The first two weeks in October are usually peak times to visit the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for Fall color.
Karen and I decided to make a quick trip to the U.P. of Michigan for some Fall color. We usually go to the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore area but this year we decided to check out some waterfalls in the Western end of the U.P. This particular falls is one of my favorite because it’s so picturesque. It’s not the biggest by a long shot but I think it’s more photogenic than many of the larger falls. This is the upper Bond Falls on the Ontonagon River near Paulding, Michigan. The lower Bond falls is much larger and just down river from this one and although it’s pretty impressive, I like this one better.
The shot setup is pretty straight forward after choosing the composition. I used my 16-35mm wide angle zoom at 25mm to frame the waterfall and some of the trees up stream. The sky was cloudless so I tried to keep it to a minimum. The foreground rocks create a nice leading line into the image. To smooth out the flowing water I needed a long exposure and since it was still pretty bright out I added a 6 stop neutral density filter to the lens. I set the ISO as low as it would go at 31 and selected f/10 for the aperture. This gave me a 20 second exposure which produces the silky smooth water in the river and a nice flowing feeling to the falls.
This is a pretty popular waterfall and even on a weekday there where a lot of people out enjoying the day. Can’t say I blame them. So let me think, do I stay in the office and sit through more boring presentations about stuff I really don’t care about, or do I play hooky today and get out and enjoy some gorgeous scenery on a beautiful Fall day? Hmmm….tough choice isn’t it?
Nikon D810 with 16-35mm @25mm plus 6 stop ND filter. f/10 @20 seconds.
