The Timeless Face of Howard Falls

Part One

For the past 200 years, Howard Falls has been visited by many scientists, geologists and ecologists, drawn there by its unique geological features and the ecologically important Gorge below it. As we detailed in our earlier blog, “The Portage Escarpment“, these features were created from the melt-waters of the Laurentide ice sheet as it receded over 10,000 years ago.

The Falls has likewise attracted others to it, simply to see and hear the waters of Falls Run cascade over its nearly vertical face. The sight and sound of those waters make for a mesmerizing experience for all who visit, experiencing the kind of tranquility and healing that only Nature can provide.

Not surprisingly, the Falls has attracted photographers intending to capture unique images of the cascading waters. And so too, probably in the Fall of 1928, a visit was made by a young, talented amateur photographer from Erie, determined to memorialize the Falls and to enter his artistic photography into a national competition.

William Oscar Yates (1890-1981) was raised in Wrightsville in Warren County, PA, the son of Thomas and Adela (Messenger) Yates. As a young man in his early 20s, he moved to Erie, PA seeking work, first as a chauffeur for a wealthy Erie family. About 1916, he married Katherine Lisineski (1893-1935), a recent immigrant from Transylvania, Hungary. The new couple settled into a home near 11th and Cascade Sts in Erie. Within the burgeoning automotive industry, he eventually became a parts manager for a local supplier.

As a hobby, Yates continued to hone his skills as an amateur photographer, acquiring equipment, learning the nuances of film and lenses, and the development of prints from the resulting photographic negatives. By the late 1940s, he was recognized as a regional talent for his work. In 1946, his hometown newspaper, the Warren Times Mirror, described Yates as “a photographer of much skill and experience and holds a number of awards for his artistic work.”

In our blog “Hillside,” we described how in 1926, Archie W. Mang, the ‘West Ninth’ photographer, took an image of Howard Falls, which on October 20th, 1926 was featured on the front page of the Erie Daily Times. Surely, if Yates had seen that picture, his desire to photograph the Falls himself would have been born.

Living at Howard Falls at the time were Levi (1873-1974) and Mattie (Hinds) Howard (1878-1966). When Mang photographed the Falls in 1925, he was accompanied by CL Thompson, a neighbor and friend of the Howard family, who made necessary arrangements for the Mang photo. With Howard Falls located on the Howard’s property and access to the base of the Falls very difficult, Yates most certainly had to visit with the Howard family, introduce himself, and discuss his desire to photograph the Falls from the stream bed below.

Whether Yates and the Howards were previously acquainted is not known. Curiously, William Yates was related to Mattie (Hinds) Howard through his maternal Messenger line back to John Hinds (1682-1747) of Brookline, MA. The Messengers were descendants of the Wright family that founded Wrightsville in Warren County in the early 1820s. The Wrights, in turn, were descendants of the Hinds family of Massachusetts, as was Mattie Hinds Howard. Nonetheless, with a 4th cousin Hinds relationship, it is unlikely that Yates and the Howards knew of that distant connection.

Fortunately, Yates received permission to access the Falls Run Gorge to photograph the Falls. In contrast to today’s convenient access to the Gorge, where a 100-step private path leads to the stream below the Falls, Yates would have had much more difficulty accessing it. Not only did he need to get himself into the Gorge, but he also needed to get his equipment there. We know of his equipment because of documentation that exists from his entry of the resulting photography into an amateur contest.

For his work, Yates used a large frame 8×10 large format camera typically mounted on a tripod, a 16” focal length Wollensak Vitax Portrait lens and shutter, and Defender Panchromatic film to capture black and white images. A panchromatic film renders an impressionistic reproduction of a scene as it appears to the human eye, although rendering colors in varying shades of gray. He took his photographs at about 1 PM that day in ‘dull’ light.

This was bulky equipment to get down into the Gorge and would take planning and time to accomplish. In addition, Yates wanted to choose an overcast day, yet with adequate mid-day lighting. Furthermore, Falls Run is an intermittent stream, sometimes roaring over the Falls, while other times no more than a trickle. Yates chose a time when there was some water over the Falls, yet not so much as to obscure the shale face of the Falls. Thus, there were many moving parts in planning for the day when he would artistically capture his images of Howard Falls.

It appears that the image was captured either in early Spring or late Fall. The lack of foliage on the vegetation speaks to one of those seasons. From our experience, late Fall would be most probable, with foliage absent and relatively low water flow.

So, William Yates captured his artistic images of Howard Falls using his equipment on fine grain black and white panchromatic film. Using this sophisticated equipment involves several variables that can significantly impact the resultant image quality. While large format photography is a meticulous process, it rewards with unparalleled image quality and creative control. Yates had to consider all of the following to capture the best possible images of the Falls:

• Camera Movements: Large format cameras allow for various movements such as tilt, shift, rise, and fall. These movements help control perspective and focus.
• Lens Selection: The choice of lens affects the image’s focal length, depth of field, and overall sharpness. Large format lenses are typically designed to cover the large film area and provide high resolution.
• Film Type: Different films offer varying levels of sensitivity (ISO), color rendition, and grain structure. His choice of film was crucial.
• Exposure Settings: Aperture, shutter speed, and ISO settings must be carefully balanced to achieve the correct exposure. Large format cameras often require longer exposure times due to smaller apertures used for greater depth of field.
• Focusing: Accurate focusing is essential, especially with the shallow depth of field that large format cameras can produce.
• Lighting: The quality and direction of light play a significant role in the final image.
• Tripod Stability: A sturdy tripod is essential to keep the camera steady during long exposures. Any movement can result in a blurry image.
• Composition: Large format cameras require careful composition due to their size and weight. Taking the time to frame the shot and consider all elements within the scene is crucial.

One final element of planning involved positioning a fisherman with his pole at the pool at the base of the 50-foot tall Falls. This gave the necessary scale and grandeur to the largest waterfall in northwestern Pennsylvania. With his equipment set up on the rocks beside the flowing water, likely with a black cloth over his head to darken the focusing screen where the waterfall would be shown upside down and flip-flopped left and right, Yates got his shot! Or at least he hoped he did…

Unlike today’s digital imaging, Yates did not know whether he successfully captured worthy images of Howard Falls until his film was developed. The panchromatic film is sensitive to all colors; even a red safelight will expose and fog the film, and therefore, it has to be developed in total darkness. A 1925 advertisement for Defender Panchromatic film states, “The manipulation of Panchromatic Film, while different, is not radically more difficult…Films are handled in absolute darkness, or by a faint green light to which the vision readily adapts itself and which is probably less trying on the eyes during a long dark room session than the familiar red light.” After developing the negatives, he printed them using a contact method on Defender Photo Supply velour black paper – the negative would be held against the sensitive paper in the dark room and exposed to light at a one to one ratio.

Apparently, he was pleased with his work, and shortly thereafter, he submitted a print of “Howard’s Falls” to “Photo Era: The American Journal of Photography,” published from 1898 to 1932, and dedicated to the amateur photographer. The Magazine held frequent competitions, and in the February 1929 edition, William O Yates was awarded an “Honorable Mention” for his work in the “Water-Scenes” category of that issue. The review of the work suggests that Yates could have captured a more natural looking scene if he had used a smaller camera with a 5×7″ sheet of film because it could have been a more sensitive (faster speed) film and a wider lens aperture (opening) allowing more light in to allow a shorter (faster) shutter speed 1/25 sec which would not have blurred the water as much. This is an interesting take on eliminating the blurred effect of the long exposure, whereas today, photographers like to re-create that bridal veil look on waterfalls!

We were able to contact descendants of William Yates, hoping that his original photos of the Falls were still in possession of the family. They were very cooperative and searched extensively for photographs. Unfortunately, they could not locate any in their collections, but we appreciate their generous support in our search for early photographs of Howard Falls.

William Yates’ photograph of Howard Falls, published full-page in the February 1929 edition of Photo-Era, stands as the first high resolution image of the Falls found to date. It is invaluable in following the evolution of the Falls over time, and the comparison of the face of the Falls over those intervening 100 years will be the subject of Part 2 of “The Timeless Face of Howard Falls.”

Special thanks to Phil Norton of Countyphotographer for providing commentary and translation on the technical photography terms used in the Photo-Era publication.