Probably the highest compliment I can pay Niagara Falls is that it looks fake. To be more precise, at times the natural scenery is so spectacular, it seems to good to be true. We snapped a couple of photos with our SLR. Viewing the results, I just shook my head. But it is true.
It's real! Honest!
People often describe the town of Niagara as “touristy,” and indeed the description applies. The commercial district assaults your eyes and ears with a cacophony of visual and aural noise. The downside of this “louder is better” approach is obvious. The Clifton Hill area of Niagara is tackier than a grade school bulletin board. You’re surrounded by King Kong, Frankenstein, and wax dummies of Johnny Depp. At times you’ll stroll down a street and your jaw will drop for all the wrong reasons.
It can also be expensive. Be prepared for some stupid prices. We actually walked out of the local Outback Steakhouse without ordering dinner because the menu prices were outrageous. While I can understand paying a little more in a tourist town, I’m not paying double. As I Tweeted shortly afterwards, we’re tourists — not fools!
To be fair, there’s one major upside to Niagara’s “touristy” development: there’s a LOT to do here. If you are so inclined, you can watch IMAX films, tour wax museums, haunted houses, ride a gigantic ferris wheel, and engage in any number of fun activities that have little or nothing to do with the waterfalls. There’s something here for every member of the family, young and old. In some respects it’s commendable. In others, it’s puzzling.
At times I wondered how this area might be different if it were a national park. The Falls themselves are some 12,000 years old, and we certainly have national parks dedicated to less impressive natural wonders. But I suspect the key economic developments began before we even had national parks in the United States.
What about the city’s reputation as The Honeymoon Capital of the World? It’s a nice slogan, and the Falls are undeniably impressive. There’s a lot to do here. But the honeymoon capital of the world? That’s a bold claim. It probably made sense several decades ago, when Niagara was the nearest exotic destination for East Coasters, at least. I think our Long Long Honeymoon has proven that you can have a pleasant honeymoon just about anywhere. If you choose to have it here, I certainly understand. It’s a fun place.
So to close on a positive note, we thoroughly enjoyed our time in Niagara. The Maid of the Mist boat ride was a fantastic experience. And the jaw-dropping beauty of the Falls speaks for itself. As the old saying goes, “It’s something to see.” I’m grateful we had the opportunity to see it.
Sean…
A little trick we use when its raining out or in the same mist .. is to coat the lense shield with clear soap liquid… it cause the water to sheet instead of bead up…allowing you to see clearly…
Nice professional job.. but, I think you might have at least worn your goggles or a diving mask.. 🙂
by the way .. if you have nothing else to do…if you want to see the AS (not the real deal but… it is one of the orginal … mock ups… of the space craft and housing they were in…along with the REAL footprints from the first man on the moon) the ACC Hornet is docked at SFO… which had a big party…
Saturday, July 25:
Interactive Exhibits and Panel Discussions
Talk by Buzz Aldrin
Booksigning by Buzz Aldrin
Dinner with Guests from the Space Industry
We were their…and did some filming for history chan…ABC…
next UP is
The World Famous
GLENN MILLER ORCHESTRA
onboard the AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS HORNET
September 12, 2009
8:00pm – midnight
Doors open at 7:00pm
The Bay Area’s best place to dance!
Three Dance Floors on the Enclosed, Heated Hangar Deck!
Period Attire Welcome! 😉 (how would you look in a navy aviators uniform ?.. move over tom Cruise…jethro from jed and the clampetts 🙂 )
Free Dance Lessons by
Jim Truesdale, former Fred Astaire dance instructor (if you don’t know how to do them old dances)
7:15pm – 7:45pm
GLENN MILLER OCHESTRA
8:00pm – midnight
Dancers and spectators alike can enjoy the many hits that made it to the Billboard chart (I am sure you remember such favorites as these top 10) including:
“American Patrol”
“In The Mood”
“Sing Sing Sing”
“Under The Apple Tree”
Singing Blue Stars of the USS HORNET Andrews Sisters Tribute
Now that is real music… with a real band… as the oldies say…
I won’t tell you that the camp grounds to the North… of the SF Gate bridge…are filling up fast… or that we will be their … But, the old liberty ship is also going to be making the rounds that weekend… lots of excitment… and Dog just loves SFO… who knows might be working all that week on location 😉 😉
Yet another great episode of “The Moon”. The EFX were great and again the low lux of that camera is just awesome! I had no idea the place was junked up that bad with all the nick nacks. You are a brave soul taking, even the less expensive hd one. I loved the music man he has a ton of music and it’s all different.
Matt
Thanks Matt, and yes the low lux abilities af the EX1 are pretty incredible. Some of those shots were done in “slow shutter mode”…the thing can literally see in the dark in that setting.
With regards to Niagara, it’s just a little (okay, a LOT) touristy. I thought the video should capture both elements of Niagara, the natural and the garish.
The Falls are awesome and the touristy stuff can be fun in its own way. Just don’t expect a Yellowstone type of experience, lol
GMAs, thanks for the camera tip. I’ve never heard of putting clear soap liquid on a lens, but I will give it a shot. (I’ve smeared soap on our Airstream shower mirror before, so I guess the same principle applies, ha ha…)
I did take a few precautions before departing on our Maid of the Mist journey. Using a zip-lock baggie, I fashioned a “poor man’s underwater housing.” While you won’t find it for sale at B&H any time soon, it did the trick. I’m pretty sure that without the plastic cover, our camera would’ve been ruined. I also brought along a microfiber cloth to wipe the lens clean whenever possible. The base of the Falls is a maelstrom (we got SOAKED), but we somehow emerged with some cool footage.
Believe it or not, I am a huge fan of Glenn Miller’s music! I really love 1940s music in general, and have several Glenn Miller CDs burned to my iPod. The dance party / event sounds awesome.
We have actually camped in the San Francisco area before. In ’07 we stayed for several days at the KOA north of Golden Gate bridge. While I don;t foresee us having our Airstream out there in September, who knows? We might hop a flight to the Bay Area. Stranger things have happened… 😀
Sean you missed the best attraction at the falls…
A little known adventure that one of the techs knew about… going behind the falls…we walked through tunnels behind-under the falls. A wet, windy, noisy and cool sort of way 🙂 (don’t even think about taking a camera ….its going to be like you will…. all wet and cold… 🙂 I tried to shoot streight up the falls…as the water comes down… but, it didn’t come out right… and.. yes their are things coming over the top… from wood to fish…(no bodies or barrels) however, only in the down direction… 😉
You end up walking out onto a two leveled terrace. You can’t get closer to the falls than that… you can actually stick out your hand and touch it… . There really aren’t words to describe the feeling when you stand next to the falls as they tumble down. The wind and roar is tremendious… you have to wear ear plugs… and they suggest a teather so you don’t get blown away… If you thought the maid of the Mist was a thrill… you can see ’em by looking down river . But this is closer than they can get…
You can spend as much… or as little…. (if you can stand the cold) time as you want, unlike maid of the mist which is timed delivery. We went back when the falls were frozen too… amazing shots…nature at its best… . Definitely worth the price next time you go
As to SFO and the the USS Pampanito Submarine and the S.S. Jeremiah O’Brien—both at Pier 45. The S.S. Jeremiah O’Brien is a 441-foot Liberty Ship and veteran of the Normandy invasion in WWII.
We did a shoot on it… used in the movie titanic… of the engine room… as well as a few others through time.. its one of the more favorite ships dog likes… and we were invited to the historical re-enactment of its sailing from SFO to Hawaii…(actually Sacramento) Talk about fun… some of the oldies that were on it actually were around on it when it was used… had all kinds of historical information you never hear.. such as… when they sailed… the load was so great that water was washing over the deck… and on the return trip they brought back war brides from EU. The Germans would never sink one on return… if they had the international sign… (wedding vail) hanging from the back… 😉
The other boat is the Pampanito Submarine… used in David Wards movie “Down Periscope” While it was refitted.. and they tried to make it run… time proved not on its side… so it was towed in the movie by a under water cable and a tug off camera…
either way… real men of your dad or grandfathers age sailed these things… and a great way to see first hand how much they had to deal with in real life going after the bad guys…
Several times a year they have some of the big band groups put on historical concerts… but, the better ones are Glenn Miller and the lemmon sisters…
The other music is the great John williams used in a lot of productions…
Ahhh you want to see some interesting camera stuff… try using a IR illuminator and see how your EX1 works… talk about seeing in the dark… errie ghostly stuff… 🙂
(To keep water from forming on the camera …. they use a opitic clear glass disk which is spin’n in front of the lense to keep the water off… you never see it because its out of the depth of view… F stop) another trick we used is to use a UV filter with Rain-X water repellant on it….It is also a cheap and easy way to keep spots off the lens. It dries clear and water beads easily… only problem is you have to keep using it from then on… or others will cause rainbow effects… ya you never put it on the lense.. always keep yours covered with a UV or skylight filter and color balance… hint hint… )
GMAs, with regard to the “behind the Falls” tour, it’s like Sinatra said… “always leave ’em wanting more.” We’ll look forward to doing that tour when we go back. But if I can’t take a camera, what’s the fun? (joke)
I keep a clear UV filter on the EX1. It’s a really nice ($$$) filter and it pretty much never leaves the camera. The EX1 has a great (IMHO) lens and I dare not allow it to be chipped or otherwise damaged! I’ve read a few horror stories online from guys who have done car mount shots without a UV filter (flying gravel = cracked lens!) or who have accidentally dunked their cameras in ocean water (bye bye EX1). For a big production that wouldn’t be such a big deal, but for the small independent company it would be a minor disaster.
Interesting idea about the Rain-X. I have used that stuff on my windshield! I could foresee having a separate Rain-X treated UV filter for misty weather conditions. But truth be told, if the weather is suspect then I’m usually grabbing one of the cheaper cameras.
OMG! The Falls is sooooo tacky! We were there about 4 years ago and stayed in a Hotel. The prices of anything were completely outrageous. Like you we did enjoy the Maid Of The Mist tour and managed a couple of snaps with a cheap digital camera. Taking an expensive video camera on that tour is being very brave! We loved some of those effects as you were leaving town. I’ve ordered a video instruction manual from Pinnacle …… hopefully we can figure out what on earth you are doing!! 🙂
Thanks Nigel, I sort of felt it would be dishonest to make a video about Niagara that didn’t address all angles. I mean, it makes it a little more interesting & relevant from a travel perspective if you know what to expect. You know, striking natural beauty – as well as little things like King Kong, Frankenstein, and the Sphinx – LOL
Actually, Niagara is kind of weird… I certainly feel it’s “national park worthy” but that’ll never happen. For one thing, the authorities manually adjust the water flow for dramatic effect. Also, we harness the energy of that river for electricity. So, “it is what it is,” as the saying goes.
With regard to the video stuff, the main thing is to have fun with it. You will have your own goals with regard to what you want to accomplish. Some people just capture individual moments in brief clips and post on their websites – this is a very effective technique. If I were starting over here, I might do the same.
For better or worse, I have treated each video as a short film. In the best-case scenario, they have a beginning, middle, and end – a true story arc. But this is really challenging and time-consuming to pull off. Making a short film involves visuals, audio, writing, editing… it takes a while to artfully complete.
What an awesome look on Kristy’s face as you get close to the falls! Thank goodness there are still sights, sounds, and feelings that overcome genero-towns. I got to experience Victoria Falls (not in traveling in an airstream, but similar except for comfort) – would have welcomed the garbage bag cover for sure. Soaked to he skin.