About this project

All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea doth not overflow: unto the place from whence the rivers come, they return, to flow again.

Niagara Falls is one of the world’s most beautiful natural phenomena, but it enters this millennium burdened with human intervention gone astray. Niagara, Falling is a beautiful and poignant encounter with the falls. It celebrates the natural wonder, contrasts it with the nearby city of Niagara Falls, NY, and considers the future of both.

David Hodge grew up in the bustling city of Niagara Falls. After a long absence, he returned in 2008 and was deeply moved by the changes he saw. Since the Love Canal disaster in the late 1970s, the city had suffered a long and seemingly irreversible decline. He and his wife and artistic partner, Hi-Jin, felt the story of city had been neglected, and began a video installation project and photo essay to record their feelings. The video installation, which was funded, is nearly complete.

The book is a work in progress and an attempt to bring the project to a larger audience. Its sources include photographs from the Hodges’ 2008 visit, where they were given broad access—including a helicopter overflight—to the surrounding area. It also features images of Love Canal that David shot in the early 1980s and archival images from the New York Power Authority, taken in the late 1950s during the construction of the largest hydroelectric facility the world had seen at that time.

The project requires editing, production, and support for the cost of printing. Luckily, new technology is available for on-demand publishing that ensures that supporters’ contributions will not be not wasted on production overruns. We also plan to make the work available in popular e-book formats, including iPad, Kindle, and Nook.