Twenty-two million: that's how many made it to Niagara Falls last year. Yes, it’s touristy, but travelers—even hipsters—clearly can’t resist snapping pictures here and sharing them. There are tens of thousands of#NiagaraFalls shots just on Instagram.
- Enter this month’s photo contest for a chance to win prizes and be published in T+L!
Niagara has also quickly become a favorite Facebook timeline cover photo and turned up repeatedly among submissions by the T+L community as we searched for beautiful images of waterfalls from Iceland to New Zealand.
There were other bucket-list classics, such as Iguazu Falls, whose massive scale on the Brazil-Argentina border is highlighted in a gorgeous aerial shot. And contemplative moments, too, like a quiet moonlit night at Yosemite Falls, dramatized by a low camera angle that captures the rugged terrain.
The best photographs lend this kind of fresh perspective to waterfalls that, after all, have been photographed countless times. Consider T+L member lpoinier’s image of Africa’s favorite waterfall destination, Victoria Falls, which cascades over the Zambezi River between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Notice the footpath in the left of the frame, which provides context, a sense of scope, and gets at the spectacle of viewing these forces of nature.
At Arizona’s Navajo Falls, regulus17 framed the shot carefully to capture the turquoise waters juxtaposed by the surrounding desert terrain. And we found that color contrast was repeatedly used to powerful effect. “Rising Water,” taken by fonurlu, captures the powerful Niagara Falls in black and white, so that the rushing water appears to blend with the frothy clouds above, while gmaso plays with the color purple to produce a stylized shot of Tennessee’s underground Ruby Falls, 1,120 feet beneath the mountain’s surface.
Our favorite T+L community photos will inspire you to go chasing waterfalls, whether in your own backyard or oceans away—and even to experiment with different angles and techniques.
After your next trip, upload your photos for a chance to win T+L’s monthly photo contest and to be featured in a slideshow.
