CNY Land Trust recently acquired the 3 Falls Woods Preserve, and I had the occasion to visit while the water was still running.
My first visit was on Monday, May 18th. I confess that I was a little unprepared. I had my raincoat, my tripod, my bug-net, and my rainboots. I didn’t have (because I didn’t think that I would need) my trekking poles or my hiking boots. I was also carrying my gear in my over-the-shoulder bag, not my hiking pack.
I was able to capture a couple sets of waterfalls, but not the most scenic. One reason was that I didn’t have the right footwear and it was apparently hazardous to access the falls from below. Another reason was that I was unfamiliar with the territory and was unaware I could hike the long way around to find my way to the bottom.
At the top, near Sweet Road, I tried to make something out of nothing. The falls sounded nice and were neat to look at, but they were not very photogenic to my eyes.
Then I moved a little further downstream and tried to capture the depth of the scene, capturing the previously captured falls with the next falls. I tried to step down into the water, but the view of the distant falls became obscured. If I stood closer and shot wide, the distant falls were too far away. I was left to set a 10 sec timer, pre-focus, set shutter-priority to 1/3 at f/13, flip my screen down, press the shutter-button and then hoist the tripod and camera 4 feet overhead and try to hold as still as possible while the in-body stabilization do its job at 25mm. I was proud of how I trouble-shooted and came away with the best image that I could under the circumstances, but it is not an image that I am proud of in itself.
As I moved further downstream I came to realize that I was unprepared to travel much further into the gorge…
… so I elected to go for a walk along one of the adjacent trails. And I am glad that I did.
I walked away with one image that I fancied:
Eventually, I had to turn around and go to work … it was a Monday, after all.
I would return 5 days later on May 23, again with work hanging over my head as I had to be home for a meeting at 0900. But this time I had a game plan. This time I was wearing my hiking boots. This time I had my gear in my pack. This time I had my trekking poles to help me control my descent into the gorge. This time I also forgot to pack my circular polarizer.
I revisited the first falls and decided to not make any efforts to capture 2 falls at once and instead focused my attention on the 2nd falls, using some larger rocks as foreground elements. I tried shooting from waist high, left, right, and center. Eventually, I landed on this composition which was the best that I could come up with and (to my eye) an improvement from earlier in the week, but still nothing I would print or hang on my wall.
Then I found my way down to the bottom of the gorge to explore what I had heard, but hadn’t seen, only a few days earlier. I was able to point my camera at 3 compositions that suited me:
And yes, I grant you that the washing machine basin is not a conventionally photogenic subject, but I think it has a story to tell and I like that about it. It ain’t pretty, but that is okay, I think.
2 days later, I was back again – this time with Christine, who hadn’t been to the preserve yet.
We explored all the acreage that was water-adjacent, even traveling further up the steam nearest Rt 173, exposing me to portions of the falls that I hadn’t seen yet. I found one composition in particular that I liked, but I hadn’t brought my camera, because I hadn’t wanted to be tempted to bore Christine while I tried to take pictures. I snapped multiple images of my favorite composition and later blended them together in my phone to smooth out the water.
We later discovered a neat-looking tree that I hadn’t seen before too; I would try to capture at my next visit.
I waited for the rains to return before heading out again – this time on the 30th, less than 2 weeks after my initial visit. This time I was prepared. I had explored and known what I wanted to shoot and from where. I had all the equipment that I needed (including the circular polarizer). I was wearing the right attire. I was carrying the right gear.
The water wasn’t flowing as heavily, so I was able to hike down the falls themselves in a few spots, exploring even more portions that I still hadn’t seen. I was surprised by a couple of compositions along the way.
And – ultimately – I was able to capture the 2 images that I had scouted when I was with Christine 2 days earlier as well.
The falls will dry up soon, but I’m glad that I had an opportunity to explore when I did.