Photographic Oppurtunities

Photographic Opportunities

My whole reason for going on this vacation was to see the falls. I wanted to get some great pictures. My favorite things we did were all falls related. Of course I did other things too, but getting pictures of Niagara Falls was my number one goal.

If you look at my map I drew (there are maps in guides I picked up but I do not know if they are copyrighted so I drew this one for reference) you can see the walking path on the Canadian side. On the American side, the main viewing area is Goat Island. I took pictures from almost every angle so for anyone looking for advice I hope this helps

 

Canadian side

The best time to take pictures in Canada is afternoon into evening. The sun is at your back. Because the sun is at your back, there is a good chance of a rainbow being produced.

The number one photo taking area in my opinion of the whole waterfall is at the Maid of the Mist

ticket booth. There is a deck on top. You climb just a few stairs and the view is awesome. Both falls are lined up at a perfect angle to get them in a picture.

 The entire distance from the ticket booth to Horseshoe Falls is good for photos. It’s probably a solid ten minute walk. You walk directly in front of the American Falls. At Horseshoe Falls, your right next to the water when it drops. You can get a picture of part of the falls but the mist will obscure the other side.

The second best spot to photograph the falls is Skylon Tower. It took about ten seconds getting off the elevator to know I walked into a photographer’s dream. The best view id at Horseshoe, but

that’s only because it’s bigger. Take a lot of the same picture and you can see the mist height level change.

Other places to view the falls in Canada-

With a path of half a mile from Horseshoe to the Maid ticket booth, you really don’t need to look for more places. However if you must…Sky wheel bills itself as the best place to see the falls, it’s not, if you are going to view it from above then Skylon Tower is way better. Also you can stay on Skylon Tower as long as you want. People are allowed to walk on Rainbow Bridge. This is a good view but its pretty far away from the falls. Of course with a big lens you could get decent pics, but I’d ask why you didn’t just get closer?

Maid of the Mist

The pictures you can get from Maid are awesome. Its easy to get some great pictures of American Falls and Cave of the Winds. It’s a little trickier to get a great picture of Horseshoe. You really need to get one of the few spots at the very front. Also you can’t get any close ups of Horseshoe because

of all the spray (you will be protecting your camera under your poncho or in a bag). The pictures from Maid of the American Falls and Cave are great in the afternoon because of the sun being at your back. On rainy or cloudy days the pictures are still really neat because the foul looking sky enhances the mist.

American Side

As I have mentioned you are on top of the falls at Niagara Falls State Park. The only place to see both falls at the same time is the tower used as an elevator down to Maid of the Mist. I think it costs a dollar to go on the tower if you don’t buy a ticket to Maid. From the tower you can photograph both falls. It’s a good picture but for my money, not quite as good as the ticket booth across the river.

As for side views of the falls you are right on the crest. From Terrapin Point you look over Horseshoe. You can stand on both sides of American Falls. Another bonus is you can photograph the rapids up river from the falls. Best time to photograph the falls from the American side is morning. Do not be surprised if there is a full rainbow in front of you at Terrapin Point.

Cave of the Winds

Good photo ops exist at Cave. Standing on the lowest deck looking up at all the wooden decks with

the waterfall as a background makes a good picture. You have to put your camera away when near the Hurricane Deck. I brought a Ziplock to keep it dry. The pictures you can get are really cool from the bottom decks.

Put a boat in it

If your standing on the top of the gorge and a Maid of the Mist boat goes by, take pictures of it near the falls. It gives the waterfall height perspective. Some of my favorite pictures I took are with it going by the American Falls or into the mist of the Horseshoe.

Other photo ops

I basically covered the entire area of the falls. However there is a lot more to Niagara (although my favorite part was definitely the falls). You can take pictures on Clifton Hill. It’s like a mini Vegas. There are lots of colors and shops. The Sky Wheel and Skylon tower themselves are extremely photogenic, especially at night. The dinosaurs at the mini golf place are very realistic. You will want to take pictures at the attractions you stop at. The Butterfly Conservatory is great for photographing all the butterflies you could ever want to.

There is a gift shop about a mile north of town called Souvenir City. Outside there are lots of things to pose with. Theres thimbles, wooden black bears and other postcard type things