Niagara Falls, New York - between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie
I woke up to the sounds of a slow drizzle of rain dancing against the outside of my tent. I was dry, but inside it still felt damp wth a little chill. It was about 4:30am, so I knew there was always the opportunity for conditions to change. This is the Great Lakes so weather can change one way or the other in a heartbeat. All in all, my quiet campsite north of Niagara Falls was perfect.
I pulled myself together, made some coffee on the back of the truck gate, rain filling my cup like a little added non-dairy creamer. The oatmeal I made was hot and was quickly taking any chill that I had left me, very far away.
Eventually I made my way down to the falls. When I arrived it was pitch dark and it would stay that way for another half hour or so. I took the time to have more coffee and puruse my map books for the days other locations to photograph. It never did stop raining out. The gates finally opened to the park and I made my way towards the falls from the parking lot. I was the only one there. No surprise really. It was raining hard. I was dressed in rain gear from head to toe and I even worked my camera from inside a raincover.
I know this much. Niagara Falls gets hammered with visitors on a typical day. It was spectacular to be there photographing all by myself. It was a little eerie at first, but clearly the morning rain was keep most everyone back in their hotel rooms. I photographed for nearly a half hour, the so-called sun really never came up, but the light levels modified with time.
Eventually I saw another visitor. Then another, and another and so on. The park was coming to life!
I was there only about 45 minutes in total at this location. It was enough. I found what I was looking for and it was time to move on. Just as I made my way to my truck, 3 large tourist buses pulled up and were dropping of dozens of tourists from Japan. What a place. Niagara Falls, if you can find it early enough, you can actually see it for yourself and maybe if you squint hard enough you can see it as it was just a mere couple hundred years ago. A large roaring river and waterfalls. It is beautiful and a sight to behold.
I am photographer Ed Wargin and this is life along The Fresh Coast.
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Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 6:55AM 
