Category Archives: landscape

Listen to the Falls

Posted by Mike on

Buttermilk Falls State Park

Can you hear it? The falling water. I love this park, especially in the early morning. No other hikers on the trail. My and the sounds of the gorge. I could stay here all day. Go ahead, listen, do you hear it… ?

Listen to the Falls
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1.3s, 16mm, f/11, ISO 200

Ithaca Gorges

Posted by Mike on

Buttermilk Falls State Park
Cascadilla Gorge
Ithaca Falls

The weekend redeemed itself on Monday. I wasn’t so sure during the first couple of days if I would be traveling to find a few landscape images. I trusted the forecast for Monday and it was worthy. I enjoyed a beautiful morning in Ithaca exploring a few of its gorges…

My first stop was Buttermilk Falls State Park to walk the gorge trail upstream of the namesake waterfall. I arrived prior to the sun rising very high in the sky which allowed me to grab all my favorite views without having to worry about “hot spots” caused by the sun. This first image is very early along the trail. You can see the sun starting to illuminate the trees in the background.

Morning Light
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 0.8s, 14mm, f/11, ISO 200

My next stop was the Cascadilla Gorge. I haven’t walked the trail along the gorge in quite a few years. I should have known I was going to run into a roadblock when I spied repairs right at the start of the trail. The city had blocked off the trail for additional repairs further in so I was only able to explore about half of the gorge. I did manage a few interesting images aided by the sunlight reaching down into the gorge. I really liked how the leaves glowed in contrast to the darkness of the gorge walls.

End of the Line
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/13s, 34mm, f/11, ISO 100

My last stop in Ithaca before heading home was to see Ithaca Falls. It is a tough waterfall to photograph in the morning as it will be in shadow with the sun behind it. Based on the water flowing in the other creeks I was hoping to see the falls complete. I was not disappointed. I chose to leave the extra ND filter off and allow a faster shutter speed to highlight the power of the water falling down. Can you hear the roar?

Ithaca Falls
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/50s, 34mm, f/11, ISO 100

On my way back home I stopped at Tinker Falls near Tully. I was hoping I would find similar water flowing in the creek. I was wrong. There was barely a trickle. I managed a few images but the amount of people walking the trails was disproportional to the more famous trails in Ithaca. I decided I’ll try again after we have had more rain.

Adventure Awaits

Posted by Mike on

Animal Kingdom, Walt Disney World

Adventure Awaits
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 1-100mm f/4, 1/125s, 41mm, f/11, ISO 200

Suspended

Posted by Mike on

Crescent Lake, Walt Disney World

I suppose you cannot escape what you like. You are drawn to it through an unconscious process. You might not see it until after further introspection…

For me, with my photography, it is a good reflection. Maybe it is a result of a fascination with water. Whatever the reason, I will stop to capture a reflection, heck, I’ll re-compose an image to improve a reflection if it is within the frame.

Walt Disney World is no exception to this proclivity. I can admit a good percentage of my favoritism for the Crescent Lake area is the draw of the water and the chance for including a reflection in my photography. The last morning of my recent trip resulted in ideal conditions to highlight this quirk in my nature. A long exposure combined with fast moving clouds allowed me to create this unique view of the Yacht & Beach Club resorts.

Suspended Yacht & Beach Clubs
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-100mm f/4, 20s, 21mm, f/16, ISO 100

Morning Escape

Posted by Mike on

Pixley Falls State Park

I probably should not call it an escape since it did occur on the weekend but after my Friday afternoon escape it felt right. I did escape the dull routine of the weekend which is always a good thing. It definitely was a good Saturday morning.

Pixley Falls State Park is only a few minutes north of Rome. The challenge is arriving at the appropriate time to capture an image. The waterfall faces south which places it always in direct sunlight and the high hills will cast shadows the closer you arrive to sunrise or sunset. The other issue with this park is the ability of other visitors to get close to the falls and leave the photographer without a uninterrupted view.

Luckily for me, the temperature was still on the chilly side and sun was high enough for the shadows to be clear of the falls. I ran around the park for forty minutes grabbing my images and was on my why out when the people started to arrive. When I am close to the falls, I like capturing this one in the portrait orientation. This allows me to include the rocks in the foreground which are dappled with sunlight coming through the trees. It was a good morning to escape the couch…

Morning Escape
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 0.4s, 12mm, f/16, ISO 100

Afternoon Escape

Posted by Mike on

Chittenango Falls State Park

It was a long week at work. Being on vacation the previous week didn’t help as most of my time was spent trying to catch up on everything that had accumulated in my absence. By early Friday afternoon I was done, mentally and physically, so I decided to cut out early. I didn’t have a plan other than I wanted to feel the sunshine on my face.

I ended up letting the car bring me to Chittenango Falls State Park to explore the gorge. My previous stops earlier this year were shortened due the gorge trail being closed. Although there was above average water flow in the creek the trail was open and I was able to get some images of the waterfall.

The afternoon sun does cast a shadow across the face of the waterfall but I do not believe it “ruins” the image. I was able to bring some light back into the shadows in post-processing. The key is not to destroy all of the shadows, only to enhance them. An image is only as good as the shadows, the light highlights but the shadows define…

Afternoon Escape
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 0.8s, 17mm, f/14, ISO 100