It was not looking good. When someone hands you a blue, plastic poncho then sneers while eyeing the camera hanging around your neck, you know you’re in for trouble.

I was about to step aboard the Maid of the Mist, the vessel that practically takes you beneath Niagara Falls. But I figured I could handle it. I am a “professional photographer” after all, or so I’ve been told too many times.

Besides, it couldn’t be that bad. Could it?

Minutes later, while approaching the Horseshoe Falls the wind blew the hat off my head. Hundreds of thousands of gallons of water crashing downwards will do that apparently. And the mist, it was getting heavier.

I was getting soaked. So was my camera, despite my attempts to hide it underneath the poncho between photos.

But man, was the drenching worth it.