West Canada Creek, Hinckley Reservoir
Haiku

Bursts of Color

The moon bids farewell
Mother Nature's show begins
Dawn bursts in color

Standing at the end of the boat launch capturing the last light of the full moon serenity washed over me. The calming sounds of water flowing always have that affect on me. And then I turned around… Eos, the Dawn, was waking up.

Colors. Wonderful morning colors were filling the horizon. Serenity was now replaced with an urge to capture this goddess who ushers in the day. The recent storms must have caused havoc with the creek as a maintenance barge was parked behind me. I’m a sucker for a reflection as well as a silhouette. Bonus points for this one!

What’s next? Ah, the spillway (dam) at Hinckley Reservoir. It has been a long time since I have seen water flowing over the spillway. That will be my next stop. The interesting dilemma is how to capture the view. I park near a bridge over the West Canada and walk the length looking for the best view. It freaks me out slightly as the water is not far from the bottom of the bridge. It didn’t appear to be moving this fast as I was standing next it capturing the moon but now I feel the power of the flow. Incredible!

At the very opposite end of the bridge I find the view I wanted to capture. The trees lining the banks of the creek create a funnel for the sound of the water rushing over the spillway. I stand and listen for a few minutes. Other sounds of the morning have vanished, the water is all I hear. I can feel it following the water down the creek.

One more stop before I’m done with the dawn. I walk from my spot on the bridge toward the spillway itself. The access road allows me to get quite close. I would have preferred to find a spot with out the fencing. Not much choice. Being this close the spillway hides most of the colors on the horizon. I thought of hopping the concrete barrier and going to the water’s edge for a better view, but no, that is me even though I’m sure there is no one else around. I settle for this one…

My task complete I walk back to the car for the drive back home. It was a good morning!

Clayton, NY
Haiku

I have been wanting to get up North for awhile this year. And by North, I mean to the 1000 Island region of NY. Specifically, to Clayton. I had visited the area for a friend’s wedding in 2018 and have continually told myself I needed to go back. Sunday was the day for my adventure.

Sunrise was going to be around 6am. I wanted to capture the morning blue hour which put my arrival time at 5am(ish). Two hour drive backs me up to leaving the apartment at 3am and getting the boys (cats) situated put my wake-up call at 2:30am.

Clayton is on the St. Lawrence River and it was a little windy when I arrived. I wasn’t sure if my piloting skills would hold up to flying the drone over water in the wind so I started by running around with the camera. What a beautiful morning. The sounds of water lapping against the shoreline, the intensifying colors in the sky and the overall peacefulness made the drive totally worth it.

I even managed to sit in an Adirondack chair and simply enjoy the view. Highly recommended!

Morning Light

Water and wind flow
Light arises, greet the day
Your journey begins

I did collect enough courage to fly the drone. I haven’t processed the images yet. I’ll save those for another day. I also expanded on the adventure and explored the coast from Clayton down to Oswego. Sticking mainly to the smaller routes and slowly making my way back home. More on that too…