Lower Falls Area, Letchworth State Park
Bench with a View
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/5s, 21mm, f/11, ISO 200
Bench with a View
Author Archives: Mike
Autumn Inspiration
Letchworth State Park
Autumn Inspiration
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 75-300mm f/4.8-6.7 II, 1/3s, 85mm, f/18, ISO 64
Autumn Colors and the Light
Bellamy Harbor Park
After spending over six hours in the car and almost six hours at Letchworth State Park on Thursday, the draw of the light shining on Bellamy Harbor Park as I drove into Rome was too great. The view from the bridge immediately drew my attention and I barely gave it a second thought as I drove over to the park. There is something hypnotic about a front lit scene with a darker sky that fascinates me. I didn’t explore beyond the view from across the harbor but The yellow trees against the darker blue tinted clouds was a winner for me…
Reflections at Bellamy
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/100s, 12mm, f/11, ISO 200
Autumn Finds Bellamy
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/100s, 21mm, f/11, ISO 200
Autumn Swirl
Chittenango Falls State Park
It was another questionable day for the weather. Clouds came and went, the sun making itself known throughout and rain, if only a quick sprinkle, ever possible. Still, it was worth a trip to Chittenango Falls State Park. I wasn’t positive if the trees lining the gorge had fully turned to their autumn pallet, but considering how close the park is, it was worth the drive. There was definitely the start of the colors I seek and I’m guessing by next weekend it will be the full blown pallet.
My favorite section of the creek above the main waterfall held more color and I spent quite a lot of time exploring the possible views. I really liked this section which allowed my to fill the background with color while capturing the swirling bubbles below the small ledge waterfall. Capturing the right image involves a lot of patience. It is easy to get the right exposure, timing the pattern of bubbles can be frustrating. This one was probably my sixth or seventh setup of the tripod and the third change of exposure to get the swirl the way I wanted it.
Autumn Swirl
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 6s, 17mm, f/16, ISO 100
Great Bend
Letchworth State Park
Autumn in New York is a sight to see. That would be the state not the city. Although to be fair, I’ve not visited the city during autumn. What I’m talking about are the state parks. I hope the state continues to support the park system.
I have been monitoring the state’s fall foliage map and now is the time to venture out and view the autumn colors. Even though the weather forecast was “iffy” at best I took a couple days off from work to travel to a few of these state parks I ramble on about and capture the changing leaves. My first stop was Letchworth, the “Grand Canyon of the East”. This park is one of the best state parks in the country. It is definitely worth the two and a half hour drive for me!
In order to get to the park before sunrise I need to leave the house around 3am. The drive generally takes me longer than the GPS calculated time as consuming coffee on the trip requires making a few stops along the way. I managed to get to the “Great Bend” section of the park forty-five minutes before sunrise. I love the morning blue hour and was hoping the chance of rain forecast for the morning would hold off long enough for a few images. I fought my way through occasional sprinkles while I captured images of the tree lined gorge.
This is a seven image panoramic of the Great Bend. The foliage map listed this area of the state at mid-point and you can see there are still some tress waiting to turn to their autumn color. Next weekend might be a better time to visit but I didn’t want to lose this opportunity. Fair warning, there will be more images to be posted…
Great Bend
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/8s, 12mm, f/11, ISO 200, {7 image pano}
Spill a Little
Forestport Dam
As I returned home from Old Forge on Sunday I took the opportunity to stop in Forestport to photograph the dam. The colors of the leaves had not completely changed over to the autumn colors I sought, but there was enough to make the view a little interesting. There is a nice out cropping of rocks next the bridge over the river and this allowed me to get an unobstructed foreground to capture some of the reflection.
Spill a Little
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1s, 20mm, f/11, ISO 200
Colors of Autumn
Autumn, Reflection
Colors of Autumn
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 60mm f/2.8, 1/13s, f/8, ISO 200
Evolution of an Image
Moose River, McKeever, NY
My original plan was to go to Old Forge on Saturday morning to see what autumn colors I could find. I was hoping to start the day with a sunrise from the docks in Old Forge and then work my way into to forest. I woke with a headache and by the time I wrangled it away I would miss the sunrise. No worries, there was still another day to the weekend.
Sunday did not go as planned. I drove up the winding roads through the foothills of the Adirondacks arriving in Old Forge roughly forty-five minutes before sunrise. At least this time there was no fog (see ‘the best laid plans…‘ from seven years ago). My weather app had predicted partly cloudy. I think I need to ask them exactly what that entails. I was fairly confident the cloud cover would eventually give way to the sun but I wasn’t positive how long that would take. Again, no worries, I’ll be back.
The drive back home did yield me a great autumn image. Along Route 28 there is a bridge over the Moose River. I have always wanted an image of the abandoned building visible from road. With the low water levels in the river and the leaves almost at peak color, I decided to to stop and explore the area even though the sky was still overcast.
This first image is from the end of the steps leading down into the river bed. This side of the river is all but dried up which allowed me to do more up-close inspection than normally would be possible. Not a bad image…
First Look
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/15s, 26mm, f/11, ISO 200
I almost walked back to the car but why was I in a hurry to get back home? There had to be another image here. I walked upstream a little bit and found a pool of water. Ah, time for a reflection. Everyone know me and my reflections. There was no breeze and no movement in the water, this was going to be good. Getting the camera as low as possible on the tripod allowed me to capture both the trees and the clouds in the reflection. OK, an improvement over the first one. Was there more?
Color Reflection
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/15s, 15mm, f/11, ISO 200
From the pool I could see the river before it took its turn and diverted down the other side of the river bed. It appears to be directly across from the building. This is it! This is the reason I stopped. You can see the entire structure. The colors of the leaves are directly behind my subject. More of the everything is reflected in the water. And I found one lone rock to use in the foreground. Yep! This image is what I wanted.
McKeever Pulp Mill
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/15s, 12mm, f/11, ISO 200
Even though my drive to Old Forge did not end as I expected, I came home with a beautiful autumn image. I came home with an image of a building I had stared at every time I drove North. I came home with a definite keeper. By the way, a little research on the intrawebs and I found this structure is the remains of the McKeever Pulp Mill. From where I was located to capture the last image there was a damn on the river to allow the floating of the logs to the mill. You can see some of the old pictures on the Adirondack Experience website.
MLCreations Photography 