Tourist Photography at Niagara Falls

Wendy Nicodemus

"Since the days of the early explorers, the Falls have become the mecca of North America. Poets and painters, princes, peasants, and plain people have been drawn to them, lured by their power and their glory, awed by their thunder, dazzled by their rainbows. Few other natural wonders have had such an effect on so many millions" (Berton 17).

How do people try to appropriate this spectacle? If twelve million tourists visit the Falls and take one roll of 35-millimeter 36 exposure film each, then, 100 million snapshots are shot. How many people go to the Falls without a camera? How many people go to the Falls and do not feel the need to photograph it? If this figure is correct, not many. What is it that attracts tourists to the Falls? Is it the power and glory of the Falls, or has it become a mass produced image that people feel a need to replicate and appropriate?

I am interested in exploring to what extent people reproduce the pictures they have seen before in order to authenticate the tourist realism. Is it necessary to find the "perfect" view of the Falls and how is this view found? When visiting the tourist viewpoints of the Falls, you see the binoculars that you pay to view through. From these points, many tourists can be seen photographing the Falls. Why are these positions the most popular positions to photograph the Falls? When viewing an old snap shot from when I was a child visiting the Falls (see picture- family photo), I felt the need upon return to find that spot that the photograph was taken. When I did find the exact location, I again felt the need to photograph it. Upon questioning other people about this, quite a few mentioned that the reason for taking a photograph in the particular location that they did was to replicate a previously seen photograph (whether it be a family snap shot or a mass produced post card). Through the next series of photographs, I hope to explore these issues.

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