Tag Archives: state park

Steps of Solitude

Posted by Mike on

Chittenango Falls State Park

I like going to Chittenango Falls because I can explore more than the waterfall. The waterfall is easy. Finding other areas of the park to capture is what is fun. Plus, most visitors only view the falls and the remainder of the park is relatively people free… 🙂

Steps of Solitude
Olympus E-M1 MK III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 2s, 28mm, f/11, ISO 100

Follow it Down

Posted by Mike on

Buttermilk Falls State Park

Follow it Down
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1.3s, 18mm, f/11, ISO 200

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

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