Felker Falls; Ontario Waterfalls

Felkers Falls is another of the beautiful waterfalls found in Hamilton. It can be reached by taking Centennial Drive (Highway 20) off of the Highway 403 (Niagara) and going up the escarpment until you turn right on Mud St.. Turn right on Paramount Dr., and then another right on Ackland where you will find a small park on the right where you can park. Felkers Falls is lovely especially in the fall foliage, but for a photographer, it can set some problems in finding a clear view.

GPS Location: N:43.20250 W:79.79179

Warning: It can be dangerous to view and photograph waterfalls. The footing can be wet and slippery, and an accidental fall can result in serious injury or death. Note also that many sections of waterfalls are on private property. Please respect these rights.

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Creamery Covered Bridge, Vermont

When Built: 1879

Builders: A crew of local workers

Description: Found in the City of Brattleboro, Vermont, it is currently only used for foot traffic. It has been kept in beautiful condition.

GPS Position: N:42.84958 W:72.58577

Creamery Covered Bridge, Vermont

This is part of a series on Vermont’s Covered Bridges. You can find an index here.

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Borers Falls: Finished Image

For my purposes, HDR processing is successful if the viewer is not sure if it was used. Lets call this HDR Lite.

I have been working on a project to photograph Ontario’s waterfalls, and often these images have a large dynamic range. Consider that these images my be required to record the near white of the water to the near black of rock crevices and it is easy to see that it could be a problem for any camera.

HDR (High Dynamic Range) processing is designed to tackle this type of problem, it is a process where a series is taken of the same scene with a range of exposures. An example may be three images taken at -1, regular, and +1 exposure. These are then combined in the computer for a composite image. I use Photomatix for this.

Minus 2 Exposure

0 Exposure

Plus 2 Exposure

Above are the base exposures used at -2,0,+2 exposure (You can click on them for a large resolution). While I didn’t want an extreme example of HDR processing, I did want to bring out the natural fall colors as well as the complete dynamic range. Photomatix has different processing methods available but each on their own was not what I was looking for. Lets take a look.

Details Enhancer

The above image is the result of using Details Enhancer at the default settings. I like the foliage detail it has brought out but it lacks contrast and is too light.

Tone Compressor

This image above was processed using the Tone Compressor method. I like the contrast and color but it is too dark and lacks detail.

Lets see if we can get this porridge just right. I opened both images in Photoshop and copied one as a layer to the other. I then adjusted the Opacity of the second layer to incorporate the best features of each image. This can range from 30-70% but often I find I am happy with it at 50%.

For waterfalls, HDR processing has a bonus in that it gives the water a nice blur.

Thanks for reading this, I hope you find it useful.

Processing Tutorials Index

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Progreston Falls: Ontario Waterfalls

From Highway 403 Hamilton, take Highway 6 north 11.5 km (7 miles) to Eighth Concession Rd. E. Proceed 2.8 km (1.6 miles) and take a left at Center Rd. After 0.9 km (0.5 miles), take a right on Progreston Rd and proceed 1.4 km (0.8 miles until the road takes a sharp bend by a railway bridge. The falls is under the bridge. Although there are a lot of man made structures around this falls, it still has charm.

View Larger Map

GPS Location: N:43.39749 W:79.96048

Warning: It can be dangerous to view and photograph waterfalls. The footing can be wet and slippery, and an accidental fall can result in serious injury or death. Note also that many sections of waterfalls are on private property. Please respect these rights.

Go to the Index to Ontario Waterfalls

If you would like to be informed of future Ontario Waterfall posts, Click Here.

Bartonsville Covered Bridge, Vermont

When Built: 1870

Builders: Sanford Granger

Description: One of four covered bridges, found in Rockingham, Vermont, and one of the finest.

GPS Position: N:43.22374 W:72.53682

This is part of a series on Vermont’s Covered Bridges. You can find an index here.

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A short video of Windam County, Vermont Covered Bridges

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Inky Cap Mushroom, Coprinopsis atramentaria

The Inky Cap Mushroom, Coprinopsis atramentaria, has some unusual properties. As it matures, it turns black and liquefies. It is an edible mushroom, very mild tasting. However it must be cooked quickly after picking because it takes little time to deliquesce.

Care must be taken that alcohol is not consumed within a few days of eating these mushrooms because they cause an unpleasant reaction. This has resulted in it being given the common names, Tippler’s Bane.

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Ukranian Church in HDR

This Ukrainian Catholic Church with its complex patterns seemed a good candidate for a HDR (High Dynamic Range) treatment. It also required a Fix in the Perspective.

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Heublein Tower, Connecticutt

Gordon Heublein, a food magnate, was walking in the on Talcott Mountain near Hartford, with his fiancee, and promised to build her a castle in the area. he kept his promise by building Heublein Tower as their summer house.

The building has been restored and run as an attraction by the State of Connecticut. Those who brave the long staircase walk to the top are rewarded with some wonderful views of farms and trees, especially fine in the fall.

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Baltimore Covered Bridge, Vermont

When Built: 1870

Builders: Granville Leland and Dennis Allen

Description: Originally this crossed the Great Brook in Springfield but it was moved to its present site on Vermont Route 11. It shares this site with the Eureka Schoolhouse, which is Vermont’s oldest one room schoolhouse dating back to about 1790.

GPS Position: N:43.27006 W:72.44801

Eureka Schoolhouse, Vermont

This is part of a series on Vermont’s Covered Bridges. You can find an index here.

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