Category Archives: long exposure

Pixley in the Morning

Posted by Mike on

Pixley Falls State Park

Saturday morning I headed out early to visit Pixley Falls before the sun was high in the sky. My hope was to catch the waterfall before the bright sun made the water to “hot” to photograph. I like long exposures for my waterfalls and direct sunlight will create an overexposed area in the water. I can control it with different exposures but really wanted to see if I could capture it with a single image. My timing was pretty good as you can see the sun was beginning to hit the trees to the left of the waterfall.

Pixley Falls
Olympus E-M1 MK III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1s, 12mm, f/11, ISO 200
View the Falls
Olympus E-M1 MK III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 0.8s, 15mm, f/11, ISO 200
Fall Upstream
Olympus E-M1 MK III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1s, 14mm, f/11, ISO 200
Cascading
Olympus E-M1 MK III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 0.6s, 23mm, f/11, ISO 200

Sunday Exploration

Posted by Mike on

Trenton Falls Scenic Trail

Only twice a year! The Trenton Falls Scenic Trail is only opened twice a year. I missed it last year when it opened after two years of closure due to the pandemic. I was not going to miss it this year. As soon as the date was set for the Spring I added it to my calendar.

Saturday was supposed to be heavy rains (which barely arrived late in the afternoon) and Sunday was going to be nicer. In the morning, I wasn’t so confident I would be able to go as the clouds were hanging around and it was unexpectedly raining (barely, but still!).

Around 10:30am the day started to turn the corner toward being nice… so, I went to the the falls. I was hoping the early morning weather would keep the crowds lite (it did!). Very few people on the trails and at the overlook locations. I was able to get as many pictures as I wanted. The bonus was the overcast sky definitely helped with exposing the water correctly as I wanted long exposures.

After the trail was fully explored I stopped downstream at my favorite location on the West Canada Creek. The area around Morgan’s Mill Dam was totally photogenic as the sun started to make an appearance.

Come along with me and see what used to be a tourist stop in Central New York back in the early 1800’s…

(click on an image to view all pics in the gallery)

When a camera falls

Posted by Mike on

Morocco, Epcot, Walt Disney World

I’m getting ready for a trip to Florida and decided to look through my images from my last trip to Walt Disney World. Plenty of images to process. My favorites have already been posted (considering last trip was two years ago), but I did find this one.

It was late at Epcot and I was on my way back to the resort. I stopped for a look at the Morocco Pavilion from the International Gateway. I can’t resist a good reflection and the pavilion is a favorite of mine. I didn’t get one of the tripod legs completely locked. During the 4 second exposure the camera started to fall over. I caught it but not before this image was captured.

I like it! 🙂

When a camera falls
Olympus E-M1 MK III, M. Zuiko 12-100mm f/4, 4s, 28mm, f/8, ISO 400

Moving Through

Posted by Mike on

Delta Lake State Park

The work week was complete!

Dinner had been consumed.

The sun was setting on a calm day.

Time to relax.

Delta Lake here I come…

The park was empty. A few clouds on the horizon but they were moving fast toward the East. Slight ripples on the water producing those soothing sounds I like as they met the shore.

Aaahhh! This is what I needed.

The ice has left the lake, the water level has returned to normal and the possibilities for images were plentiful. I couldn’t ask for a better evening. I grabbed a few images from the beach as the sun crossed into the approaching clouds. I walked out toward the point that typically is in the images I capture. I found a few good silhouette reflections with trees that are now in the water.

When I returned to the beach area for the color show after the sun had set I decided to try a few long exposure images. The clouds were moving at a good clip across the sky which could produce an interesting look of movement contrasted with the calm of the smoothed surface of the water.

To achieve the effect I wanted I needed to pull out the ten stop neutral density filter. As luck would have it the clouds were slowing down. I ended with a forty second exposure. I love the movement in the sky.

Moving Through
Olympus E-M1 MK III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 40s, 15mm, f/8, ISO 200

Whorls of Serenity

Posted by Mike on

Chittenango Falls State Park

The namesake waterfall is not the only attraction to see when you visit Chittenango Falls State Park. I’ll admit it is the big ticket item, and definitely worth the trek down into the gorge. But, I have found the area of the Chittenango Creek above the falls to be a treasure trove of opportunities for a photographer. It might only be fifteen or twenty minutes for me to explore the views of the waterfall in the gorge but I spent over an hour exploring the creek. BTW, it is properly pronounced “crick”… 😉

For me the “trick” when photographing the creek is finding the right shutter speed. I want a longer exposure that will produce the silky water but I do not want to lose the sense of motion. I could have used the ten stop neutral density filter to totally blur the water (and there are instances when that is exactly what you want), but I chose the three stop filter to keep the swirl of the bubbles from becoming completely solid white.

I can still hear the sounds of the creek as I view this image… aaahhh, that sound takes me back a few years… 🙂

Whorls of Serenity
Olympus E-M1 MK III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 3.2s, 14mm, f/11, ISO 100

On the Horizon

Posted by Mike on

Vero Beach, FL

On the Horizon
Olympus E-M1 MK III, M. Zuiko 12-100mm f/4, 2.5s, 50mm, f/8, ISO 200

Delta Renewed

Posted by Mike on

Delta Lake State Park

I looked back through my images and it has been a little over two months since my last visit to Delta Lake. I’ve driven by a few times on my way to other destinations but for some reason I have been avoiding the park. Monday night I corrected this oversight.

I originally was planning to visit Trenton Falls after work to see if the rains have increased the water flow in the West Canada Creek and to explore some of the area with the drone. The weather was not liking my plans. It was still drizzling out and the cloud cover was not promising. I should have known better. With only an hour to go before sunset the sky started to open up and the sun was teasing me for a game of hide-n-seek.

There wasn’t necessarily enough time to drive up to Trenton Falls but I thought Delta Lake might produce some interesting images. I wasn’t disappointed. Due to the weather there were only a few people in the park. I shared the beach with another photographer as we danced back and forth trying different viewpoints for the drama in the sky.

After the sun dropped below the horizon I tossed on the 4-stop ND filter and tried for a few long exposures. There was movement in the clouds but not quite enough to get the blurring I was hoping to achieve. There was not a lot of movement in the water though so I did manage to create a nice mirrored surface for a good reflection.

It was a good night to return to the park. I’m not positive why I stayed away for so long but I will not let another two month gap occur. There are places to explore, especially now that the water level is back to normal for the summer…

Delta Renewed
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 10s, 12mm, f/16, ISO 100

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