peaceful – The Graceful Image

The Autumn Walk: Macedonia State Park

zevsteinhardt — Wed, 22 Oct 2014 10:43:35 +0000

I had the good fortune to spend Monday in Macedonia State Park, Connecticut. When I first got there, I despaired a bit as quite a few trees were already bare of leaves, and I feared I had missed the foliage season. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised when I was able to find a section of the park that had some color and take some shots. I was also fortunate enough to meet a hiker on the trails, named Alan (let’s hope I spelled that correctly!). Alan was kind enough to guide me down the mountain I had climbed (you have to go up mountains to get those sweeping landscape shots ) and I would love to thank him for both his advice and his company.

I’ll be posting some shots over the next few days from Macedonia State Park and Kent Falls. Here’s the first one — a shot I titled “The Autumn Walk.”

Today, I’m in Central-Eastern Pennsylvania, hoping to shoot Ricketts Glen and End of the World State Parks. However, the forecast for today and tomorrow is rainy, so here’s hoping I have some useful shooting time.

Zev

Prospect Park Waterfall

zevsteinhardt — Tue, 07 Oct 2014 15:52:37 +0000

As I’ve mentioned in the past, I’m a sucker for waterfall shots. However, there aren’t too many waterfalls in and around New York City (where I live), so I don’t get to take them very often. So, imagine how surprised I was when, while roaming around Prospect Park in Brooklyn, I came across this little scene.

A Small Little Slice of Heaven In Prospect Park

Yes, it’s a very small waterfall, but it’s still beautiful, which, in my opinion, is what counts far more than the height or the volume of water. Fortunately, I had my tripod with me, so I was able to set up and take multiple shots of this little waterfall. Without my tripod, I could never have captured this image (which is actually blended from seven images captured at different exposures).

This shot was taken at the beginning of October and one of the things I love is that you can just begin to see the changing of the colors of the leaves. There is just a hint of yellow on some of the leaves, giving a tease of the grand colors that would be there in the week or two that followed.

With Waterfalls, Bigger Isn’t Always Better

zevsteinhardt — Wed, 01 Oct 2014 16:19:49 +0000

I love photographing waterfalls. There is something that is calming and serene and peaceful about a nice waterfall — especially one that is tucked away in a nice, out-of-the-way place.

When I was hiking through Minnewaska State Park two autumns ago, I found a very large waterfall — somewhere between forty and sixty feet in height. I took some shots of it, but, truth to tell, none of the shots came out all that well. The amount of water coming over the fall was very little in comparison to the size of the fall itself, and the stream just seemed to get lost in the rock face in the pictures that I took.

After spending some time at the bottom of the falls, I followed the trail upstream for a bit and soon found myself at the top of the falls. Interestingly enough, about thirty feet from the top of the falls, I found yet another waterfall. This one was no more than four feet high, but yet, it made for a far better picture.

A small waterfall at Minnewaska State Park.

I spent a lot more time at this small waterfall than at the big one further down the trail. The amount of water coming over the fall, the rock and the little eddy pool that it formed made this shot far more interesting than anything I could have gotten at the bigger falls. Which, I guess, goes to prove that, at least where waterfalls are concerned, bigger isn’t always better.

Zev