Force of Nature

Beavertail Lighthouse, Jamestown, Rhode Island

This past weekend, we all watched with fascination and horror as mother nature roared. Hurricane Irene left a destructive wake in her path up the eastern seaboard of the US. At times like this, we realize that nature can be quite devastating. This past May, I visited another force of nature that possesses the same brute force but in a beautiful and non-destructive way. I am talking, of course, of Niagara Falls. Standing alongside the edge of the American Falls, you can feel and hear the power of the falls as the Niagara River plummets over the edge on its way from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. While setting this shot up, I made sure that I had a rain cover for my camera and lens. It is a necessity as the spray from below can drench anyone and anything close to the edge. The river rushes over the edge so fast that you almost don't need an ND filter to get the silky smooth look to the water. For this shot, I used a 3-stop ND filter and fired off a 5 bracket set of images.