fourpointedstar

The Hungarian Falls is a series of cascades just outside of Hubbell along Dover Creek. I particularly enjoyed the distinct trickles of water in the Upper Falls.

Canyon Falls is an easy hike, and the entire time you wonder “Is there really a Canyon?” and then you HEAR the falls.
It’s actually a little tricky to get to the falls, especially with a tripod and camera, and once you get down this close to the lower portion, it’s still not easy to see the falls in its full glory, since you’re off on the side. But there is no doubt, Canyon Falls is a powerful and loud falls.

What a beautiful and surprising way to start my trip! I arrived in the U.P. late on Sunday night and asked the employees at the Subway in L’Anse if there were any waterfalls around; after all, I have plenty of lists of waterfalls for Wisconsin, but at that point, I didn’t have any formal list for the U.P. They pointed out that Powerhouse Falls was just outside of town and very beautiful. So, bright and early the next morning, I wandered over to find this absolutely stunning waterfall.

The first week of October last year, I took an epic trip to visit waterfalls in Northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan; over the course of the week, I visited and photographed around 60 waterfalls (depending on how you segment certain falls). I’ve wanted to make it up there for years but had never taken the time to plan that trip; then Rich from Chicago Streets and Beyond photography group announced that he would be hosting a waterfall trip over the first week of October which coincides with my birthday … what a perfect birthday present to me!

Over the next 4 months, I’ll be posting a photo from each waterfall in the order that I visited them as well as a video of the falls, and I hope you enjoy taking the trip with me.

What an odd viewpoint – looking north down the Black River after Rainbow Falls, you can see a straight(-ish) river for about half of a mile, before the river turns and enters the Black River harbor.

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I was very excited about visiting the Presque Isle Kettles during my October waterfall trip, but I’m not thrilled with my photos from the kettles. While I did get some cool photos; overall, I feel like I didn’t capture the location as well as I could have – guess I’ll have to make a trip back, right?

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Quite honestly, you could spend several days photographing the area of Bond Falls. The falls itself is actually several falls over a few hundred feet of stream, and the internet says that it drops roughly 50 feet in elevation.

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Lost Creek Falls might have been my favorite falls from the trip. There really wasn’t much water coming over the falls, but the scene was so peaceful. I’ve walked to many waterfalls, and while they’re in the woods, you can still hear portions of civilization – a truck downshifting, someone mowing, or something else.

This area of Wisconsin is very rural, and then you have to walk about 2 miles to get to the falls through the forest, so there is simply no noise other than nature.

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I’m back to those photos from my October waterfalls trip – Copper Falls State Park is absolutely incredible; four waterfalls with so many great trails too! The main entrance to the parking lot is up that river channel, and you’re actually looking upriver in this photo. But what you can’t see is the 10ft falls at the bottom of the image, and the 35ft Brownstone Falls just a little farther onward. It was a very impressive view, and someday I’ll have to go back and take a lot more time to wander.
You can see all of my images from Copper Falls here.

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The staircase in the Ironwood Theater was absolutely gorgeous! (And we’ve already established that I like photographing staircases.)

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It struck me as somewhat comical that the counterweights for the various curtains and stage elements looked more like boxing punching bags. Each counter weight is specially balanced so that a member of the tech crew can properly move equipment quickly and fluidly.

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I have always loved the more abstract forms in architecture and row after row of seating is no exception.  The Ironwood Theater had these chairs produced to be as close to the original seating as possible, and the chairs come in various widths so that you’re not always staring at the head in front of you.

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The Ironwood Theater is nearly 100 years old (built in 1928). Starting 30 years ago, a group of volunteers began restoring the theater to its former glory, and you can definitely see portions of their handiwork through the photos this week.

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While we were on our October waterfall trip, our guide arranged for us to visit the Historic Ironwood Theater in Ironwood, Michigan. The theater has been beautifully restored, and they use this film projector to show classic films.

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