Photographing Michigan Waterfalls
Melting Snow Equals Beautiful Waterfalls
The Upper Peninsula (UP) of Michigan is known for large snowfalls. It is not unusual to have over 200 inches of snow in a season and the record snowfall stands at 390.4 inches according to a sign we saw in the Keweenaw Peninsula. When all of this snow melts in the spring the waterfalls in the area are full of rushing water. In the UP you will find over 324 different waterfalls.
When we visited, in mid June, we found waterfalls everywhere we went. Many times we would pull off the road and hear the rushing water. Other times we would follow signs that led us to paths to the nearby waterfalls.
Earlier in the spring, I had attended a class where the instructor gave us tips on photographing waterfalls, so I was anxious to try out these tips and photograph some waterfalls.
On this page, I will pass on the tips that worked for me as I show you photographs from 5 of the waterfalls I photographed in Michigan. We returned to Michigan in September and was able to photograph the beautiful Tahquamenon Falls. I am adding that photo near the end of this page.
all photos by myself-mbgphoto
Alger Falls - forgetting the tips
The first waterfall that I photographed was on the side of a busy road. My husband pulled off the road and I jumped out with my camera. The ground in front of the waterfall was rocky and hilly and I thought I could shoot it without a tripod.
I use aperture priority when I shoot. This allows me to pick the aperture and the camera sets the speed. In order to get a slower speed to get the smooth waters that I like to take you have to use a larger number on your aperture. Ideally I would like to use an F22 or higher but without a tripod the largest number I could use successfully for this photo was a F11. This gave me a speed at 1/20 a second. It was not really good enough for what I wanted, but then I was in a rush.
The resulting photo is, in my opinion, mediocre. In the photos that follow you will see the results when I use the following tips.
- Always use a tripod
- Slow down and take your time
- Use a polarizing filter to reduce the glare and slow the speed
- Use a remote shutter release
Munising Falls - 50 foot drop
This beautiful waterfall was located near where we were staying in Munising. We parked in a lot and then I walked a well maintained path into the woods for about 1/2 mile to reach two of the viewing platforms for the waterfall. This waterfall has a breathtaking 50 foot drop into a canyon.
The platform for viewing made it easy for me to set up my tripod to get a good shot. A tripod is essential to get the smooth looking water in this photo. I shot this photo using the aperture setting of F22 this gave a shutter speed of .6 seconds. I had my ISO set at 200 and used a shutter release to keep the camera steady.
Photography Equipment - three items to capture perfect waterfall photos
- If you are looking to get the look of the smooth flowing water in your
waterfall photos, a tripod is an essential piece of equipment. The tripod
listed below is the one I use. It is not a high priced piece of equipment
and it works with all of my cameras (yes even my point and shoot). To get
the steady shot you need for waterfalls I highly recommend using a tripod.
- Using a polarizing lens will help you to slow down your shutter speed to get
the smooth look of the water. It also helps to reduce any glare. This is
especially important if you are trying to shoot on a sunny day. On a cloudy
day it wouldn't be necessary.
- A shutter release is also helpful in keeping your camera steady. I have one
that attaches to my camera, but I think a remote one would be really nice.
Tripod on Amazon.com
Smooth Flowing Water - Wagner Falls
The Wagner falls was also near Munising, Michigan. It starts with Wagner
Creek which flows over a number of rocky ledges to create this beautiful
waterfall. There was also a tree limb that had fallen across the area, which
added to the falls of the water.
I got to this waterfall by walking a short gravel path to a viewing
platform. As was the case for the Munising Falls, the platform made a
perfect place to set up my tripod. I was shooting from several angles,
moving around the platform, when another photographer came and stood near
me. He watched me for awhile and then inquired as to whether I had a
polarizing filter in my camera bag. Now, I knew that was a way to slow down
my shutter speed, but I had forgotten to add the filter. I thanked him for
the tip and then went and put on the polarizing filter. This made a really
nice difference.
It was a sunny day and the filter helped to reduce the glare and slow down
the speed. I was able to shoot this photo using a F25 aperture and a speed
of .5 seconds. I was pleased with the smoothness of the water in the
resulting photo.
Wagner Falls with an Aperature of F8
Jacobs Falls
The next two waterfalls are ones that we encountered as we were visiting lighthouses in the Keweenaw Peninsula in upper Michigan. In both of these photos I remembered to use all of the waterfall photography tips I had learned. I took my time, used a tripod, used my polarizing filter and used an off camera shutter release.
In this photo of Jacob Falls I used a setting of F22 which gave me a speed of 1/3 second. I also pushed my ISO down to 100 to further slow the speed.
In the photo of Eagle River falls I used a F22 setting at 1/15 second.
Eagle River Falls
Tahquamenon Falls - beauty in the fall
The Tahquamenon Falls are beautiful. They have a orangish brown color that
comes from the tanic acid that leaches into the river from cedar and hemlock
swamps. When we were there in September of 2013 I took many photos of the
falls. Sometimes I tried to capture some of the fall colors of the trees to
pick up on the orange color of the water. On other photos I looked for a way
to frame the falls to show off the beauty of the falls.
In this photo I found a place where I could take the photo with a tree stem
on each side of the picture. I think it works well to frame the photo.
My Waterfall Photos on Zazzle
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Waterfalls are always so beautiful and you certainly captured some fabulous shots! Thanks for sharing your secrets for photographing waterfalls.
ReplyDeleteYour waterfall photos evoke such peaceful feelings, Mary Beth. Makes me want to go hiking in search of a waterfall to photograph in our part of the country. Great tips!
ReplyDeleteI love waterfalls and your beautiful photos bring these UP Michigan waterfalls to life for me. Your photography tips, as always, are very helpful.
ReplyDeleteThe photos are gorgeous, you always provide useful tips, thanks
ReplyDelete