This grove of trees included this colorful maple that seemed to steal the show.
Monthly Archives: October 2012
Foggy Fall Path
This peaceful unpaved road beckons leaf peepers to travel around the bend to see what fall color awaits. Dominated by yellow foliage,the forest contrasts nicely with the stone path.A light fog helps add a little atmosphere.
Nature’s Dazzling Display
Fall is my favorite time of the year,and even though this years spectacle of color seems a bit lackluster,one can still find pockets of beauty if you look a bit. Despite the fact that I traveled thirteen hundred miles this month to see foliage,this scene was among my favorites and it was less than ten miles from home. If anyone wants suggestions on shooting foliage,I would say mix it up and try some tight shots like this using a telephoto to compress the scene and keep sky out of the shot. It wont be long till old man winter starts to blow and just between you and me,I hope its one of the snowiest and coldest winters.I just got four new snow tires on the truck and I am itching to get out and explore.
Vermont Maple Syrup Shack
This little shack was along the road in Vermont and the mums in the window boxes,the wood pile,and the stone wall all combined to create a country scene worth shooting. There were little maple syrup bottles on shelves in the windows,but I don’t know if the shack was used to make maple syrup or not.
October Lantern Light
I posted a summer image from this lovely location a few months ago, and thankfully I decided to drive by and see what it might be looking like now. The old maples were in their prime of fall color transition and the fact that fallen leaves were covering the entrance and sporadically covering the lane as well made for an impressive sight in my opinion.The property is gated at the stone wall and posted as well,but after I spoke with the groundskeeper and gave him a few large prints from my first visit,he was all too glad to welcome me back.I started shooting at the entrance and then moved up the lane for a variety of angles,and at one point the keeper pulled up on his tractor and offered to open the gate,which allowed me to get what is perhaps my favorite view. The lit lanterns on the stone walls finished off this fall scene,which will be just a memory if hurricane sandy hits the east coast as predicted. trees will be blown clean of leaves,which makes my visit even more special only days before the storm.
Lake Placid Park
This Lake Placid park was full of color, but with twenty-mile per hour wind and driving rain,I was wondering why I left my warm motel room an hour and a half before sunrise in search of images. All the light in this image is coming from lamp posts throughout the park and my exposure for this image was thirty seconds at f11. Several early morning joggers gave me funny looks as they wondered what on earth I was doing.This image was taken shortly after I finished my streets of gold image from yesterdays post.
Streets of Gold
This colorful store in Lake Placid caught my eye as I headed toward the countryside for sunrise shooting. It was raining at the time,so the walkway was shimmering in golden street light which added to the appeal. I added some flash to the store fronts for added kick and enjoyed the stillness of the lonely street.
Foliage Lined Stream
Fall color stretched along the banks of this stream outside Lake Placid as autumn rapidly advances across the Eastern United States. A pair of hip waders are a great addition to the photographer’s tool kit and can provide access to get the shot you want.
An Autumn Postcard
This is another classic fall scene from the heart of Amish country featuring farmers hard at work bringing in the corn harvest. Pleasant temperatures and a mild breeze made for the perfect day to be out in the fields. A full complement of farms and silos provide the perfect backdrop to the men at work in the foreground.
Fall in Vermont
This Vermont farm is accented by autumn color,and the reflection in the pond just adds to the scenic appeal. A stone wall runs along the dirt drive and seems to be a very common attribute at many Vermont farms.
Rainy Day Stroll
I was out shooting fall foliage the other day and decided it might be nice to show some folks enjoying the great outdoors. Just as I was contemplating what might make a nice image,it started to rain pretty hard and at that moment I noticed a dad and his three sons getting out of their car, so I gave them my umbrella and they took a little stroll among these colorful maples. The blue umbrella seemed to match the blue attire and made a nice contrast with the autumn colors. Heavy rains the night before had everything saturated and provided rich colors throughout.The rain subsided a short time later,so hopefully dad and the boys got some time to explore the woods while color still abounds.
Working Late
This old Dodge has been part of a local fall roadside stand for several years and this year I finally set aside a night to photograph it. The truck bed is full of mums and a wide variety of colorful mums fill the foreground for customers to pick from. Let me explain how the shoot went.I arrived an hour before sunset so I could set up the tripod,fill in any empty holes with flowers if needed and start my laptop to fire the camera. First the laptop took 5 minutes to let me log on,then my camera control software would not recognize that my camera was attached. After no less than 6 restarts,the sun was now below the horizon and I was now ready to drive over my laptop.
Next the sky lit up in an area Not included in my frame,so I recomposed and shot the image. Now I was ready to give up on light painting the scene because of the laptop snafu,but I gave it one last try and unbelievably the thing works. So for the next hour I used my spotlight and a flash to light the truck, flowers,and scene and this was my result. Lighting a black truck is a real challenge but thanks to the generosity of the owners in allowing me to work the shot,I had enough time to pull it off.
Vermont Stonewall
This is one of a few images I got while spending two days traversing Vermont on my way home from Lake Placid.Fall color was late this year,so I was coming through at least a week before any real color appeared. I spotted this place on a back road and asked to roam around the property,which the owner gladly obliged.The property had about 6 red barns on it plus this rustic rock wall. A classic Vermont scene
The Adirondacks
This peaceful little scene was at our motel in Lake Placid and was worthy of a shot. We stayed at the motel three days and it was only on the last day that I walked out back and saw this view.Sometimes the shot is right under your nose,but you need to look. The cabin runs around 500 bucks for two nights but being able to look out your bedroom window at this scene might be worth every penny.There was only one Adirondack chair out front,so I shot one frame with it on the right side and then moved it to the left for a second shot.I then layered the two images together to end up with the final image,which was possible thanks to the tripod.
The Flume Falls
This falls called the flume is located along a scenic stretch of road about ten miles outside of Lake Placid. As I get older I seem to be getting a little less brave or perhaps wiser,but on this morning I decided to navigate my way onto a hard to reach rock outcropping to get this shot. To get this shot,I left my camera bag in the woods,carried only my camera and tripod and clung to several trees as I descended a hill.Next I crawled on hands and knees along a two foot wide rock ledge that included low hanging roots brushing my back.I took my sweet time getting there because any mistake would put me into the raging water,which included more nasty falls just downstream. Getting there right after sunrise insured I would hopefully be there alone,which I was.The water was flowing pretty strongly,so extreme caution was in order.Fall color on the mountain provided a nice backdrop.
Dawn on Lake Placid
This is the view from our motel backyard on our Lake Placid trip. I only knew it was there on our last day,so I set the chairs up, tied the canoes fast and set the oars in position the night before. I came out at dawn in the dark,set up my laptop,tripod and camera and started lighting the scene in the dark,and then recorded the lake and sky as the sun rose. I could easily get used to sitting in those chairs and the home out on the lake with the light on is a dream location to live.
Wishing for Calm Waters
Nothing spectacular really,but this is as good as I could get with bad light and terrible wind. I can’t recall a day with calm water during this short fall foliage excursion,so sometimes you take what you can get.
A Place to Relax
This peaceful scene was one of a few shots I captured while visiting Lake Placid last week. It was located a few miles outside town and looked like a great place to spend time enjoying nature. A canoe ride,a hike, or just an evening around the camp fire munching on smores are all possibilities in a place like this.I took this photo from my truck roof because the extra elevation allowed for a better view of the lake and woods.
Enter Fall Foliage
I just returned from a five-day trek to the Lake Placid region in New York, which was more challenging than I had anticipated. Foliage was decent,but the area is known as the high peaks region,which meant you are often in between mountains with not a lot of valleys to see farms etc. I am sure if I had researched the area more before visiting, I would have been better prepared to shoot in that setting. Foliage was slightly past peak,but still lovely as evidenced by this private lane with a rustic log gate with brilliant foliage surrounding it that I shot on the way in to Lake Placid. I will share more images in the days ahead as I get to them.
Texaco Fire Chief
I rarely composite images together,but since I shot the gas pumps the same day I shot the car,I figured I would try to join them.Not sure how believable the pumps are sitting there,but it was merely an exercise to try.
Train Museum
The sun peaks through clouds at the train collectors museum. I always liked the peak on this structure and this stormy morning inspired me to give it a shot.
Sardine Express
I have no idea how many passengers a little Honda CRV can handle, but I am pretty sure this idiot driver is over the limit and breaking several traffic laws.Yes I grew up in an age when wearing a seat belt was unheard of, but times have changed and this little scene played out as I was out with a friend shooting recently. How many people do you think climbed into this car? Not five,six,seven,eight,or even nine,but ten.There were four boys in the back,the driver,a child in the backseat between two adults,and a mother holding an infant up front. If for some reason, they were in a crash,this would have been an absolute disaster. I blurred the plate to protect the stupid. I am more prone to get involved than not,and this time I was wondering if something should have been said, but it was their decision to travel that way.
The Blacksmith Shop
This is a wall mural on the side of a small shop in a local town. I have no idea why this subject was painted but the artist is Wayne Fettro,who seems to do a lot of this type of work. I decided some light painting was in order to showcase the work.It took about 10 different flash pops to do everything.
Got the Blues? Look up
A family is dressed in the same color scheme as the watch a sky diver make his way toward the ground at a community event.
A Rainbow of Scooters
I noticed these scooters parked at a one room school the other day, and contemplated shooting them.As I drove up the road to turn around,I noticed a youngster about a quarter-mile up the road heading toward the school on yet another scooter. I imagined the possibility of him passing by the scooters and me getting a shot,but lo and behold he actually stopped right at them and I quickly snapped the shot.
Coming in Hot
Coming in hot means coming in at a reckless speed, which was what this balloon was doing as winds picked up near touchdown. It scraped a tobacco field,took out a rope fence and finally drug to a halt. The horses took off running in every direction as the balloon descended.This very same balloon somehow got caught on a high power line the next day and actually was starting to smoke before the wire snapped and fell to the ground. Amazingly no one got zapped.
Dutch Country Corn Harvest
The Amish farmers have been busy in the last month harvesting thousands of acres of corn. Wet weather has delayed the work slightly,but it doesn’t take them long once they get going. I usually like to find a nice farm in the background,so the viewer can see the whole setting,instead of just the wagons.
Big Red
I was bored the other night,so I grabbed the gear for a light painting attempt. I am still not that good at this,but I have fun trying. This is the result of about 30 different exposures with flash. Looked on the net and the cost is around $350,000 for this machine if anyone wants one.
Amish Childs Car Seat?
Every day you see something new,and for me it was an Amish buggy with a childs car seat in the back.Maybe they have being doing this forever,but its a first for me to witness it. It most likely is just sitting in there loose, but I could be wrong. Next they might have air bags installed.
Chasing the Pig
I rarely post photos that are not on the visually appealing side, but since I have viewers from all over the world,I thought I might share one of the more interesting activities that takes place at the local fair each year. What you see here is known as the pig chase,where contestants compete to catch a greased pig. Some times the pig takes a good hit as he is tackled,but in twenty years I have never seen a pig or person get hurt. Pigs seem to be pretty tough from what I have seen,and the addition of lard on their bodies make them hard to hold. From children to adults,there is a size of pig that matches each division,and believe it or not,I have seen pigs actually run with an adult hanging on their back. For children under five,there is a rooster chase,which really gets interesting,and by the way,the guy in yellow did not catch the pig. Being the fastest at this event often times means you are the one that will be feeling ten other guys landing on your back in short order.
Donald Reese Photography 