Niagara at Night

It was quite dark when I got off the bus at Niagara Falls. And Now I was awake, although I think that had more to do with being stoked with caffeine and adrenalin and the chilly air than due to any latent vampiric tendencies. Although I do lean toward nightowl-hood. Hoo-Hooo!

I looked around to make sure I could find my way back to the drop-off point, figured I had a few hours to play in before I had to worry about not being able to get back to the motel, and headed toward the water. There was an area of little shops and eateries, decorated with fairy lights and assorted colors and bulbs, music here and there...all rather reminiscent of a carnival, except most of it was closed. I went along with several others towards the Maid of the Mist building, going up stairs and over walks and the like to the falls overlook. Then I just took it all in for a little while.

A beautiful place indeed. There were quite a lot of people around, but not so many that you couldn't find your own niche. Colored lights shown across the river from the Canadian side made for a water-and-light show, so the falls rotated through numerous color combinations and glows. After absorbing enough falls and people, I decided to crack out the camera and try night photography. Last trip I'd also come through at night, but the film camera wasn't terribly successful at night snapshots. Even so, they were colorful and artsy (Artist for lousy focus). I had better luck with the digital since it is so much more light-sensitive. Especially with a bit of photo-program help to up the gamma here and there, lol.

Looking upriver, American side, at all the lights in Canadian Niagara Falls...

Tower on the Ontario side of the brink.

(Yeah, it moved)

Water, water, everywhere...

Watching the colors change over the crashing waters... first, white and bright.

Then it got progressively darker, yellower...

A roaring golden falls... (you might want to visit the restroom first)

And then, for the lovers, a rosy waterfall. Different colored lights hit different sections of the falls, too. It's hard to focus on water in the mist and in the dark, but I managed it a few times!

I explored this area for a time, following the edge around the overlook and wandering around by the safety rails along the falls ridge. Somehow I seemed to be nominated as Official Photographer, as I often am when I visit places (my long-standing joke is that if I could run fast, I'd be a millionaire in pawned cameras). That might make sense when I'm wearing my big ol' Minolta, but I wasn't sure what my appeal was with my little digital, save the fact I was single and harmless-looking. Anyway I took pictures of many couples, groups, foreigners, and other assorted folks all evening. At least I was useful.

Here's a link to a virtual tour of the area (daytime from the Canadian point-of-view, but you can see the Maid of the Mist overlook and the above falls easily). http://www.niagaraparks.com/aboutus/virtual-tour.php?movie=Maid_Docks