winter in the niagara river

Today, the prompt was for me to talk about how I got started doing what I do. Well, actually, I became a photographer by accident. When I was in journalism school, I was not interested in photography. That wasn’t because I didn’t want to take pictures. It was because I thought that carrying around heavy equipment was not going to be practical. Also, I thought that I would be a disaster in the darkroom.

Years later, when I started writing for the Island Dispatch, I was told that I needed to take pictures. I started off with disposable cameras. When I began using digital cameras, everything changed. I realized that I could take lots of photographs since I knew that I didn’t have to take film to the store and have all of the photographs developed. I took pictures for the newspaper and for myself, as well. I also discovered that I really liked photography, and it’s become an integral part of this blog.

Today, I went out to take pictures of ice in the Niagara River. Because of recent weather conditions, I was pretty sure that I would see ice in the river. Would the ice float rapidly or would it sit in one spot? If the ice wasn’t very dense, it might float rapidly. But not today. As I was traveling along the river, I could see ice. It wasn’t thick ice, but it was definitely there. My friend and I decided to stop at the Niagara Power Project intake, where I could take pictures. There, I had the opportunity to take a look at the ice, as well as at the effort that was being taken to keep the spread of the ice under control in the Niagara River, which, normally, is ice free, as this is a fast flowing river.

What I saw were two ice breakers, one from Canada and one from the United States, working together for mutual benefit.

The red boat, shown above, is the Niagara Queen II, an icebreaker owned by Ontario Power Generation that helps to keep the Niagara River clear of ice during the winter. And, although it’s very early in the winter, there is plenty of ice in the Niagara River.

On Tuesday, December 30th, there was a wind and ice storm that resulted in wind speeds of up to 80 miles per hour (128.7 kilometers per hour) in Buffalo and up to 100 kph (62.1 mph) in the Niagara Region. The storm intensified quickly enough to be called a “bomb cyclone.” The result of that bomb cyclone was widespread power outages in both Western New York and the Niagara Region of Ontario. In addition, the temperatures have been very low, and the cold temperatures have contributed to the formation of ice in the Niagara River.

This second icebreaker is the William H. Latham, and its owner is the New York Power Authority. When the weather is unusually cold, as it has been recently, the two icebreakers work in tandem to keep the river clear and to prevent ice from building up. According to an article about the Niagara Queen II, that I read on the Ontario Power Generation website, the ice breakers each have different functions.

“The Latham, which has a spoon-shaped bow, can break up a large field of ice by riding on top of it, whereas the Queen II has a knife-edged bow better suited for slicing through ice, especially near the intakes.”

All work in the river is done under the direction of the International Niagara Board of Control, which is operated by both Ontario Power Generation and the New York Power Authority.

And so, there I was on a really cold day, taking pictures and watching ice that really was not floating by, either slowly or quickly.

(For more information about the Niagara Queen II, check out this website: https://www.opg.com/communities/host-communities/southern-ontario-niagara/story/opgs-niagara-queen-ii-icebreaker-is-back-in-action/