This week, the blog entry is going to depart from my favorite subjects-wildlife and is going to focus on some scenics of a gorge and waterfalls. Joan and I had to make a trip to Elmira, New York to pick up parts from heat treating on Friday. It was a beautiful summer day with light rain and peek a boo sunshine. Watkins Glen is only about 1/2 hour from Elmira, so we decided to take a detour home through Watkins Glen and visit the State Park there and walk through the Glen. It had been years since we had been there.
I took the Canon 1D MK IV with 24-105 f4 lens and Joan took the Nikon D300 with 18-200 lens. We packed along the Gitzo tripod with Really Right Stuff ball head mounted. I learned from a very good mentor (Mark Picard) long ago-do not waste your time and efforts shooting hand held. I was amazed at how many "photographers" I saw in the Glen with very expensive DSLR cameras and NO tripod. Even when the sun is completely out, the Glen is shaded so shutter speeds are slow. There is a mist in the Glen from the waterfalls which makes for a great way to get very naturally saturated images. I set the ISO to 200 and most of the shots had an f stop of f13.
The path winds along through gorge and has nicely laid stonework for the path as well as walls.
There are a couple of tunnels that are had hewn from the rock cliffs and one has a spiral staircase cut into the rocks and you emerge and pass behind one of the larger waterfalls.
The scenery is beautiful and it is a wonder to see how the water has cut its pathway through the rocks.
Until Next Time!
Jim Borden
