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Dealing with Niagara Falls Mist


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I was at a dog show this past weekend that was only an hour from Niagara Falls, so on Saturday evening I decided to go to the Falls and see what I could come up with to join the zillions of other pictures of Niagara Falls.

 

Biggest problem was dealing with the mist from the falls. Trying to get shots of the Maid Of The Mist boats as they sit at the base of the Falls. The mist is so great that it makes the image appear soft. What do you think?

 

Actual image:

 

maid-sample.jpg

 

Full crop:

 

niagara-crop.jpg

 

 

Jill

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Have you looked at the other images on Alamy to see if misty images were approved? And by the way, how do you post pictures on the forum that haven't gone through QC?

 

 

These images I upload to my webhost server that hosts my dog and horse websites and add that link. 

 

I have added fog pictures in the past and they did make it past QC. But fog is more obvious than mist. The mist is quite obvious above the boat, but not as obvious around the boat, although it is there.

 

Jill

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I wouldn't attempt to dissuade anyone from photographing Niagara Falls, but it's going to have to be a real cracker to rise to anywhere in sight in the mountain of terrific shots already stacked up. A challenge if you like!

 

The mist comes & goes, blows this way and that depending on the wind and probably the temperature. Most days you'll find something usable but it takes a lot of patience and luck. I must have done the falls a couple of dozen times over the years but only put a handful on Alamy. I think I've sold two in about ten years

 

If I thought the mist was degrading any shots of that subject, there's no question where they were going. QC wouldn't get a peek! That ugly looking motorised barge isn't going to cut it either! Some of the tour boats are much prettier, which would you choose as a buyer?

 

or have they scrapped all the pretty boats?

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I wouldn't attempt to dissuade anyone from photographing Niagara Falls, but it's going to have to be a real cracker to rise to anywhere in sight in the mountain of terrific shots already stacked up. A challenge if you like!

 

The mist comes & goes, blows this way and that depending on the wind and probably the temperature. Most days you'll find something usable but it takes a lot of patience and luck. I must have done the falls a couple of dozen times over the years but only put a handful on Alamy. I think I've sold two in about ten years

 

If I thought the mist was degrading any shots of that subject, there's no question where they were going. QC wouldn't get a peek! That ugly looking motorised barge isn't going to cut it either! Some of the tour boats are much prettier, which would you choose as a buyer?

 

or have they scrapped all the pretty boats?

 

 

Hornblower Niagara Cruises took over the Maid Of the Mist Boat Rides in 2014. Their boats aren't quite as nice as the old Maid Of The Mists. Shame, its such an iconic name, they should have paid to hang on to it. Maybe they couldn't.  So no more pretty boats.

 

Jill

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I did a search, and saw images like this. I didn't investigate further to determine if those mist-soft images were taken before or after QC tightened up. I probably wouldn't upload them. "Probably" means there would be a lot of waffling going on first, lol.

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I did a search, and saw images like this. I didn't investigate further to determine if those mist-soft images were taken before or after QC tightened up. I probably wouldn't upload them. "Probably" means there would be a lot of waffling going on first, lol.

 

Yes, there are a lot of misty shots. Looking at this one, though, the bow of the boat is shrouded in mist, but the stern looks fairly sharp (i.e. not misty).

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The mist, the fog, the churning water, it's all part of the scene that is Niagara. Without all that you just have a silly little boat.  

 

Very true, but QC might have a different idea. It's not always easy to know what they will expect of images like these.

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Only the photographer can and should make the decision to submit an image or not. 

 

Call me silly, but don't they call these boats Maids of the Mist?

 

 

They used to be called Maids of the Mist. Now they have the great name "Hornblower".

 

Still mulling on what to do with this and a few others. but its really hard to get any pics of the boats while they are right at the base of the falls without everything being shrouded in a mist.

 

I've been there a million times and it still blows me away when I go there. Especially if I take the boat to the base. The noise is unlike anything else.

 

Jill

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It seems the Glynn family still operate Maid of the Mist Boats from the American side while a Californian operator runs the Hornblower boats from the Canadian side. Lets hope there is no pushing & shoving mid-river; there is an international border down there amidst all that swirling water.

 

so we don't all have to edit out our Maid of the Mist shots just yet

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If they were mine, I would not submit them.  Every year I visit Niagara Falls and on some visits, the wind is just blowing the mist the wrong way, or I'm there the wrong time of day, and as a result my photos aren't up to par.  So I've tossed out some that were similar, looking grainy and obscured due to the mist and lighting.  And instead just submitted the clearer ones from another visit.  But I can't say for sure what QC would do as I haven't tried to submit the super misty ones.

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Full crop:

 

niagara-crop.jpg

 

Honestly, I don't think the mist is the problem here: It's what makes the shot.

 

The shot is however grainy/noisy or has compression artifacts... Either way, definitely very soft.

 

Don't know your setup, but check ISO, shutter speed and focus issues (may be better to MF)... No reason mist would effect getting a good crisp shot in this situation with some patience and good technique.

 

I do rather like the shot itself though! Good atmosphere and color.

 

-Jason

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Only the photographer can and should make the decision to submit an image or not. 

 

Call me silly, but don't they call these boats Maids of the Mist?

 

 

They used to be called Maids of the Mist. Now they have the great name "Hornblower".

 

Still mulling on what to do with this and a few others. but its really hard to get any pics of the boats while they are right at the base of the falls without everything being shrouded in a mist.

 

I've been there a million times and it still blows me away when I go there. Especially if I take the boat to the base. The noise is unlike anything else.

 

Jill

 

 

Yes, Niagara is one of life's awesome experiences. I've never been as an adult, never photographed there, but I still remember going as a teen. It is also the most accessible of the world's great water falls. Here's an experience I had at a different water falls, the one in Brazil.  

 

http://edoruan2.blogspot.com/2014/11/south-of-border-imagined-danger-was-my.html

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For some buyers, whether an image like this is the Niagara Falls, or done in the bath, will be totally irrelevant.  It's the story it tells and the concepts that can be pinned to it that will important (fluid dynamics, chaos theory, climate change, stress, risk ... the economy damnit).  Whether it's a seller or not I have no idea, but, based on creative research and other info I occasionally dip into, buyers want stories and more stories, whether editorially or commercially styled (and often there is overlap), they don't want a lot of static tourist snaps (got plenty of those thanks, half of them free, even got a lot done on Hasselblads).  Bear in mind that stories are stories, they can be fictional or true.  'Authentic' is the other word I come across a lot, and again, whether authenticity is factual or fictional is not necessarily important.

 

I have just being going through a lot of back copies of New Scientist, and for me this represents a master class in how editorial photography can be used conceptually.

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Unfortunately, with images like these, there's only one sure way to find out whether or not they will pass QC -- submit them and see what happens. Hopefully, your QC record is excellent and you can avoid the sin bin if they fail.

 

The other option is to send them somewhere else where, if they are rejected, you won't have to spend time on the sidelines.

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I shot the falls back in the film days, and got pics of the old Maid of the Mist boats.  Did not know they had been replaced, and wonder why they didn't try to keep the name.  For good overall shots I went up on what was then the Minolta Tower.  When the light was right you could get the falls with a rainbow. 

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I shot the falls back in the film days, and got pics of the old Maid of the Mist boats.  Did not know they had been replaced, and wonder why they didn't try to keep the name.  For good overall shots I went up on what was then the Minolta Tower.  When the light was right you could get the falls with a rainbow. 

 

The Maid of the Mist still runs on the American side, just not on the Canadian side anymore.  They lost the contract to Hornblower in 2013.

 

I decided not to upload the shots. Since they weren't really unique in any way, not worth a QC fail for shots I can get again on a better day.

 

Jill

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I shot the falls back in the film days, and got pics of the old Maid of the Mist boats.  Did not know they had been replaced, and wonder why they didn't try to keep the name.  For good overall shots I went up on what was then the Minolta Tower.  When the light was right you could get the falls with a rainbow. 

 

The Maid of the Mist still runs on the American side, just not on the Canadian side anymore.  They lost the contract to Hornblower in 2013.

 

I decided not to upload the shots. Since they weren't really unique in any way, not worth a QC fail for shots I can get again on a better day.

 

Jill

 

 

Probably a wise decision. I've never been to Niagara Falls, but I imagine that it isn't easy to come up with sell-able images. These days you have to find a really inventive angle when photographing famous locales. Most places have been done to death, unfortunately.

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Sheesh, 10,358.

 I don't think I've ever made a sale with anything like that sort of competition.

Yesterday I had 8 out of the 10 views in a search and 2 were zoomed- the other 2. :(

 

A selfie snapped while riding a barrel over the falls might work.

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