Limestone Waterfall
Along the Illinois and Michigan Canal just east of downtown Lemont, a small stream cascades down the limestone walls cut over a century ago by Irish, German and Swedish immigrants. This portion of the canal needed to be cut through solid limestone rather than just clay and soil, so the stream ended up becoming a waterfall that spills into the I and M Canal.
Most people who walk or bike the National Heritage path along the canal have never even noticed this waterfall. Because the towpath is about 10 feet above the surface of the water at this point, it can be passed right up. While it's not a huge waterfall, it's certainly not minuscule; at approximately 10 feet tall and 10 feet wide, it's impressive and makes quite a bit of noise.
click to enlarge
The Waterfall From Above (looking east)
Viewing the falls from the towpath is pretty easy, though it may be somewhat obscured by trees and shrubs in summer. Getting down the limestone walls of the canal isn't impossible if one is in prepared for a climb. Soil carried over the falls by the stream has created a small island in the center of the canal right in front of the waterfall. This is a great vantage point to see the waterfall as well as the canal from a unique perspective.
click to enlarge
Sunrise, From the Island in the Canal
This was taken early Sunday morning, about 20 minutes before sunrise. It's an HDR image, (High Dynamic Range) created out of three photographs taken at different exposures - one set for the shadows, one for the midtones, and one for the highlights. The images are merged together in Photoshop to create one image that is perfectly (I hope) exposed. A lot of HDR images are very odd looking, it seems that most people overdo it and the photos have a surreal look to them. I prefer an HDR image that is well exposed and not "painted."
No comments:
Post a Comment