"Wasp"erfall

It was bright and sunny day, one of the last summer days of the year. As usual, my dog (his name is Trancer) came darting at me as the shake of my camera bag was the international symbol of “walk”. I headed down the trail to this small waterfall on the top of the Niagara Escarpment and began to walk up the stream. The sun was starting to sink in the horizon and the softer light would let me use a longer shutter speed without as much over exposure. I left my camera bag at the bottom of the stream and just grabbed my tripod, my canon sl1, 18-55mm lens and my new cheap variable ND filter I had just bought on Amazon. I have always loved the way the milky water looks on a longer exposure so I was hoping to try this technique out with my cheap $25 filter. I finally made it up the steepest part of the falls to a flat peaceful stream. My dog was already waiting there looking back at me with half his tongue hanging out of his mouth. I sat down to check and see if I had all my equipment but when I raised my head I lost my train of thought. All I could think about was the quite water trickling over the bright green mossy limestone and the amazing orange reflections on the water from the soft light of the sun. I believed the green foliage would create a balanced photograph between the bright green moss and limestone. The water was flowing gently over the rocks and I thought it would add some great texture with a longer exposure. It was a “Photographers Paradise”. I immediately set up my tripod, screwed my filter on and began to take pictures. I could have stayed there for hours if I hadn’t been by interrupted by my dog whining to go home. I glanced through my play back and was happy with a few of the pictures I saw.

I was soaking wet and decided there might be an easier route along the river shoreline. I took about three steps on the land when I felt a stinging pain all along my leg as I stepped down from this log. I looked down and I saw yellow jacket wasps covering my leg. I looked ahead and saw Trancer jumping around in circles through the forest. I know that wasps are most aggressive in the fall especially when a boy and his dog demolishes their home for the winter. I began to sprint through the forest with my camera in one hand and tripod in the other. I was jumping over stumps, dodging branches (a few whacked me in the face) awhile angry bees were following me hoping for revenge. But then I remembered…my camera case, it was all the way at the bottom of the stream. Screaming through the forest I ran back and picked up my camera bag. I tried to pack up my stuff on the run but it was a disaster. I had lens covers rolling down hills and wasps still circling around me. I Looked for my dog who was running ahead of me – so much for boys best friend. At this point my flip flops were barely on my feet but I didn’t want to stop to fix it, I just kept running all the way home. By the time I was safely inside my house I had been stung all down my legs and back. I pulled a wasp out of my hair and when I open my camera bag another one flew out. I felt a little bad for destroying their home for the winter but the punishment was worth a few of the pictures I took. I plan to return to this same spot in the winter to get some shots of the waterfall covered in ice. The good news is that the wasps will be hibernating.