A video of a woman who took some "creative liberties" when tourists asked her to take a picture for them has delighted users on TikTok.
The viral video was posted by @alexmccullagh and has amassed over 422,000 views since it was shared on July 30. The footage was taken on an iPhone 13, according to a later comment from the original poster.
A message overlaid on the video says "When you ask someone to take a photo of you and they produce this cinematic masterpiece."
Instead of taking still shots, as expected, they got a video. The clip begins with a man and two women shown standing together against the backdrop of Niagara Falls in Canada. While the trio holds their smiles for what they probably assumed was a series of photo shots, the camera slowly pans to a view of the waterfalls beyond them, zooming in on the water.
The shot continues to pan towards the other side of the falls before it circles back toward the three tourists, ending with a closeup of their faces, still holding those smiles, and before the video ends, each of them can be seen or heard saying thank you for what they think are photographs.
A caption shared with the simply reads, "The confusion #niagarafalls #toronto #canada."
It's no surprise that the woman taking the video felt compelled to capture the grandeur of Niagara Falls, as it is the world's greatest waterfall by volume at 2,832 m3, according to the Canadian Encyclopedia.
Split in two by Goat Island across the U.S. and Canada, the falls were formed around 14,000 years ago "as retreating glaciers exposed the Niagara Escarpment, permitting the waters of Lake Erie, which formerly drained south, to flow northward into Lake Ontario," notes the Canadian Encyclopedia.
The Canadian Falls, also known as the Horseshoe Falls, carries the majority (90 percent) of the flow of the waterfall, spanning around 177 feet high and around 2,198 feet wide. The American Falls are around 194 feet high and 853 feet wide and carry about 10 percent of the flow, according to the Canadian Encyclopedia.
The viral post comes as travel is expected to hit "record highs" this year, with global tourism spending projected to reach U.S. $2 trillion, according to a December 2023 survey by Euromonitor International, the market research firm.
'She Had a Vision'
TikTok users were amused by the unexpected cinematic footage of Niagara Falls captured for the tourists in the viral post.
Eve Field said, "She had a vision", and the original poster replied, "And she ran with it."
K said, "I need to find this lady immediately and hire her for all my vacations."
Coop's Kitchen wrote, "I'm cracking UP", and user8901043646251 said, "This is too funny!!!!"
Plurasaurus noted, "This is actually so good."
Moya Smith said she must have thought "you're gonna love this", and the original poster replied, "And we did..."
Mint Mobile noted, "They really took creative liberties here."
"Omg the still smiles are gold," said @catswildweb.
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via TikTok. This video has not been independently verified.
A stock image of Niagara Falls in Ontario, Canada. A video of a woman producing a "cinematic masterpiece" after being asked to take a picture for some tourists at Niagara Falls in Canada has gone...A stock image of Niagara Falls in Ontario, Canada. A video of a woman producing a "cinematic masterpiece" after being asked to take a picture for some tourists at Niagara Falls in Canada has gone viral on TikTok.iStock / Getty Images PlusDo you have a travel-related video or story to share? Let us know via life@newsweek.com and your story could be featured on Newsweek.