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View Full Version : Miners Falls - the documentary view



Bruce Murden
07-30-2008, 10:23 PM
This is Miners Falls in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Munising, MI, in "the U.P." (Upper Penninsula). This view is from the viewing platform down the stairs and around the corner from the view Gordon posted recently. His image of the walk through the woods to get to the falls left me wanting to actually be there to hear the great rush of the water. Fortunately, I've been there, so his image inspired me to show you the falls as I've seen them.

Most people who see these falls do so from this main viewing platform. I wait for them to come, take their snaps, and move on. One couple showed up, chatted with me for a while, and told me they were "camera nuts", and indeed they were. They used 3 or 4 cameras each to take some pics,without once using a tripod. I'm sure their photos were more of the "I was here" variety, and I hope that experience suits them. I'm more of an image nut, enjoying the final output, and trying to show how I feel about a subject. Since this view is easily obtained, I only half-jokingly refer to this as the documentary view, but I hope some of the power and rush of this grand waterfall comes through. It's an awesome experience to be alone there, with a constant thunder of the water that you hear as you approach the falls from the woods. It's oddly peaceful to be in such a loud environment in the midst of a quiet pine forest.

Nikon D80, Nikon 24-85 @ 40 mm, ISO 100, f/16, 1/4 sec, tripod. May 2007 -- spring is always good with swollen rivers and better water flow.

Robert Amoruso
07-31-2008, 06:49 AM
I like the perspective on this one and the inclusion of the tree on the right to balance the falls. The falls also make a nice angle in the image and exist at a diagonal into a corner yielding a nicely composed image.

Cheryl Flory
07-31-2008, 07:09 AM
Great image, Bruce. Good to see some Mich photos here also.

Roman Kurywczak
07-31-2008, 08:49 AM
Hi Bruce,
Very nicely composed and as Robert says.....the tree does balance the falls nicely. So often as is the case with spring waterfalls........the flow can be too strong. I this case I think you handled the flow very well as it doesn't seen to overpower the scene. It would be interesting to see the same falls with a littleless flow though to see if you get even more detail in the flow. I always find it's nice to re-visit waterfalls at different flow levels as the images can become very different. Not always better........but I do find that those with large flows (Tower in Yellowstone comes to mind) are sometimes better when the spring flow subsides a bit. Worth a shot especially if it is easy to get to. All in all very nicely done!
PS Curiosity.......are there other angles........say to the left......or are you limited to the platform....... without fence hopping or Killing yourself???

Vincent Grafhorst
07-31-2008, 10:40 AM
Very nice Bruce. The SS is perfect and so is the exposure.

Bruce Murden
07-31-2008, 04:39 PM
Thanks for the comments so far!

I started off posting the view from the platform, to show the view most people see before moving on. You can climb down -- a little tricky, but manageable down and back up. I wait for there to be no kids around (and preferably no adults, just to avoid stares of consternation) before I climb down. I also visit this park and the surrounding area, which is rich in waterfalls, whenever I can. Each time I get a little different flavor, with different tree growth, water flow, snow & ice! I'll post some more views of this falls, including some of the view from below, over the next few days. But for now, I'm off to a portrait session!

Sabyasachi Patra
08-01-2008, 11:21 AM
I love this image. Nice framing with the tree. Depth of field is great. Would love to see more from different perspectives.