We finally got a day when it was warm enough to go outside without my fingers locking up. We borrowed our son’s car and headed off with our friend Ron, a walking encyclopaedia concerning the Hamilton area, and went off in search of a few of Hamilton’s approximately 100 waterfalls.

The first one that we hit was Webster’s Falls:

Surprisingly, it’s not easy to get into a good position to photograph many of the falls. That is because the surrounding areas have not been decimated for the sake of the convenience of visitors. Most of the ones we visited required only modest hiking to see them, but getting into an ideal position for photography was not so easy. Finally, I was warned by Eunie and Ron to stay on the paths, because I was making them nervous.

I didn’t record the name of this one. I think I’ll call it “Hairy Dog Falls”:

You may wonder why the water looks silky. I used a common technique for slowing the shutter speed to more than two seconds so that the moving water looks blurred while the surrounding detail remains sharp. It involves shooting through a dark grey bit of glass, called a neutral density filter, to cut down the amount of light going through the lens. Since there is less light, the shutter of the camera must be held open for a longer time, therefore the moving water streams and drops blend into a smooth, pleasing veil. Of course, that’s not how waterfalls really look, but it is an interesting effect.

Here is Tew’s Falls, the one that I like best:

Sherman Falls is also very pretty:Grindstone falls is difficult to get close to without getting your feet wet. I didn’t want to soak my new boots, so I settled for this long shot up the little cascade:I think that I’ll pass on the rest of the hundred waterfalls. We’re leaving in a few days and I haven’t seen the Botanical Gardens nor the Royal Ontairo Museum yet.

Related posts:

1. George Webster – RIP I gave you some images of Hamilton, Ontario waterfalls the other day. I’ve done one post today, but I can’t sleep, so I’ll lay another one on you. As we were waterfall hunting, our friend Ron Barrons pointed out an interesting tombstone. It’s where George Webster was laid to rest....
2. Guest Shots – Trevor Hattersley and Ron Barrons Two friends supply images today. Trevor Hattersley of Madang and Ron Barrons of Hamilton, Ontario. Fungi, autumn leaves, waterfalls and the Niagara Escarpment....
3. Up Close and Personal in Hamilton Ontario Hamilton has the healthiest looking flying rats that I’ve ever seen:Eunie and I took a short stroll around the city centre on Sunday afternoon accompanied by my new Olympus SP-590. The 26x optical zoom on this baby is as sweet as candy. More about that later. We’re staying at a...
4. Not Trapped in a Hotel Fire in Hamilton What does it feel like to NOT be trapped in a Hotel fire in Hamilton, Ontario? Well, it's a lot like a garden party in Munchkin Land....
5. On the Road – Hamilton, Ontario Things are a little hectic today – no time for frivolity. Our son, Hans, his wife, Tamara, and our granddaughters, Philippa Jayne (Pippa) and Audrey Rose live in Hamilton. Hamilton is a steel town and smells like it. The area below the Niagara Escarpment is the primary industrial area. More...
6. Madang to Hamilton – Miscellanea It feels cold here in Hamilton, but people are walking around the streets in shirtsleves. I’m sitting here with the thermostat turned up high in our hotel room thinking about images that I’ve taken along the way from Madang to Hamilton, Ontario. I thumbed through them and found four that...
7. Too Many Tulips – Goodbye to Hamilton Goodbye to Hamilton. My tulip deficiency is permanently cured....

Tags: hamilton ontario, waterfall

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 20th, 2009 at 12:44 and is filed under On Tthe Road, Photography Tricks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.