View 466: Autumn Weekend in the Adirondacks

This week, winter blasted areas in Buffalo to my west and Watertown to my north while my yard is snow free. So, before winter does come to me, I wanted to revisit the Adirondack weekend I spent back in October. I mentioned on my post about the Long View Lodge, where my wife and I stayed, how it was an excellent base for exploring the Adirondacks.

We arrived on a Friday afternoon and stopped at Hoss’s Country Corner Store for what turned out to be a couple of hours of browsing Adirondack themed clothing, art, books, souvenirs and anything else one would need for camping or a lake cottage.

Long Lake View
View down Long Lake from the Long View Lodge in Long Lake, New York on Friday, September 30, 2022. Nikon D750/16-35VR, 1/125s, f/11, EV 0, ISO 1600, 35mm Focal Length.

That evening I photographed from Long View Lodge’s floating dock. I did not bother to use a tripod since the dock would move so I set my ISO to 1600 and hand held the camera using Joe McNally’s Da Grip technique. As I was waiting for the Sun to light up the clouds, I took the photo above giving one an idea of why it is called Long Lake.

Adirondack Sunset
Sun below the horizon lights up the clouds over silhouetted Adirondack mountains from the floating dock at Long View Lodge in Long Lake, New York on Friday, September 30, 2022. Nikon D750/16-35VR, 1/60s, f/11, EV 0, ISO 1600, 16mm Focal Length.

Hurricane Ian was making its way up the US East Coast at this time but a strong High Pressure system was keeping Upstate New York protected from the hurricane’s effects. It meant the sky west of where I was standing would be clear and once the Sun got close to the horizon, it would light up the high clouds. My patience paid off about five minutes after the Sun went behind the mountains on the other side of Long Lake.

The next day, we went for a hike to Buttermilk Falls which was a short drive from the Long View Lodge. According to the locals we overheard the night before at the lodge’s restaurant, we were about three to five days early for peak tree colors. That did not stop me from finding color.

Autumn Maple Leafs
Maple leaves near Buttermilk Falls on Raquette River in the Adirondacks near Long Lake, New York on Saturday, October 1, 2022. Nikon D750/24-120VR, 1/125s, f/8, EV 0, ISO 1600, 75mm Focal Length.

While there are many Buttermilk Falls in New York and around the world, this one was more of a steep rapids then a waterfall. With that in mind, I decided to photograph it with a fast shutter speed to show the power of the water’s flow. I also used a set of five images from -2EV to +2EV to create a HDR image. The middle image was used for the motion which was shot at 1/30th of a second.

Adirondack Buttermilk Falls
Buttermilk Falls on Raquette River in the Adirondacks near Long Lake, New York on Saturday, October 1, 2022. Nikon D750/16-35VR, f/16, EV 0, ISO 100, 16mm Focal Length, Tripod, HDR Image.

On the way back from Buttermilk Falls, I spotted what I called a glade next to Long Lake. Some might call it a meadow. Either way, it was too early to photograph the scene and we returned for Golden Hour. For a good landscape photograph, it needs a good foreground interest which I found in a log laying in the middle of the “glade”. The sunburst through the trees was a bonus.

Adirondack Autumn Glade
Sun shines over a glade and nearby mountains on Long Lake in the Adirondacks near Long View Lodge in Long Lake, New York on Saturday, October 1, 2022. Nikon D750/16-35VR, 1/5s, f/16, EV 0, ISO 100, 16mm Focal Length, Tripod.

The next day, we visited the Adirondack Experience Museum on Blue Mountain Lake on a perfect Autumn day. For lunch we had a meal at the Lake View Café which lived up to its name.

Lake View Café
View from the Lake View Café at the ADK Museum on Blue Mountain Lake, New York on Sunday, October 2, 2022. Nikon D750/24-120VR, 1/125s, f/11, EV 0, ISO 500, 46mm Focal Length.

Hope you enjoyed my reminiscing of a beautiful Autumn weekend. Next week, I will have an update on the Nikon Z9. This time for ice hockey.

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