Gorge Trail

• Alfred Eisenstaedt.

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Watkins Glen is one of the most beautiful destinations to visit, east of the country, if you are a landscape photographer. The place is gorgeous, almost right out of a medieval movie set. It’s a narrow glen with a hiking trail, and that means some essential architecture elements like railing and bridges. Now, this is where the park shines. Every single humanmade detail at this park is designed to go well with the aesthetic of the glen. It adds to the natural beauty rather than distracting from it.

I took this shot on my first visit, and at the time, my goal was to not include any human element in my nature shots, so I tried to remove the trail as much as possible from my compositions. I didn’t think of posting this image because it had a bit of the trail showing at the top right of the picture. Now, when I look at the photo, I feel how well the trail elements fit into the scene and wish more gov agencies take the aesthetic of the trail into account when hiking trails are designed in pristine nature.

-Aristotle.

• Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

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When we decided to move to California, I decided to hit all my bucket list trips in the northeast area. I had one month to wrap up most of my things before driving across the country. The first trip I planned was to the stunning Watkins Glen State Park. I have been to the park about a year or two before, but that trip did not yield the results that on par with expectations set for such a beautiful place. So when I planned the second trip I knew, I had to make adjustments.

The main problems I encountered during the first trip were due to a lack of preparation. First, I was late to arrive, so I had to deal with a lot of foot traffic and strong shafts of daylight. Secondly, I didn’t have a strong enough ND filter to deal with the stronger light. This caused a lot of frustration, effectively taking away any chance of thoughtful compositions.

But I was prepared for the second visit, I had the Lee big stopper with me, which helped take care of any extra light issues. I also made sure that I was the first person to be at the park as it opened that helped with the foot traffic allowing me to compose the shots in relative peace. The big stopper was also a tool that helps with composing in busy areas, by giving exposure times in minutes, it allows people to walk across the frame without ruining your shot. It also forces deliberate compositional techniques due to the amount of time involved with each shot. So it worked out well, and I came out so many amazing shots that this trip was the first time I learned about adjusting my photography to the conditions. Also, this trip showcased how much a repeat visit helps you prepare to understand a location and help you adjust.

-Anne Frank.

Watkins Glen Gorge, NY

Another capture from the Watkins Glen State Park. Before the trek I was talking to couple of photographers at the entrance and one of them gave me a tip about getting tighter crops and looking back at waterfalls as some of those vistas are as good as the more popular ones. I am glad he gave me that advice. I liked the grooves and texture in this part of the gorge and wanted to capture it in an interesting way. I love the crop and the way the stream is sneaking across the jagged rocks. Hope every one like it…

Taken at Watkins Glen State Park, NY.

3xp HDR - Photomatix - a little digital xpro on the pool - curves - sharpen

The gorge has over 800 steps on...