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Watkins Glen Attractions

Posted on July 6, 2012 by Scott Thomas Photography

Watkins Glen State Park and Watkins Glen International (WGI) lie within five miles of each other at the southern end of Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York State. The state park features a magnificent natural gorge filled with beautiful waterfalls. WGI is a historical and internationally known racing facility.

Watkins Glen State Park and Watkins Glen International lie within five miles of each other in the Finger Lakes region of New York.

Watkins Glen State Park (left) and Watkins Glen International (right) lie within five miles of each other in the Finger Lakes region of New York.

The Village of Watkins Glen is a quaint town with tantalizing restaurants, unique shops, hotels and inns and boat tours on Seneca Lake. Like many towns in the Finger Lakes region, Watkins Glen relies on seasonal tourism with the added bonus of hosting large racing events which swell the town of 2,500 into the 10’s of thousands. Driving north on NY Route 14 from Watkins Glen to Geneva features several wineries with restaurants and wine tastings along the Seneca Wine Trial. With such natural and man-made attractions, Watkins Glen is a fabulous place to visit.

Posted in Travel | Tagged 28-300mm, 80-400mm, cars, creek, gorge, international, long exposure, new york, nikon D70, nikon D700, racing, state park, tourism, trail, vr, water, waterfalls, watkins glen, wgi | 3 Comments

Pledge of Allegiance

Posted on July 4, 2012 by Scott Thomas Photography

Members of the Spirit of America Fife and Drum Corps lead young guests in the Pledge of Allegiance in front of the American Adventure at Epcot’s World Showcase.
Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/160s, f/6.3, ISO 200, EV +0.3, 28mm focal length.

I have featured the Spirit of America Fife & Drum Corps a few times over the years on this blog. When it comes to American Patriotism, the Walt Disney Company is a master at bringing on such feelings for the citizens of the United States.

Posted in People | Tagged 28-300mm, american adventure, children, epcot, florida, guests, kids, nikon D700, orlando, pledge of allegiance, vr, walt disney world, world showcase | 4 Comments

View 235: Need for Speed

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Scott Thomas Photography

Last week I showed you the natural beauty of Watkins Glen State Park. This week, I will show you the other side of Watkins Glen, an internationally known and famous racing community. Life flows differently at this Watkins Glen.

Action Express Corvette at speed during the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York on Sunday, July 1, 2012.

Action Express Corvette, winner of the Daytona Prototypes, at speed during the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York on Sunday, July 1, 2012.
Nikon D70/80-400VR, 1/200s, f/13, ISO 200, EV +0.3, 135mm focal length.

The Watkins Glen International race track has hosted Formula One, Indy, SCCA, NASCAR and, last weekend, Grand Am racing series since 1948. Grand Am features two classes of racers: The Daytona Prototypes and GT. Both types of cars handle the curvy and hilly track found at the southern tip of Seneca Lake in the heart of the Finger Lakes Wine Country extremely well and very fast.

Doran Racing Daytona Prototype powered by Ford speeds down the backstretch at Watkins Glen International during the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen on Sunday, July 1, 2012.
Nikon D70/80-400VR, 1/200s, f/8, ISO 200, EV +0.3, 105mm focal length.

The Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen event is an endurance race which sets each racing crew to task. The teams must prepare their cars to last the full six hours and be faster than all the other cars in their class. A very tall order.

The APR Motorsport Audi R8 Grand Am running at the Watkins Glen International during the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen on Sunday, July 1, 2012.

The APR Motorsport Audi R8 Grand Am GT running at the Watkins Glen International during the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen on Sunday, July 1, 2012.
Nikon D70/80-400VR, 1/320s, f/10, ISO 200, EV +0.3, 220mm focal length.

After six hours and almost 200 laps around the 3.4 miles (5.43 km) course completed, the winner of the Daytona Prototypes was the Number 9 Action Express Corvette driven by Joao Barbossa and Darren Law with the GT class won by the Number 57 Stevenson Auto Group Chevrolet Camaro driven by the team of Robin Liddell and John Edwards.

Robin Liddell in the Number 57 Stevenson Auto Group Chevrolet Camaro takes the checkered flag for the GT class at the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York on Sunday, July 1, 2012.
Nikon D70/80-400VR, 1/2000s, f/4.5, ISO 1000, EV +0.3, 80mm focal length, cropped.

NOTE: Dusted off the Nikon D70 as I am still waiting for the D700 to be returned from Nikon. The near perfect weather and bright sunshine helped the Nikon 80-400VR lens perform at its very best.

Posted in Sports, Weekly View | Tagged "Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen", 80-400mm, audi, blur, cars, corvette, daytona prototypes, grand am, gt, international, motion, new york, nikon D70, panning, racing, vr, watkins glen | 2 Comments

June Hunting

Posted on June 29, 2012 by Scott Thomas Photography

Here are my photos for Karma’s June Photo Hunt.

Peace – Is a green leaf in the forest.

A green leaf of peace.

Joy – Is surviving cancer.

Cancer survivors at the 2012 Baldwinsville Relay for Life for the American Cancer Society at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium in Baldwinsville, New York.

Pride – Is wearing your grandsons’ championship rings.

A grandmother's hand wearing her grandson's championship rings.

Click the photo to learn more about this Grandmother’s Pride.

I had to skip the last one and instead replace it with one of the bonus topics.

Strewn – Are bottle molds untidily scattered awaiting to be loaded into a blow molder at a soda plant.

Bottle molds waiting to be loaded into a blow molder at a soda plant.

Posted in Photography | Tagged bottles, cancer, championship, green, hand, iphone 4, joy, leaf, mold, nikon D700, peace, plastic, pride, relay for life, rings, soda plant, strewn, survivor, women | 15 Comments

More from The Glen

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Scott Thomas Photography

I looked for different angles and views of the magnificence of the Watkins Glen State Park Gorge than I did last year. Let’s see what I got.

Central Cascade on the Gorge trail in Watkins Glen State Park, Watkins Glen, New York.

From this angle, the water flow plays peekaboo as it falls through the Central Cascade on the Gorge trail in Watkins Glen State Park.
Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/15s, f/8, ISO 2200, EV 0, 170mm focal length.

Above the Central Cascade is a stone bridge which was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930’s.

Fern clinging to the side of the stone bridge over the Central Cascade along the Gorge trail in Watkins Glen State Park, Watkins Glen, New York.

Fern clinging to the side of the stone bridge over the Central Cascade along the Gorge trail in Watkins Glen State Park.
Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/60s, f/8, ISO 1250, EV -0.3, 100mm focal length.

I pulled out the tripod and 3-stop Neutral Density filter for this long exposure of the water feathering down Rainbow Falls in the gorge.

Long exposure of a waterfall along the Gorge trail in Watkins Glen State Park, Watkins Glen, New York.

Long exposure of a waterfall along the Gorge trail in Watkins Glen State Park.
Nikon D700/28-300VR, 15s, f/16, ISO 200, EV -1.0, 98mm focal length, 3-stop Neutral Density filter.

I tended towards the close in for most of the day. On the way back down, I changed to the wide views like this waterfall surrounded by the stone it cut through over the millennia.

Waterfall along the Gorge trail in Watkins Glen State Park, Watkins Glen, New York.
Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/15s, f/16, ISO 1250, EV 0, 28mm focal length.