Old Erie Canal State Park, DeWitt, NY

There are days when when you really need to get away. Yesterday was not the perfect day for weather but it sure was not bad. Plenty of rain in the morning but by the the time lunch rolled around there was some sun poking through the clouds. The workday was mirroring the weather for me as well. So when I noticed the sun making an appearance I quit thinking about work, drove over to the Old Erie Canal State Park, changed into my hiking boots (always keep a pair in the car, along with my tripod) and relaxed for a few minutes along the bank of the canal.

The autumn colors have moved past their prime and the the leaves have been abandoning the trees in droves. There was still some color to be found if you took the time to look. With the clouds, a fairly calm body of water and the narrowed view from my telephoto lens I was able to capture the scene below. I also was playing with capturing some of the leaf colors against the reflective backdrop of the cloud filled canal. We’ll have to see if I was successful n a later post.

The day was a little surreal being near the end of October and the temperatures still reaching into the low 70’s. It may look like autumn outside but it is still short weather here in Upstate New York. To be honest I’m almost looking forward to the cooler weather (almost!) so I do not have to keep mowing the lawn.

Anyway, the whole lunch time experience felt like a dream as I looked back it after dinner. It was a nice break to the day and gave me the same added burst I would have received from a short nap at my desk… LOL. I guess that feeling influenced my processing of the picture, as I ran the final version through one of my Topaz Labs plug-ins to give the image a slight painterly look. It also contributed to the image title…

Midday Autumn Dream
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 40-150mm f/4-5.6 R, 1/200s, 49mm, f/11, ISO 200