Views Infinitum

Steel Rainbow

Posted on August 24, 2011 by Scott Thomas Photography

Karma announced her August Photo Hunt in mid-July which played right into my hands. The weekend after her announcing the hunt would include things in the colors of the rainbow, the Syracuse Nationals rolled into town with over 7,000 hot rods, classic and muscle cars in every color the automotive industry has produced over the last 100 years. There is still time to join Karma’s Photo Hunt as she is taking submissions until this Sunday, August 28, 2011.

1. Red GTO. A classic Pontiac GTO with a hefty 328 cu. in. V-8 under the hood. (cu. in. means cubic inches).

Red GTO

2. Orange Coupe. A vanity plate proclaiming this is a Kool Koop.

Orange Coupe

3. Yellow Pontiac. 1953 Pontiac Chieftain in showroom condition.

Yellow Pontiac

4. Green Truck. A classic Ford Truck hood.

Green Truck

5. Blue Coupe. A ’41 little blue coupe called Frenchy.

Blue Coupe

6. Purple Chevy. The legend, a 1957 Chevy Bel Air.

Purple Chevy

Bonus (kind of) as this was taken by a fellow alum at the luncheon cruise during my high school’s alumni weekend earlier this month.

Scott ('77) and his wife, Merrie ('81), on the Emita II cruise ship near Baldwinsville's Lock 24 on the Seneca River.

Views Infinitum blogger and photographer Scott ('77) and his wife, Merrie ('81), on the Emita II cruise ship near Baldwinsville's Lock 24 on the Seneca River.

Posted in Event | Tagged automobile, blue, cars, classic, colors, fairgrounds, green, hot rod, muscle, nationals, new york, orange, purple, rainbow, red, syracuse, yellow | 26 Comments

View 191: The Mighty Taughannock Falls

Posted on August 22, 2011 by Scott Thomas Photography

You might detect I am saying this with tongue firmly in cheek. The summer in upstate New York has been dry and hot. Water flow through the gorges around the Finger Lakes is very low. Even Taughannock Falls has very little water falling over the 215 foot (65 meters) drop.

Summer water flow over the Taughannock Falls near Ithaca, New York. Nikon D700/Tokina 11-16mm, f/16, ISO 200, EV 0, 16mm focal length, tripod, HDR Image.

What a difference from the last time I was there back in May, eh?

I was joined last weekend by two Ithaca area bloggers, Barbara of The Aspiring Photographer and Debbie of My Life in CNY, who meet me early in the morning at the Taughannock Falls State Park. We all had a good time getting to know each other better while photographing the beauty of the park. Thanks, ladies, and I hope we’ll meet up again so you can show me more of the Ithaca area.

Bloggers Debbie of My Life in CNY, Scott of Views Infinitum and Barbara of The Aspiring Photographer at Taughannock Falls State Park near Ithaca, New York. Photo by Debbie. Nikon D3000, 1/50s, f/4.5, ISO 100, EV 0, 24mm, tripod, remote shutter.

Posted in Nature, Weekly View | Tagged gorge, hdr, landscape, new york, nikon D700, photomatix, pool, rock, season, state park, summer, taughannock falls, tokina 11-16mm, tripod, uwa, wall, water, waterfall, wide angle | 17 Comments

Harbor Sunset

Posted on August 18, 2011 by Scott Thomas Photography

Sunset over the Oswego harbor on Lake Ontario. Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/400s, f/10, ISO 200, EV +0.3, 78mm focal length.

Took an expected drive up to Oswego, New York for dinner and stayed for the sunset. Can you blame me?

Posted in Nature | Tagged 28-300mm, clouds, harbor, Lake Ontario, new york, nikon D700, oswego, sky, sunset, vr, water | 19 Comments

Wind Watcher

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Scott Thomas Photography

The wind is the taker and giver of mornings, the wind is the symbol of all that is free. — John Denver, Windsong

A Watcher of the Wind.

The wind can be gentle and move a boat of sails along the Earth’s waters. Wind can also be destructive and deadly as it was last weekend at the Indiana State Fair. The late John Denver summed up wind’s spirit in this song.

Posted in Nature, People | Tagged 28-300mm, blue, cement, horizon, Lake Ontario, new york, nikon D700, pier, sailboat, sails, sky, swimsuit, vr, water, waves, wind, woman, young | 4 Comments

View 190: Summer at the Glen

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Scott Thomas Photography

Watkins Glen, New York is famous for its auto racing heritage. In fact, NASCAR is racing there today as weather postponed yesterday’s attempt. Watkins Glen is also home to one of the most beautiful gorges in the southern tier of the state and the world in my opinion. Before tasting wine and beer, my family and I meet up with Dave and Gillian of FLX Photo as soon as the park opened and walked down the Gorge Trail in Watkins Glen State Park. Notice I said down. For $3US a person, we took a shuttle up to the top of the trail and walked down to the parking lot. We didn’t want to wipe ourselves out. 🙂

View from the Gorge Trail in Watkins Glen State Park, Watkins Glen, New York. Nikon D700/28-300VR, f/16, ISO 1400, EV 0, 90mm. HDR Image.

Here are some of the sights we enjoyed in the middle of summer. The gorge is a popular tourist destination with tour buses making stops from May to October. It wasn’t long before the trail filled up with people. Most of them going up the trail and asking us how far it was to the top.

A woman reaches out to feel the water falling from an overhang along the Gorge Trail in Watkins Glen State Park, Watkins Glen, New York. Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/60s, f/5.6, ISO 6400, EV -0.3, 135mm focal length, polarizer filter.

I pulled out the tripod and put a 3-stop Neutral Density filter on the Nikon 28-300VR lens to add a little action to the scene.

Tourists climb the stone stairs past the Glen Cathedral on the Gorge Trail in Watkins Glen State Park, Watkins Glen, New York. Nikon D700/28-300VR, 2s, f/16, ISO 200, EV 0, 28mm focal length, tripod, 3-stop ND filter.

It was hard not to stop every few feet to take a photo. The beauty of the gorge held a new delight around every bend and change in elevation.

Dave stops to photograph one of the beautiful sights along the Gorge Trail in Watkins Glen State Park, Watkins Glen, New York. Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/15s, f/16, ISO 1000, EV 0, 28mm focal length.

Thanks to the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and continued maintenance by the State of New York, stone stairs, walls and bridges allow people to enjoy the splendor of the Watkins Glen gorge.

People marvel at the Cavern Cascade on the Gorge Trail in Watkins Glen State Park, Watkins Glen, New York. Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/60s, f/8, ISO 6400, EV 0, 28mm focal length.

A tourist takes a break on one of several stone bridges along the Gorge Trail in Watkins Glen State Park, Watkins Glen, New York. Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/15s, f/16, ISO 1100, EV 0, 48mm focal length.

I thought the water flow was pretty good considering the lack of rain in July. For a comparison, visit Debbie’s post from May. This was my first visit to Watkins Glen State Park and was more of an exploratory trip. I will be back!