Looking for Niagara Falls Suggestions: Hello everyone. We will be traveling to Niagara Falls later this week and I have done a search and got some info there. I was hoping to get...

tallguy56

Hello everyone. We will be traveling to Niagara Falls later this week and I have done a search and got some info there.

I was hoping to get suggestions on places and times to get some great shots. Any thoughts on sunrise/sunset locations as well as general suggestions would be greatly appreciated. We have passports with us so the Canadian side is an option.

We are from California so this will probably be our only visit to NF so want to hit it right!! Thanks in advance.

Jay Pat Loc: Round Rock, Texas, USA

We allowed one day.
Crossed into Canada and ate lunch at the Skylon.
http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-146169-1.html
If you go for lunch, tell the front desk you want to eat lunch at the rotating restaurant.
Hopefully, they will escort you to the restaurant elevator. There are long elevator lines waiting to go to the observation deck.
After lunch, we went to the American side.
Long lines for going down to get behind the falls. Too, long for us.
Don't have any info for riding the Maid of the Mist.
We walked to the edge of the falls.
How many days are you allowing for your visit?
Pat

Rongnongno Loc: FL

Create a glass barrow, fix a Go-pro in it and let it go over the falls. Better yet, fix a few inside!!!

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

tallguy56 wrote:

Hello everyone. We will be traveling to Niagara Falls later this week and I have done a search and got some info there.

I was hoping to get suggestions on places and times to get some great shots. Any thoughts on sunrise/sunset locations as well as general suggestions would be greatly appreciated. We have passports with us so the Canadian side is an option.

We are from California so this will probably be our only visit to NF so want to hit it right!! Thanks in advance.

Tall, welcome to the Hog!
First, I've never been to Niagara but I do have experience with shooting falls. The only piece of advice I would give is that if you shoot where there will be heavy spay, make sure you have a plan for keeping the objective lens dry, or as dry as you can keep it. Shooting in spay is like shooting in rain. I'm not talking about keeping your camera dry, that's a no brainer. I take a 100% cotton T-shirt and cut it into strips maybe 8"x20" so I can manage them. Keep the camera pointed down and use the stripes to keep the lens droplet free then shoot and do it over again. Once your lens is covered with droplets you might as well put the camera away if you have no way to clean it. The strips can get wet pretty quick, so have them very accessible while your shooting!
I'll let others that have been there tell you what to shoot!!
Have a great trip!!!
SS

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

Rongnongno wrote:

Create a glass barrow, fix a Go-pro in it and let it go over the falls. Better yet, fix a few inside!!!

Wouldn't it be better if he made the barrel big enough that he could get inside and do the shooting himself???
I would NOT leave important shots like that to CHANCE!!! LoL
SS

Math78 Loc: Scottsdale, AZ

You'll want your passports since the best views are from the Canadian side. Also make sure you get one of the new Canadian $20 bills - very strange! If you want to do the "maid of the mist" boat ride, you should plan on doing that from the Canadian side. The Canadians let you make advance reservations for the boat, American side boat is often a very long line, especially in the afternoon. They have fireworks during the week but not on weekend nights.

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

Some thoughts from our trip ten years ago:

1. Stay on the Canadian side; it's much nicer over there.
2. The scenery and the food are much better on the Canadian side.
3. Ride the Maid of the Mist boat into the base of the falls--it's an exciting experience. I did it twice. You have to go to Canada to ride it, anyway.

I'm USA tried and true, but I was awed by the way Canada has developed its side of the falls area. The USA side, where we stayed, was disappointing, to say the least. It had all the trappings of a rust-bucket community. If I ever go back, it will be to the Canadian side, for sure.

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

Bring your passport for reentry into the US after visiting Canada. Get tickets on the Maid O the Mist and prepare to get wet. They hand out garbage bags for covering. Forget the cheesy Niagra Falls Museum unless you HAVE to see who went over the falls in what memorabilia. Stand next to the US Falls and marvel in nature's power and beauty.

Oh, if your're driving from Rochester or thereabouts, take the longer but more scenic river route and the interstate back. And, since you're a fellow Californian, the interstate is a toll road and there is a scarceness of off ramps.

And, apropos of nothing, because it reminded me of the 3 Stooges, here's a link to the Niagara Falls bit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYP1OBZfFK0

(Download)

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

The last time someone asked questions like this, I posted some images from my last trip there {has it really been almost 20 years??}

http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-474336-1.html

My best advice - the same advice I give to anyone going to an iconic tourist location - is to "think outside the box". Do not bring home the same pictures everyone else is bringing home; look at postcards for sale, and then look for a better way. I don't "pray and spray"; I was very stingy with film, so the pictures in the thread above were probably about one-fourth of all the pictures I took, but I quickly found myself thinking in patterns that would enable me to put together another themed series of images.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Jay Pat wrote:

We allowed one day. br Crossed into Canada and ate... (show quote)

"Long lines" seems to be the rule of the day now. I went to see a visiting Spanish Galleon yesterday, and not only was there no place to park, but there were over a dozen cars circling, waiting for spaces to open up. We went to the Falls in the 1970, and we encountered no lines anywhere.

danorman2

After you have seen the Falls from the Canadian side, ride up to Niagara -on-the lake ,see the sights along the road and the quaint town, and have a great meal at on of the fine restaurants.
Ps - I live 15 miles from Niagara Falls.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

tallguy56 wrote:

Hello everyone. We will be traveling to Niagara Falls later this week and I have done a search and got some info there.

I was hoping to get suggestions on places and times to get some great shots. Any thoughts on sunrise/sunset locations as well as general suggestions would be greatly appreciated. We have passports with us so the Canadian side is an option.

We are from California so this will probably be our only visit to NF so want to hit it right!! Thanks in advance.

There are more than 100 sites giving advice about photographing Niagara Falls. Tripadvisor.com is a great site but so is this one. https://loadedlandscapes.com/guide-to-photographing-niagara-falls/

Fleckjohn65 Loc: Ajax Ontario Canada

Glad to hear all the compliments of my Canada. We enjoy NF at least once a year and always awed. Absolutely do the M of the Mist. Are sure you have a cover/case for camera; you get wet. But worth the thrill. Visit downtown. Enjoy and welcome to Canada.

dalematt Loc: Goderich, Ontario, Canada

On the Canadian side, travel north from the Falls. There are a lot of interesting sights. Examples include: botanical gardens, butterfly place, historical sites, wineries, etc.

cameraf4 Loc: Delaware

Just one thought. From up-top on the American Falls side looking down at the Catwalk, it looks like you really don't want to take your camera with you. But I did, hid it under my poncho, and found that there was a spot at the bottom where the water was all around me but not touching me at all. Got some good shots that really showed the power and majesty of the falls from that spot.