Tag Archives: barge canal

Early Morning at the Marsh

Posted by Mike on

I had a few appointments to go to today so I decided it was best to take a vacation day. This of course allowed me to use the early morning for a little exploring with the camera. I have been admiring the color of the wildflowers in the Utica Marsh and thought today would be a great time to catch the sunrise. It was a beautiful morning but a fog had settled in the Mohawk Valley disrupting my plan. It wasn’t a total loss though as I was able to capture a few nice pictures.

The first image is the walkway bridge over both the Utica/Rome expressway and Interstate 90.

To fly over the chaos…
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/20s, 17mm, f/4, ISO 1600

The next two images are from the bridge over the barge canal looking west. I loved the fog rising from the water and the train trestle in the distance.

Early morning moody
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/6s, 55mm, f/8, ISO 100


Floating Bridge
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/6s, 70mm, f/8, ISO 100

Finally an image of the marsh, just not the one I had hoped for. This was after waiting close to 45 minutes for the sunrise and some of the fog to clear. BTW, the light spot in the middle is the sun peeking through the tree line. I watched as the spotlight area kept growing…

Sun and Fog on the Marsh
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/30s, 26mm, f/11, ISO 100

And then on my way back to the car I caught the sun illuminating the swampy side of the canal.

The Swampy Side in the Sun
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/40s, 21mm, f/11, ISO 100

An Evening Canal Walk

Posted by Mike on

Yesterday morning I took off close to sunrise in an attempt to explore the barge canal along the path less traveled. At the Oriskany access point the paved path heads east toward Whitesboro. There is a path which leads west toward the point where a creek enters the canal. It ended up being a longer walk than I anticipated and just after I started the sun decided to hide behind the darkening clouds. I didn’t want to get caught in the eventual rain so I cut the walk short and headed for the car.

Luckily, the evening turned out to be beautiful with little to no wind and some clouds to catch the sunset. I really didn’t plan on the day ending so nice so I quickly headed back down toward the canal to do some more exploring. This time I started at the Marcy access point and headed west toward Oriskany. It is a portion of the trail I haven’t had a chance to view through my lens.

Bridged Reflections
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/100s, 19mm, f8, ISO400

Calm and Clouds Along the Canal
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/125s, 17mm, f8, ISO400

Walkway Span
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/60s, 32mm, f16, ISO400

Power Lines
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/320s, 55mm, f8, ISO400

Danger Buoy
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/125s, 55mm, f8, ISO400

Sunset Illumination
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/160s, 26mm, f8, ISO400

Up is Down, Down is Up
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/80s, 28mm, f8, ISO400

End of the Line – Lock 20
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/125s, 70mm, f8, ISO400

Toss the bread…

Posted by Mike on

Toss the bread, and slowly back away…
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-700mm f/2.8-4, 1/250s, 70mm, f5.6, ISO 400

A Morning along the Canal

Posted by Mike on

I decided today would be the day I get up early and search out a sunrise over the Utica Marsh.  My plan was a little short sighted since the walk to the marsh was definitely longer than I anticipated.  It did give me plenty of opportunities along the barge canal for pictures though so the day was not a total washout (even considering all the rain!).  I’ll know better next time to set my alarm about an hour earlier.

Calm Water Morning
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.0, 1/25s, 17mm, f8, ISO 400

Around half way to the marsh the trail has to cross a canal gate.  The gate isn’t related to a lock but more of a control point into a harbor of sorts off the canal.  I captured a few pictures leading up to the gate but the reverse view, into the sunrise, was definitely the keeper.  It was a little weird crossing the gate even though there was a walkway installed on top.  I was impressed with the construction.  It went for simplicity with large concrete counter weights to reduce the work any motor needed to perform.

Weighted Gate
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.0, 1/50s, 17mm, f8, ISO 400

At one point along the path there are three bridges that cross above, the north and south lanes of Routes 8 & 12, and the off ramp bridge to I790.  When I reached the point between the bridges the sun was finally above the horizon and once again I had a great show to capture.  This image ‘breaks’ all the ‘rules’, horizon is in the middle, subject is in the middle, etc., but as soon as I capture the first frame I knew this was the way the picture needed to be.  I generally don’t second guess my initial response, when I think about it, I tend to ruin the scene.

Reflected Light(pole)
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.0, 1/125s, 17mm, f8, ISO 400

All three pictures where processed using Lightroom 4.  Minor tweaks to tone, a little noise reduction and some sharpening.  I’m still learning all the possibilities with Lightroom 4 but it sure does make post processing images simple and straight forward.