Nice Morning for a Bike Ride

Nice Morning for a Bike Ride, a photo by UpstateNYPhototaker on Flickr.

I went to Saratoga National early this morning to catch the sunrise. As the sun rose the fog slowly lifted from the valley and a nice scene appeared but I felt it was missing something. There wasn't a strong foreground element for me to include and as I thought about the scene these bike riders came into view and I knew I had to act fast. I thought for sure the bikers would blurred from motion but I lucked out.

Obligatory Fall Color on Galway Lake

Obligatory Fall Color on Galway Lake, a photo by UpstateNYPhototaker on Flickr.

Sometimes when taking photos in the fall I am as guilty as anyone of wanting to boost the vibrance and saturation in an image to give it that fall color photo look. In this particular instance I just let the rising sun that was to my back do that for me.

I was not overly enthusiastic about the fall color that I saw this year. On Galway Lake for instance I felt as though this weekend was probably the nicest color I had seen by far but most of the trees had experienced at least 50% leaf drop already. Also, where there was color in one section, it was long gone in other sections a few hundred yards away.

This photo was taken with the d7000 & "Kit Lens" 18-105mm VR. I didn't use any filters. I always shoot in raw and I really only cropped this, slightly adjusted the white balance and darkened the sky just a tad.

Abstract Fall

Abstract Fall, a photo by UpstateNYPhototaker on Flickr.

I stopped at the Saratoga National Battlefield Park after work. I was pretty disappointed overall with the fall color. Most trees hadn't even seemed to hit moderate color and some (namely the old maple near the Neilsen House) were past peak with a lot of leaf drop. Some of the smaller maples were peak but unfortunately I couldn't incorporate them into a nice landscape shot due to their placement in the park. I had just finished shooting some wide stuff when I stood under this beautiful maple in peak golden color and a bright blue sky. I clicked a couple shots but wasn't satisfied with the boring results. I set a wide aperture which translated into a slow shutter speed and spent about twenty minutes trying to get an artistic blur shot like this that I was satisfied with. Believe it or not this wasn't an easy result to achieve.

Deer in the Headlights Minus the Headlights

Deer in the Headlights Minus the Headlights, a photo by UpstateNYPhototaker on Flickr.

I was watching football at a friend's house yesterday when I spotted this deer foraging in my friends yard. When I got my camera and went outside, there were three in the yard leisurely munching on the grass. I was able to snap a bunch of photos and although I caught this one in what looks to be a startled pose, she was actually just chewing lazily and not really bothered by my presence a short distance away.

Taken with the D7000 & 80-400mm VR

Black River Rensselaer County

Black River Rensselaer County, a photo by UpstateNYPhototaker on Flickr.

I had the opportunity to travel a few back roads in Rensselaer County after work one night and I came upon this stream (Actually called the Black River). The conditions were nice for capturing some moderate fall color as it was overcast and misty.

Taken with the D7000 & Sigma 10-20mm

Fall on the Sacandaga River

Fall on the Sacandaga River, a photo by UpstateNYPhototaker on Flickr.

Had a chance to photograph the Sacandaga River near Speculator recently. It was a rainy miserable day and then all of a sudden the weather cleared and I was left with a sunny late afternoon. I was actually hoping that it didn't clear to the extent that it did as it made slow shutter work nearly impossible given the filters that I own.

The color in this area was actually quite spectacular and I did not come close to doing it justice. I took this near the middle of the river and I used my fishing waders to get out in the fast moving waters.

Taken with the Nikon D7000 DSLR and Nikon 18-105mm VR.