Autumn makes me guilty when I am not out shooting. I see the photos that other people take and that exacerbates the situation. I'm also usually easily disappointed in the foliage that I see. I read the foliage reports and various foliage maps but I usually come away feeling like what I'm seeing must not be what everyone else is seeing.

I woke up early this morning and went out with the goal of taking one photo that I was happy with. I headed up the northway, being sure to avoid exit 23 and 24 (Warrensburg's "World's largest garage sale"). I had no location in mind but I got off exit 25 and headed towards Brant Lake. It was before sunrise when I past the lake. I saw another photographer set up at the Brant Lake boat launch and figured that I would give him some space. I kept driving and came upon this barn with the foliage on the hillside behind. I probably would have taken a photo of the barn alone but when I saw the color in the trees behind it, I knew I had to stop. It was quite cloudy when I snapped this photo and the sun had not yet broken thru.

Taken with my trusty D7000 and Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens.

Another One of the Old Barn

This barn has been photographed more than any barn in the Adirondacks, for that I'm sure. The barn even has a Facebook page in an effort to save it. Sadly many barns just like this that aren't on such a well traveled road don't get the attention that this one does. Even with all of the attention, I often wonder when the last time I will see this barn will be. The barn sits on Route 73 in Keene, NY in the High Peaks Region of the Adirondacks. If you've traveled to Lake Placid, you've likely seen it.

Last Days of Summer on the Boquet River

Last Days of Summer on the Boquet River, a photo by UpstateNYPhototaker on Flickr.

My love of photography really stems from my love for fly fishing. When I started fly fishing, I found myself on all of these beautiful creeks and rivers and found myself wanting to document them. I would almost always have a point and shoot camera on hand on the odd chance I caught a nice fish and I started taking snapshots of the waters that I would fish. More and more I was seeing that these photos weren't doing justice to the areas in question.

Early on I was really taken by the blurred water in the shots I was seeing other photographers take. If I had to point to one single thing as a motivator for getting me into photography, I would have to say it was the slow shutter, blurred water image.

This image was taken on the north branch of the Boquet River. This was probably the first stream I ever cast my fly line into and I like to revisit it from time to time for that reason. I hadn't been here since Irene hit two years ago and I was amazed at how it changed the river. Spots where there were previously pools, were now shallow riffles. trees were scattered everywhere.

The area of the river where this image was taken is pocket water and it was not affected by Irene as much as some of the other sections.

This was taken with my Nikon D7000, Sigma 10-20 and Cokin polarizer. In case you were wondering, I did not place those leaves on the rock :)

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.

13th Brook

13th Brook, a photo by UpstateNYPhototaker on Flickr.

I haven't been posting much and for that I apologize. Summer is not my most active season as I HATE the heat and this has been a HOT one.

When I took this photo today in North River, NY it was in the low 60's and the mist from this small brook felt refreshing. Fall is definitely in the air and I couldn't be happier.

I don't want to say that I have put photography on the back burner lately but I have been trying my hand at making rustic furniture (yes more exerting than photography in this heat) and have managed to make a couple of nice benches. Hopefully you will see some photos of those coming up soon.

This photos was taken with the Sigma 10-20mm with use of a Cokin Polarizer. It was somewhat overcast and that allowed me to get the shutter speeds around 2 seconds, necessary to blur the water like this and not blow out the highlights. I hope you enjoy!

As always, if you see any of my images that interest you, check out my Zenfolio website at: Stephenpuliafico.com

How Many Adirondack Autumns Has This Barn Seen?

How Many Adirondack Autumns Has This Barn Seen?
Originally uploaded by UpstateNYPhototaker

I love old barns. Each one tells it's own story and this barn is no exception. This barn sits on Route 9N/73 in Keene, NY along the High Peaks Scenic Highway. If I were to guess that 1000 people stopped and photographed this barn today alone, I would probably be on the low side.There was a steady stream of cars coming and going and I saw an impressive array of photography equipment coming and going as well.

I have passed this barn at least 50 times in my life and each time have thought this would make a great photo. Today, with the fall color in full stride, it was a no brainer. I don't think this barn could be placed in a more picturesque spot. Taken with the D90, 18-105VR and a Cokin Polarizer to tame the sky and color.

Split Rock Falls

Split Rock Falls
Originally uploaded by UpstateNYPhototaker

I just got home from a long day of working in the Adirondacks. I stopped along the way to some of my favorite haunts and took a few photos. This one of Split Rock Falls on the Bouquet River is probably my favorite from the day.

Split Rock Falls is located in Elizabethtown, NY in the Northeast Adirondack Mountains. It is EXTREMELY dangerous. MANY young people have lost their lives jumping into the turbulent waters here. It is an extremely inviting set of falls for jumping but during the spring months the hydraulics of the falls can pull a person under and keep them there. Ledges exist under the water and if a person is pulled under one of those ledges it can be extremely tragic.

I took this one with the Nikkor 18-105mm "kit lens" and the D90. It was taken with an aperture of f/16 and a shutter speed of 1/2 second. The lighting was terrible and I used a Cokin polarizer and a Cokin graduated ND filter as well to get that slow shutter and blur the water. This photo will eventually make my Zenfolio page and for now it is on Flickr.

ZENFOLIO

Adirondacks

I had a chance to get up to the Adirondacks on Saturday morning. I left Schenectady at around 5am to try and get up there for the sunrise. It was in the negative numbers (-2F to be exact) when I got up there around 7am and didn't really start warming up until much later. My Nikon didn't really like the weather and it took a while for it to warm up and stop groaning.

2 of the shots you see in the slide show below were taken this past summer (I think they will be obvious :) and the other two were taken Saturday. The photo of the foot prints were actually taken on the frozen pond that can be seen in the summer photos. If you look closely in that winter photo you can see the beaver dam from the summer photo far off in the distance.

The photo of the Ausable River isn't quite as impressive as it was in person. Being as cold as it was there was a good deal of steam coming up from the river. The light that was touching those distant trees was quite impressive. It's hard to imagine in just a few short months I'll be fly fishing again in that same area.

Anyone visiting the Wilmington/Lake Placid area I highly recommend the Hungry Trout Restaurant (5239 Route 86 Wilmington, NY). It is a stone's throw from where these photos were taken and the atmosphere and food is excellent.