Category Archives: landscape

Midday Autumn Dream

Posted by Mike on

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…

  

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Midday Autumn Dream

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

Hello Autumn

Posted by Mike on

Big Brook Creek

Sunday was another unusually warm day here in Upstate NY so rather than do all the yard work I should have been doing I decided to go looking for images. There is a place about five minutes from my house where two creeks come together and I can get some nice little waterfall images as well as great water flow images. The sun was higher than normal in the sky as I generally try to go prior to sunset. Yesterday I went exploring around 1pm.

This helped me with this image as the higher sun provided great light on the autumn leaves but it hurt me on my waterfall images. Too many bright spots on the water. Even with the ND filters I didn’t come home with many images I was happy with. It didn’t really matter though, getting out with the camera was all the fun I needed.

  

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Hello Autumn

Hello Autumn
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/4s, 29mm, f/16, ISO 100

Chittenango Autumn

Posted by Mike on

Chittenango Falls State Park

After a long, tiring day of travel back from the West Coast on Thursday I decided I was leaving work early and stopping on my way home at the State Park that started my obsession with waterfalls, Chittenango Falls. I was hoping for a little autumn color and although I might have been about a week early for peak conditions, the park did not disappoint. The sun was starting to be replaced with the approaching clouds but I managed to grab some blue sky before it was gone.

Although we have not had a lot of rain of late, the flow in the creek was perfect to create the best looking cascade down the falls. It is always a challenge, too much water and there is no definition to the flow and too little leaves you with barely noticeable streams. I always prefer to see the flow so I try not to have an exceedingly long exposure. The 1-4 second bracket worked best for the conditions. I could have lengthened the exposure as there was barely any wind but I am not a fan of the definitionless water streams. My personal choice… 🙂

  

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Chittenango Autumn

Chittenango Autumn
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, {1, 2 & 4s bracket}, 23mm, f/16, ISO 200

Pixley Falls

Posted by Mike on

Pixley Falls State Park

Yesterday was full of activity. I made my way up to the Remsen Barn Festival of the Arts in the morning and was able to squeeze in a trip up to Pixley Falls State Park in the afternoon. I should have been completing something for work but it was too damn nice out to be thinking that way… LOL

I came back from Pixley Falls with some great images. I was finally able to get an image of the main falls without any people in the scene. I processed the image normally but thought I would try something different. I watched a video Saturday night from Pat Saizan Photography on her workflow to create a watercolor image from one of her photographs. I really liked what she created.

It has taken me a couple of tries today to create something similar and I think I still need some more practice but it was fun learning a different technique. Normally I would use one of my plug-in applications but this new method allowed for more control over the final product. I’ll try not to overwhelm everyone with this new “art” I’m creating… 🙂

 

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; PixleyFallsWatercolor

Pixley Falls