve.

Actually, depending on where you end up going, you may want to pick up a rain cover for it. Or even a zip lock bag, to keep it dry from the moisture.
The best vantage point is from Canada -I hate to admit-, however before heading over there, go down to the bottom in the US side (would be South South East), almost to the water level, the most rainbows can be seen there, and awesome photos taken. But once more, beware of the mist, lots of H2O there.

Niagara Falls has some awesome potential for photos. I even have one that is pretty cool, of a black duck eating in the middle of a swarm of seagulls, inside the Park that is part of the Falls. The photo is one of my favorites, if you can imagine it. I still think the duck was trying to go 'undercover' before the seagulls kicked him out.

Anyhow, best of lucks on your trip, and be sure to post when you come back !...

We went to Niagara Falls in June. I completely agree with the others who said the view from Canada is the best. I also enjoyed the view on the American side down low next to the falls.

For water protection we put our Canon P&S in an Aquapac (http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …EG&addedTroughT​ype=search) and that worked out great. It took a little getting used to but we took some fun photos on the Maid of the Mist with it. I kept my SLR in a backpack when it wasn't safe to bring it out.

Definitely lots of water spraying all over the place there so I was careful where I pulled out the SLR and careful where I changed lenses so I wouldn't get water in the camera. I only used the tripod at night . I did use the circular polarizer quite a bit but it was quite bright there during the day. The early morning at the falls was beautiful (5 am or earlier) and the evenings were quite nice too.

Hope you have fun.

Take all your gear.....Niagara Falls is a great place to take excellent shots. Your tripod will come in handy for night shots of the falls which can be spectacular when the coloured flood lights are on. Have fun and post some shots for us!

Hey thanks everyone for the replies! Everybody seems to agree that the Canadian side is the nicer one. Ironically, we might be checking the American since we've never seen it before. Although it's been years since we've seen the Canadian side, so I guess we may just have to see both.

StewartR: I'm Canadian actually, I just updated my profile. I was asking about Buffalo since we'll prolly drop by there for some shopping. Ok, so CP not a necessity, but I ordered one already - LOL. Thanks for tips on orientation, the afternoon will probably work out better for us anyway. Great point on the speed of the water making it easier blur motion without a tripod.

PacAce: The Maid of the Mist sounds very interesting. But getting soaked could be trouble with the gear. I take a zip lock bag with me.

mjgravina: LOL, I'll try not to drop the camera, thanks. I've read horror stories of people actually doing that kind of thing - yikes! Hopefully I'll get some pics worth posting.

colleent: that aquapac looks really nice! Too bad I already just placed an order at b&h Hopefully they have something like that for my 20D and a zoom, otherwise I'll try the ziplock bag that others mentioned.

sugarzebra: ok, seems like the tripod is coming then!

Thanks again everyone. Regarding the 'Maid of the Mist' boat ride, besides a ziplock or something for the camera, will the external "weatherproof cover" will be sufficient for contents (lens, flash, etc...) of the slingshot?

Lowepro slingshot external cover

cheers,
Rob

Candian side is definately the best.
Go down river and check out the Rapids, and the Spanish Cable Car.
Do the Maid of the Mist and the Tour Behind the Falls below the Table Rock House.
Drive up to the locks on the Welland Canal to see ships going through the locks.
Get some night shots with the falls illuminated.
If I remember Friday nights they also have a fireworks show.(They used to anyhow).
Night shots in the Clifton Hill area are nice also. Museums and Gift Shops, lots of lights and people.

I was there several years ago. Don't miss the drive up the American side along the gorge, and it's realily worth it to go all the way to Fort Niagra.

I took a zillion images and most were garbage. It's really hard to capture the scale of the place without it looking like the same picture everyone else takes.

Here's one from Goat Island on the American side:

I felt the same way. I was looking for something more unique and I don't think I got it. I wish we'd gone up the coast to Fort Niagara or Niagara on the Lake (on the Canadian side). Oh well, had a great time with my husband even if I didn't get great pictures.

And yes, that weatherproof cover will be plenty. They also give you a plastic poncho that was big enough to cover my backpack and everythign stayed dry inside. Don't miss the Maid of the Mist. It really was spectacular to go that close to the falls in the boat.

We did go down to see the rapids at the White Water Rapids and it was a great sight.

Eagle: thanks for tips, will try to check them out!

rdenney: Really nice pictures. Inspiring too, thanks for sharing. At this point I'll just be happy to get decent exposures and work on my technique while still having fun with the family. I still got a long ways to go on creativity and 'unique vision' department.

colleennt: thanks for the response on the weather covering - good to know. I'll also do my best to protect the gear with poncho as well.

cheers,
rob

I would not take a good camera on the maid unless it is in an underwater housing, period. You will get totally, and I mean totally, soaked. I took my underwater housing and digital camera and it was pretty much useless there is so much spray. YOu can't keep the lense wiped enough to get any kind of shot off. I did shoot some close ups of the American falls on te boat ride up to the Canadian falls.
There is a tower called the Skylon, you can get some great shots up there. Take a tripod and shoot from up there at night when the falls are lit up. You will need to do timed exposures, so you will have to have a tripod to get the best results.
Definitely be on the Canadian side, there is really not much to see on the American side.
There is also a marineland, a bird sanctuary and there was a huse butterfly exhibit near there last year when we went. There is also a ton of cool stuff in Clifton Hills area. Also there is a drive through safari and an aquarium within an hours drive of th falls, so there is a ton of stuff to do and see in the area.
p.s. Don't talk on a cell phone while at a counter in a store or restaraunt. The Canadians are very wierd about it and will refuse to wait on you if you are on the phone.

Here are a couple of night shots. The first one is from the American side with all the colors on. The second was from the Skylon tower ( with no tripod, aaarrrrggghhh) on a night they had the falls lit up pink for breast cancer awareness. They look great at full size, but lost most of the detail in the resizing, but you can at least get the idea.

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Stay on Canadian side. On a sunny day, you will be able to catch rainbow on different locations. A tripod will defiantly help to get some good shots; lights show at night during summer months is a great opportunity. Best of all, enjoy a great casino and tons of other activities with friends and family.
Have fun.
Here are couple of shots of the falls.
http://jaysart.smugmug​.com/photos/47189061-M.jpg
http://jaysart.smugmug​.com/photos/47189053-M.jpg

The rainbows are great, I captured a quad rainbow last year. 4 rainbows on top of each other....