{"id":1052,"date":"2020-12-31T23:28:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-01T05:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/?p=1052"},"modified":"2025-05-22T16:22:03","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T22:22:03","slug":"the-boy-and-the-waterfall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/nature\/the-boy-and-the-waterfall\/","title":{"rendered":"The Boy and the Waterfall: A Photographer\u2019s Story and Message of Hope"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span style=\"color: orange;\">The Boy and the Waterfall:<br \/>\nA Photographer&#8217;s Story and Message of Hope<br \/>\n<\/span><\/strong><\/h1>\n<div>\n<div id=\"attachment_8047\" style=\"width: 360px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8047\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-8047\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Multnomah-Falls-0010-Liquid-Light-MASTER-800px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?resize=350%2C532\" alt=\"Sunlight forms a rainbow at the base of Multnomah Falls in Corbett, Oregon\" width=\"350\" height=\"532\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-8047\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>A fusion of sunlight and mist forms a rainbow at the base of Multnomah Falls in Corbett, Oregon.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<p><em>\u00a0I&#8217;d like to end the year with a message of hope by sharing this inspirational story from my experience in nature as a photographer.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>There once was a shy little boy who I met while composing images of Oregon&#8217;s famed Multnomah Falls. I was in the zone, just doing my thing, when I noticed his intense interest in my work. It was as clear as the crashing water that sprayed before us.<\/p>\n<p>He was slender and especially lightweight for the age of five. I know this because I lifted him up and held him with ease as he peered through my camera&#8217;s viewfinder high on the tripod. This was after I asked him and his approving mother if he wanted to see what I was photographing. He was silent up to that point, but he couldn\u2019t take his eyes off of me.<\/p>\n<p>We talked as he excitedly sat on the side of my forearm that was folded like it was sprained and hanging from a sling. I was surprised by his buoyancy, as if he were supported from above. With one open eye, he took in the falling waters through the viewfinder, and I handed him the shutter release so that he could press the button to record the images onto film.<\/p>\n<p>When the photo session ended, his mother called me over. And that&#8217;s when I learned that she wasn&#8217;t his mother, after all. &#8220;Thank you for doing that,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m his aunt. A week ago, his parents passed away in a car accident. You&#8217;re the first person he&#8217;s spoken to since.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Without trying to attract attention, just by doing what I love, I made a difference in the world in a most unexpected way.<\/p>\n<p>I wish you a new year filled with passion, possibility, and wonder! And let your passion be your gift to others.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<h3>\u2014Mike<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is an inspirational true story about photographer Mike MacDonald, who unwittingly gives a little boy a deeply needed gift. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/nature\/the-boy-and-the-waterfall\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1087,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[71,96,67,79,70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-digital-photography-lessons-tips","category-humor","category-nature","category-nature-photography-lessons","category-photography-lessons-tips"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - 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Please Contact Mike MacDonald for permission to use this or any image.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Ice-130122-0010-00-FINAL-600px-Copyright.jpg?fit=400%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":124,"url":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/nature\/new-nature-photography-blog-the-heart-of-nature\/","url_meta":{"origin":1052,"position":1},"title":"New Nature Photography Blog: A Celebration of Biodiversity &#038; The Art of Nature Photography","author":"Mike MacDonald","date":"January 30, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"It's a new day and a\u00a0new year,\u00a0and with\u00a0them\u00a0come\u00a0a fresh new resource, a nature photography blog\u00a0that speaks to\u00a0the avid photographer\u00a0and the\u00a0lover of nature. I call it: The Heart of Nature. The purpose of this blog\u00a0is to share my insights about photography and my\u00a0explorations in the wilds of Chicago. It's a celebration\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Biodiversity&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Biodiversity","link":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/category\/nature\/biodiversity-nature\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The morning sun peaks above the horizon to illuminate a large display of Foxglove Beardtongue at Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin, Illinois. \u00a92007 Mike MacDonald Photography\u2014All Rights Reserved","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Tender-Kiss-of-Light-600px-Copyright.jpg?fit=600%2C439&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Tender-Kiss-of-Light-600px-Copyright.jpg?fit=600%2C439&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Tender-Kiss-of-Light-600px-Copyright.jpg?fit=600%2C439&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":627,"url":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/nature\/skunk-cabbage-facts-and-poetry\/","url_meta":{"origin":1052,"position":2},"title":"Searching for Spring (and Skunk Cabbage)","author":"Mike MacDonald","date":"March 10, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Today, March 10, 2013, spring officially began in the Chicago area. For me, the beginning of spring does not arrive in a fanfare of color. Rather, it begins subtly, when sometime in March, speckled maroon and yellow spathes\u00a0of skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) quietly emerge from beneath a layer of snow\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Biodiversity&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Biodiversity","link":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/category\/nature\/biodiversity-nature\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Frazil ice formed during the frigid night on the surface of Sawmill Creek at Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve in DuPage County, Illinois. \u00a92013 Mike MacDonald Photography\u2014All Rights Reserved. Please Contact Mike MacDonald for permission to use this or any image.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Ice-130122-0010-00-FINAL-600px-Copyright.jpg?fit=400%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":808,"url":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/photography-lessons-tips\/photo-tip-shoot-many-show\/","url_meta":{"origin":1052,"position":3},"title":"Photo Tip: Shoot Many, Show Few","author":"Mike MacDonald","date":"November 6, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Photographs represent the real world and, as you know, it\u2019s chaos out there. So, take lots of pictures and understand that it\u2019s not just you screwing up your photos. It\u2019s your kid closing her eyes, it's\u00a0that blue garbage can in the background, it\u2019s the bird with the branch in front\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Photography Lessons&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Photography Lessons","link":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/category\/photography-lessons-tips\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great blue heron nesting behavior. Nature photography by Mike MacDonald.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Birds-GreatBlueHeronBehavior-0020-ExtraSky-cropped-Copyright-sRGB-600x456px.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Birds-GreatBlueHeronBehavior-0020-ExtraSky-cropped-Copyright-sRGB-600x456px.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Birds-GreatBlueHeronBehavior-0020-ExtraSky-cropped-Copyright-sRGB-600x456px.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":145,"url":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/nature\/digital-landscape-photography-and-digital-capture\/","url_meta":{"origin":1052,"position":4},"title":"Digital Landscape Photography: New Possibilities in Storytelling","author":"Mike MacDonald","date":"February 28, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Not\u00a0until\u00a0recently, did I begin to photograph the landscape with a digital camera, leaving behind the beauty of transparency film and the process of leaning over a light table, one eye to the loupe, to immerse\u00a0myself in the colorful world\u00a0living within. During my film capture days, I developed\u00a0a sense of what\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Chicago Nature&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Chicago Nature","link":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/category\/illinois-nature-photography\/chicago-nature\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Bluff Spring Fen-120821-0010-00-HDR-FINAL by Mike MacDonald, Copyright 2012, All Rights Reserved","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/BluffSpringFen-120821-0010-00-HDR-FINAL-600px-Copyright.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":83,"url":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/nature\/landscape-photography-transcendental-light\/","url_meta":{"origin":1052,"position":5},"title":"Transcendental Light &#038; The Art of Landscape Photography","author":"Mike MacDonald","date":"February 6, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"On this typical May morning, along a bluff at Black Partridge Woods, transcendental rays of new-day light\u00a0fleck the verdant floor and streak across serpentine waves of woodland phlox, casting\u00a0the divine onto this springtime panorama. Thirty\u00a0minutes earlier, though, only flat blue\u00a0shade from the open sky illuminated the landscape. Editorially and visually,\u00a0the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Chicago Nature&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Chicago Nature","link":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/category\/illinois-nature-photography\/chicago-nature\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"In the art of landscape photography, light can have a transcendental effect. Here at Black Partridge Woods, woodland phlox spread in a serpentine wave across the bluff, as streaks of morning light dramatically and ethereally transform matter. \u00a92013 Mike MacDonald Photography, Inc.\u2014ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Please contact Mike MacDonald for permission to use this or any image.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Black-Partridge-Woods-0370-600px-Copyright1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1052"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1052\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1251,"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1052\/revisions\/1251"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}