On the maps of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan it is known as Bond Falls Flowage, a sparkling lake managed by the U.P. Power Company. Into this impoundment flow Deadman Creek and the Middle Branch of Ontonagon River, and out of it flows Middle Branch on its way north to join East Branch and West Branch before merging at the village of Ontonagon with the waters of Gitchi Gami, the greatest lake of them all, Superior. Not long released from the Flowage, Middle Branch tumbles over a series of cascades ending in one of the most spectacular drops in the UP, Bond Falls. Along the run of cascades is, in autumn splendor, one of the most amazing small falls I have ever encountered; and if you arrive at the right monent in the diurnal and seasonal cycles, and on a reasonably clear day, your reward is assured. Two dear friends who have sadly left us since the turn of the century, Bob and Gloria Epperson, introduced me to Bond Falls from their many adventures to photograph the wonders of America. I never tire of standing beside the flow, in gratitude for the beauty before me.
A focal length of 255mm from a distance of 25-30′ allowed me to isolate a small section of the cascade, with the rich reflected colors reaching into the lip of the drop. An aperture of f/13 provided depth-of-field and, at ISO 100, allowed for a shutter speed of 1/6th of a second, fast enough to almost freeze the flow of the water at the drop’s edge.
In considering a label for this image, I would discard both Intimate and Abstract in favor of calling it a straightforward (moderate) Telephoto creation characterized by magnification and compression. How do you see it?
Another spectacular image. The contrast of the golden water and the blue of the water slowly streaming over the edge is a wonder to behold. My bucket list of places to visit keeps growing.
Beautiful image!!! The shutter speed consideration in this really makes the picture special. I usually go for the more cottony effect and that would not work as well here. Hoping that this reflects (pun intended) some of the beauty that we will get to see in October as we explore the wonders of the UP.
Great capture! Love it!
An amazing photograph. The colors are so rich and the contrast is so complementary. You see the beauty in nature with such a keen eye.whether it be a micro- environment or a macro- environment you have the ability to see it and capture it photographically.what a talent.
Howdy Don, Love the multiple contrasts you have captured in this image. he contrast of soft & sharpness water movement and the contrast of warm tones and cool tones and just plain contrast and clarity. It all works to make this small extraction composition oh so powerful. Wish I had a shot like this.
I am in awe of your talent and never tire of viewing your weekly photograph.
No mere classification label can do this image justice, and I don’t care “what” it is. It’s beautiful! It’s eye-poppingly beautiful! It’s “I wanna be there” beautiful!
Man oh man. What beauty. Looks like it was painted on instead of reflections. Just Beautiful ?
I too have enjoyed stopping by there on the way to the UP.
This is stunning, Don. What a treat to see it!
Awesome. The water flows from under a burning lake of melted gold.
Bond falls is one of my favorite places. I would like to photograph it in all seasons and all lighting…morning, noon, and night! I guess I would have to live there to do that. This one looks like liquid gold. I like the contrasts, the lines and the sparkle on the bottom left, right at the bottom of the point. It is very memorizing,
it’s very mesmerizing. 🙂
Good morning Everyone. Thank you all very much for joining me for this conversation. We are so very blessed to live in the world in which we live. There is great beauty everywhere we look – from the largest landscape to the smallest, most intimate one. To share with each other the beauty we see some mindful considerations are absolutely necessary: we must understand “light”, how our eyes see it and understand it, and how a camera records it and how a computer can process it. Those are technical considerations, and beyond them there are the creative considerations of composition. Making a photograph is like building a house, and we are both architect and carpenter.
Hey Chris, thanks so much for your kind words. I was also keenly aware of the color as it went over the small drop and spread out over the rock below. This we can “see” and our challenge is to help the camera to see it too. Get to know the places on your list, not just as brief stopovers on the way to somewhere else, but as extensions of you. The pleasure you will derive will be immeasurable.
Hey Kev, thanks for your thoughtful comment. Absolutely, shutter speed was a key consideration: too much “cottony” effect and the color blurs out. The ambient light always creates constraints and you have to know the tools that are available and how to get the most out of them. If the maple trees at Bond Falls are in color when we are there, we will have opportunities for this sort of reflectiveness.
Hey Ron. Great to hear from you! Hope all is well. I truly appreciate your kind words.
Hey Chuck. I am very honored by the kind words you have offered, but I also believe that we all have the capacity to see and photograph the world at great depth. What I believe is necessary is the capacity for connection with that world. Of course, understanding how a reflection is created and maximized is a big help here, too.
Howdy Michael. It’s always good to have you join us. I appreciate your considering that there so many contrasts in this Image. The sharpness/softness in the water was the one that required the most thought. I knew that my depth-of-field would be somewhat limited by aperture and focal length, so I chose to focus at the top of the “” of the lower part of the drop. Knowing I would have some sharpness in both directions from that point. The water in the top of the image was moving toward the drop, and my thought was that this movement would “forgiven” by the viewer as natural. Thank you for pointing out all of the contrasts here, including the warm/cool. What really makes that all work for my money is that the reflection is in fairly deep shade so the the colors are all highly saturated.
Hi Debra. Thank you very much for being with us. I am deeply honored by you kind words. I hope that my work will always provide you with such visual pleasure.
Hey Donald. Where to begin to say “Thank you”? You have coined a new expression that I will now carry with me: “I wanna be there beautiful.” You cannot ask more of any concept of beauty than the wish to be and linger in its presence. Thank you, my friend.
Hey Mike. I’m going to have to put you and Don Newsom in the same category. Seriously, “Thank you” for those very kind and thoughtful comments. I don’t know if I’m every going to make it to the UP again after the coming trip in October, but if I do, I hope you and Newsom will join me. You will love it as do I.
Hey Bob. Thanks for being with us. I envy the fact that you are so close, at least in relative terms, to the western part of the UP and to Bond Falls. I know you have enjoyed your chances to visit over the years.
Hey Barbara. We’ll call it even. Your very kind words for this Image. Hope all is well in Texas. Bonnie and I were thinking about you recently and wondering what sort of adventures you’ve been enjoying. Be well.
Hi Nancy Y. It’s always good to have you with us. Your metaphoric description flows like music, and I keep having this vision of a “burning lake of melted gold” somewhere underneath the Bond Falls Flowage lake. The visual you create is awesome.
Hey Nancy T. Your wonderful words are very memorizing and the picture they evoke is equally mesmerizing; and all of them together make me really grateful that I know you and have had the opportunity to share such beautiful places with you. May we always Walk in Beauty.
What a wonderful collection of thoughtful comments you have all shared with me this week. I am honored by all of them, and as I look out my library window, I see the tiny signs of spring as they pop forth to remind me that the new season is very shortly to be with us. May we all fully experience the creative opportunities it portends.