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… ?
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
MLCreations Photography 