Old Photo: Dunn's River Falls in Jamaica
Water flows down as people climb up at Dunn’s River Falls in Jamaica.
This latest entry in the Old Photo series was from our first trip to Jamaica in 2008. We had gone to Jamaica with a group from our church and a group from another congregation to do mission work in the town of Lucea. But after the work was done, we spent a fun day at Dunn’s River Falls, enjoying the natural beauty of the park.
As you might guess, the biggest feature of the park is the falls, since that is what gives the park its name. And the biggest draw of the falls is to climb up them. Some people climb individually, while others climb in a hand-holding chain of people, but those are mostly groups from cruise ships, I think. So we just climbed it in a small group, and without holding hands. I’m really not sure why someone decided to climb up a waterfall, but someone did and now it is a big thing. So of course, we climbed up the falls, too, since that is apparently what you do there. Sort of like the old answer that mountain climbers give about why they climb a mountain: “Because it is there.”
Climbing the falls wasn’t quite as difficult as I thought it might be. But there were more than a few slippery places, and it was always best to make sure one foot was on good footing before picking up the other foot. Also, you have to account for the force of the water going against you, because it can push pretty hard at times. It does make you wonder if they have ever had any serious injuries there, because someone falling at the falls is inevitable. But I don’t think I really want to know, so I won’t bother looking it up. If you want to know, Google is your friend.
Because of the size of the falls, you can’t get all of it in one photo. Perhaps the more recognized part of the falls is the lower end where the water empties out into the Caribbean (you can see some other parts in this post, by the way). But I liked this view that shows the water, the rocks, and the lush greenery that surrounds the falls, along with a couple of people to help you get an idea of the size of everything. It really does look like something you might see on “Fantasy Island” or some other paradise setting. Really cool!
If you are wondering, and I often get asked this when someone sees some of my Dunn’s River Falls photos, I did not climb the falls while carrying my camera. There were stairs and walkways running along much of the falls, so after climbing, I retrieved my camera from someone in our group that chose not to climb, and made the “dry climb” on the side with my camera, getting as many photos of this beautiful place as I can. However, in these days of waterproof “action cameras” such as GoPro and others, climbing the falls with a camera would be much easier than it would have been back then while carrying my big dSLR and trying not to get it wet. That wouldn’t have gone well, I would think.
So if natural beauty and climbing waterfalls sound like your kind of thing, give Dunn’s River Falls a try!
Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god. - Psalm 24:3-4
About the photo:
I’m not sure that I have shared this photo before. If so, it hasn’t been shared nearly as much as some of my other Dunn’s River Falls photos that I share from time to time. For this post, I was looking for something a little different from what I usually share, and I really liked the thick foliage of this photo.
IF I have shared this photo before, it hadn’t been processed like this, using Photoshop and the Google Nik Filters to give it a cool look. I altered the colors just a bit to give it a slightly old, postcard look, too, just for good measure.
Here is a before-and-after comparison. At first glance, it doesn’t look like much. But the longer you look at it, the more you can tell a difference between the coloring and detail. And I made the separation line go diagonally this time, just for something slightly different, too.
Photo: A single Raw exposure, processed in Photoshop. Read more about photography tips, photo software, camera gear, and more at Steve’s Photography Tips.
Camera: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT
Date: July 4, 2008
Location: Dunn’s River Falls, Jamaica
