Yondota Falls-Gogebic County, Michigan

After being chased out of  the woods on my previous waterfall due to lightning, I headed to an easier hike in case bad weather reared it's ugly head again. Yondota Falls is a short hike off of County Road 523 in Gogebic County. The mosquitoes were bad at the last waterfall and this one was no different. I was prepared for this by being completely covered in protective clothing and bug spray despite the 85 degree day. The breeze by the waterfall was a welcome treat during my time there. The weather started to shift to more sun than thunderclouds causing my white balance to go nuts. I ended up not using multiple clips due to this problem.

Music by Dexter Britain   Song: Telling Stories with tempo and editing change

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12 Foot Falls Marinette County Wisconsin time lapse

12 Foot Falls is one of the main attractions in the waterfall series in Marinette County Wisconsin. I have visited the falls before but due to the heat and mosquitoes, it was only a short stop. This time it was beautiful day. As soon as I set up to capture the falls from the crest, a group of Kyakers decided it was their time to shoot the falls. I waited until they were finished playing around int he falls to continue my work.

Music by Dexter Britain   Song: Leave Well Enough Alone Instrumental partial, tempo slowed

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Dave's Falls Marinette County-Time lapse

On my second day in Marinette County, WI, I stopped at Dave's Falls first thing in the morning. As usual, this early I had the park to myself. The sun was bright and shining directly on the waterfall, not happy about that, but it was still a beautiful morning.

Dave's Falls is located south of Amberg, Wisconsin and is a County park that charges $3.00 a day to visit the waterfalls in the County.

Music by Dexter Britain

Song: The Time To Run

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Fumee Falls Dickinson County, Michigan-timelapse

In the town of Quinnesec, Michigan there is a roadside waterfall called Fumee Falls. Named after it's water source Fumee Lake, which is about a mile upstream. This is a multi step waterfall with the upper falls being viewed from a platform above the main falls. The area around the falls is marked no trespassing due to previous extreme footwear causing a collapse of the rocks. This makes shooting the upper falls in a single shot practically impossible. Also, there is an ugly sign right in the way, too.

I have driven through this area a few years back and stopped at the falls only to find it running with a low water flow.

Music by Dexter Britain  Song: After Christmas

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Long Slide Falls-Marinette, County Wisconsin

My second waterfall of the day was Long Slide Falls. The waterfall is down river from Smalley Falls. I have been to Long Slide before but was not able to get to the lower area due to stormy weather. This day was different with a blazing sun burning through the trees causing me exposure problems. Climbing down to the lower section can be quite difficult so if you take on the task, be careful.

Music by Dexter Britain   Song: The Holiday Excitement

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Smalley Falls Marinette County, Wisconsin-time lapse

I have visited the waterfalls of Marinette County, Wisconsin in 2011 during the summer heat wave, this time I returned with slightly cooler weather and a blazing sun. In some of the footage you will see the shadows moving in and out of the scene creating a quite a task during the editing process. The water level was a a little higher and faster this time around keeping me from getting in the river to get shots of the falls.

Music by Dexter Britain

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Cox Hollow Waterfall-Governor Dodge State Park time lapse

I arrived at Governor Dodge State Park early in the morning as the sun was shining through the fresh ice and snow covered underbrush. It looked like diamonds were growing out of the vegetation. I had planned on capturing Stephens Falls also located in the same park, but I had a misstep on a small patch of ice at the 2 1/2 hour mark and cracked the back of my head against a rock wall, some blood and a minor concussion. Of course I had to finish up with my sets, so I captured 5 set more to complete the shoot. I now had a five hour drive home...... Be careful out there!

Apple Canyon Falls-Jo Daviess County Illinois

Neither rain nor snow not even the beat of the wind will keep me from looking like a complete idiot while standing on the side of a busy road during a rain/snowstorm to capture a waterfall. Yea, with that said, that's what I did while desperately hanging onto an umbrella trying to keep my equipment dry....well, from getting soaking wet, anyway. Apple Canyon Falls is a spillway for the recreational Apple Canyon Lake. I have driven by the falls years before, but it was during a dry season and there was no water flowing at the time. I hit the jackpot this visit.

Music by Dexter Britain

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Thunder Bay waterfall-Lake Galena Illinois time lapse

On my latest trip, I stopped by the Thunder Bay Road waterfall/spillway. Since they had about 2-3 days of rain and snow, I knew Lake Galena would be spilling it's banks. I was not disappointed except for the excessive spray coming from the falls. The wind was whipping up the mist and carrying it towards me and my position on many occasions. I hope to return this summer and capture it during it's summer or fall bloom.

Music by Dexter Britain Song: The Stars are Out

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Dunning's Spring Decorah, Iowa timelapse

While planning a trip to visit a friend, I needed to pass through Decorah, Iowa and discovered there is flowing spring and 200 foot cascade waterfall called Dunning's Spring. The weather was rainy when I arrived and it continued to increase the whole 4 hours I was at the falls. The last 6-7 series of time lapse shots (25 minutes) were in a complete downpour. Luckily, I had recently purchased a double layered and stitched umbrella that held up quite well in the wind and rain. My last one fell apart in another downpour last fall.

This is a beautiful waterfall sans the leaves and I can't wait to revisit the park in full summer bloom.

Music by Dexter Britain Song: Shooting Star (partial & tempo increased)

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Cascade Falls Osceola Wisconsin time lapse

Having not been to a waterfall in over 5 months, I headed to Osceola Wisconsin to get my waterfall fix at Cascade Falls. This one is usually the first waterfall to show open water as spring slowly arrives. A previous visit earlier in the year yielded a completely frozen fall. The morning was brisk and cold. I had not dressed properly despite being bundled up quite well. As you view the video you can see I finally have my icicle shots and moving water for my winter video.

Music by Dexter Britain Song: The Fresh Monday.

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Agate Falls Ontonagon County Michigan time lapse

The final waterfall video of my 2013 fall trips to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I had decided to head to Agate Falls due to having a road blocked by a lumber truck on my way to Jumbo Falls. As I pulled into the parking area, it started to rain rather heavily. I brought my umbrella with hopes that the rain would soon stop. It didn't. I was down in the gorge of the river when the clouds opened up and it began to pour hard enough where mud started to wash down the hill onto me. I packed my equipment up and crawled back out of the gorge.

Music by Dexter Britain

Kakabika Falls time lapse Gogebic County, Michigan

The morning sun was starting to rise as I approached the parking area of Kakabika Falls. The colorful leaves were covered in mist due to the rain from the previous night. Walking downstream towards the main falls felt like I was hiking through a Rain forest. Old growth scattered the forest floor with sharp rock sticking out from the fallen leaves. From the parking area to the main fall, the river is a constant series of waterfalls with the last being the biggest of them all. With a warm coffee in my hands, I thought this is the way to start a beautiful morning.

Bond Falls time lapse Ontonagon County, Michigan

My first waterfall on my third trip to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in 2013 was Bond Falls in Ontonagon County. This is the largest waterfall attraction in Western Michigan and that means lots of people with cameras. I ended up meeting and talking to one of the few true artists when I was there, Levent Eryilmaz. 

The weather was quite dreary and it looked like it would start raining at anytime, as usual, I had my umbrella with me. Turns out, I didn't need it at all. My last visit warranted an umbrella the whole time I was here. The falls are quite large and tough to get all of the angles I wanted. Using the wooden pathway would have been ideal but footsteps bounce the wooden planks too much for my work.  

Music by Dexter Britain Song: From Truth

Upper Duppy Falls Iron County MI timelapse

After spending a couple of hours capturing the lower falls, I moved upstream to the upper set of Duppy falls. About this time the sun started to poke it's head through the forest causing some hot spots that made shooting the falls difficult. This would be my last waterfall after three days of waterfall hiking and I was feeling the wear and tear on myself. There was a large ring of foam circling around the in the lower pool, but it broke up by the time I was set up.

Music by Dexter Britain Song: Running Through Tunnels

Lower Duppy Falls Iron County Michigan time lapse

On the final morning of my second fall trip in 2013 to the Upper Peninsula, I headed to a series of waterfalls named Upper and Lower Duppy Falls. I was unhappy that the weather predicted sun, so I headed to the falls early before there was too much light. The Jumbo river flows through a valley in this area (an easy hike) so harsh lighting would not be a problem. As you can see it's worth the trip. Almost right away I dropped my lens hood in the deepest part of the stream to never be seen again. This caused problems later as the sun rose, but not for the first waterfall shoot. Enjoy the beauty I experienced that wonderful morning.

Upper Silver Falls #4-5 Baraga County MI time lapse

The final two waterfalls downstream from the bridge are Baraga Falls #2, a relatively small waterfall and Baraga Falls #1 being the cornerstone waterfall in the series. By the time I reached falls #1 the sun really started to cause me problems with harsh lighting. I had been on the trail since sunrise and 11 hours later it was now close to sunset. I was tired but still had an hour hike back to my van ahead of me. It had been in heaven for most of the day but it now time to turn back to the realities of daily life.

Music by: Dexter Britain   Song: My Song For January

Upper Silver River-Baraga Falls # 2-3 time lapse

The next two waterfalls on the Upper Silver River area are Baraga Falls 3 and 4. There is a quite a bit of hiking and crossing the river to get to the next two waterfalls. Baraga Falls #4 was a small chute slide to a final five foot drop that would look more dramatic if the water level was higher. The two waterfalls are very close together and the tiered slide in between them is quite a beautiful site. Baraga Falls #3 is the largest drop of all of them at about 25+ feet. Again, a higher water level would have created a nice curtain of water. I wish I had shot some over the edge shots, but I was slight distracted with figuring out I was going to get to the lower level.

The waterfalls have been respectively named by Michigan's contemporary waterfall photographer, Phil Stagg

Music by Dexter Britain Song:In The Electric Fields (partial w/tempo increase)

Upper Silver Falls #1 Baraga County MI time lapse

The first view you see when you look downstream from the bridge is the gentle flow of the Silver River in Baraga County Michigan. The opening shots are the beauty I witnessed that perfect morning. The first of four waterfalls is a nice small drop that curves around a rock face. That morning I met a couple of the river residents in the form of the Brown American Marten who popped their heads out of their streamside burrow to look at this strange site standing in the waterfall.

Music by Dexter Britain Song: Safe in Glass Houses