The Fraggle report ~waterfall edition

I’ve been going through my archives again, and have pulled together all the waterfalls I’ve shot, I never had a ND filter so don’t always get the floaty milky effect that seems to be the in thing, but sometimes I’ve managed it with a long exposure in low light. I actually like water looking like water and seeing the force of it sometimes.

Highforce
Highforce

High Force waterfall is on the River Tees in Teasdale, County Durham. The whole of the River Tees plunges over a precipice (cliff edge which is almost vertical) in two stages. In former times flooding created two separate falls, but after the completion of Cow Green Reservoir in the upper Teesdale this seldom happens now. 😦 It was thought to be the highest in England at 71ft (22m) but that’s not the case, there are higher ones in Cumbria & North Yorkshire. It is pretty impressive though. It’s easy to get to as there’s a path down to it from a carpark off the main road, though you have to pay a couple of quid to get there.

Low Force in Winter
Low Force in Winter
Low Force
Low Force

Low Force is about 1 mile down stream of High Force, and at only 18ft not too high, but it’s good enough for kayakers to train on..

Kayaks on Low Force
Kayaks on Low Force

LF2-2

Waterfalls don’t always have to be big and impressive, I like the little ones too, this one on the River Aln in Northumberland was cute

Baby waterfall
Baby waterfall

Also in Northumberland, and not as easy to get to is Hareshaw Linn waterfall. It’s a 3 mile hike from the village of Bellingham, following the stream known as Hareshaw Burn, along the way you see  mini waterfalls..

Bellingham-10

 

Bellingham-9

 

Hareshaw Burn
Hareshaw Burn

and then you get to the main event..

Hareshaw Linn
Hareshaw Linn

And then you have to trog all the way back!

Richmond in Yorkshire on the River Swale, has a not so high, but really wide waterfall, and in summer, silly boys jump into it.

Richmond & silly boys
Richmond & silly boys
Silly boy leaping
Silly boy leaping

well at least there was eye candy 😉 and it did look refreshing!

When I went to America though, Kathy & Dave took us some places and we had a whole different league of waterfalls.

Rochester
Rochester High Falls

This might not be the prettiest waterfall I ever saw but its a mighty beast. Part of the Genesee river where it flows through Rochester, it’s a working fall,  and was used to feed various flour mills and industries, today the water is used to produce hydroelectric power.

We visited Watkins Glen State Park in New York State and it is full of eye popping scenery. Lots of waterfalls in deep gorges

USA 2-3

USA 2-11

USA 2-12

USA I

USA 2-17

Watkins Glen entrance
Watkins Glen entrance

that was one of our favourite days out and places to visit, beautiful.

And then Kath & Dave took us over the border to Canada, to see the Daddy of them all…

Niagara Falls
Niagara Rainbow ~ Canadian Falls
Niagara Rainbow
Niagara Rainbow ~ American Falls

Located on the Niagara River, which drains Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, the combined falls form the highest flow rate of any waterfall in the world, with a vertical drop of more than 165 feet (50 m). Horseshoe Falls is the most powerful waterfall in North America, as measured by vertical height and also by flow rate. The falls are located 17 miles (27 km) north-northwest of Buffalo, New York and 75 miles (121 km) south-southeast of Toronto, between the twin cities of Niagara Falls Ontario, and Niagara Falls, New York.

Niagara Falls were formed when glaciers receded at the end of the last ice age, and water from the newly formed Great Lakes carved a path through the Niagara Escarpment en route to the Atlantic Ocean. While not exceptionally high, the Niagara Falls are very wide. More than six million cubic feet (168,000 m3) of water falls over the crest line every minute in high flow and almost four million cubic feet (110,000 m3) on average.

The Niagara Falls are renowned both for their beauty and as a valuable source of hydroelectric power. Managing the balance between recreational, commercial, and industrial uses has been a challenge for the stewards of the falls since the 19th century. (wiki)

Golden Horseshoe
Golden Horseshoe ~ Canadian Falls

USAN-38

Niagara Party lights
Niagara Party lights ~ American Falls

I am so glad I have seen Niagara Falls in my life, just an amazing experience to see and hear it. Will never forget standing right there and taking the shots.

laters gaters

😉

 

 

New York

Our last evening in USA and we had a layover at JFK airport, so took the subway into Times Square. What an experience, bright lights and people everywhere!

Bear Back Riding
Bear Back Riding
Dragon Training
Dragon Training
It's coming ....
It’s coming ….
His greatest battle -getting out of that window!
His greatest battle -getting out of that window!
McBling
McBling
Bright Lights
Bright Lights
Super hero's and Liberties.
Super hero’s and Liberties.
Funny as..
Funny as..
Place to be seen..
Place to be seen..

Niagara Falls

Had a wonderful trip to Canada whilst in USA, to see the Niagara falls, and they were every bit as awesome as I expected them to be. Also great fun to see the amusements and lights, reminded me a bit of Blackpool here in blighty 🙂

The Horsehoe Falls
The Horseshoe Falls
On the edge
On the edge
An apple a day...
An apple a day..
On the walk to the falls
On the walk to the falls
Bright Lights
Bright Lights
Niagara Night
Niagara Night
Night lights at the Falls
Night lights at the Falls
The American Falls
The American Falls

Home sweet home.

Finally getting around to the blog, have been back from holiday for a week, and as usual it feels like I never went away, think everyone feels that! Nice to have a bank holiday weekend, don’t think I’d quite recovered from all the travelling and time lapses of the journey home before being straight in at the deep end for work.  Anyway USA was fab! I will be posting some photo’s of places I’ve been, but am starting out with a some of the shots I took of 2 great bands we saw in Nashville. Nashville is just full of people singing, in clubs and bars, and on the street.  We meant to visit a few, but we went to a bar called Nashville Crossroads, and the band there were so good we never left to the end!  The next night we popped back in just to see who was there and the same thing happened, different band but just as magic, so we need to go back. 🙂

Nashville Crossroads
Nashville Crossroads

 

The first band we saw was John Kale..  really good country and great fun stage wise..

https://www.facebook.com/pages/John-Karl/124127683901?fref=ts

NV-65

NV-48

NV-55

NV-57

 

And the second night was Jennifer Friend…

https://www.facebook.com/jenfriendmusic?fref=ts

NV-76

 

NV-73

NV-86

NV-72

 

 

Letter to America

hello piggy
hello piggy

I took this shot back in April 2012. I had decided to visit America, and I got the piggy from Amazon to save up my coins for spending money. The USA had never really been on my ‘go to’ destinations, I’d seen enough of it on TV and it didn’t float my boat at all. Egypt, Japan, Thailand, Cook Islands, Raratonga, these were the exotic destinations I’d travel to in my head.  Not America where everyone shoots and asks questions later. 🙂 But back in ’07 I joined Flickr, and found many contacts from various parts of USA, and saw their wonderful photo’s of an amazingly visual treat of a place. And I got to know them over a period of time, as much as anyone can know anyone on a virtual platform. And then bit by bit I found myself connecting more and more with a contact, FRPTlady, who drove a school bus in Rochester NY. The bus was yellow and immediately I thought of Otto from the Simpsons (my definitive imagination of America). FRPTlady is actually Kathy Salvatore, but she is Mrs.O for Otto to me. We’ve been chatting on Flickr, Facebook, Ipernity, for a long while now, and back in 2012 I decided I was going to go and visit Mrs.O and have a holiday in the US of A.

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2 years on now, and I had to invest in a second piggy to hoard my coins. Today I counted up, £265, $445.266 and went shopping for holiday clothes 🙂

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I am so excited to be visiting the USA. I’m old enough now to appreciate our national connections. My chap Phil is a history buff, and I now understand WW1 & WW2 gave our nations a bond that I don’t think should ever be broken. I can’t wait to experience the landscapes, the people, the food and the history. I am beside myself that I’ll be visiting Niagara Falls, Columbia and Nashville. I am so looking forward to seeing Kathy & her Hubby Dave.

IMG_2652

I got some spends 🙂

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