two of them
On the south rim, Fillmore Glen, New York State Park, Moravia, Cayuga County, New York
unframed…..
…and framed.
Southern Exposure
“Happy Birthday” to Grandson Samuel Jack Wills who is seven today
Category: Finger Lakes Region of New York State
High Dynamic Range
Moth-like I was drawn to the bright light
Geek Warning
A challenge in photographing Finger Lakes Gorges and the potential for an interspersement of bright light against shadow. A strategy I used in this series from Fillmore Glen is to choose the time of day carefully. The gorge is anything but straight forcing me at time to forego a shot or to carefully compose. Here I was drawn in by the golden reflection of Slippery Elm leaves on the flowing water of Dry Creek.
without…..
Moth-like I was drawn to the bright light. Using the tripod, I took two shots. One exposed to the gorge depths, a second more to the bright light beyond — while still not fully adjusted to it. Using a High Dynamic Range (HDR) tool, the two exposures were combined into the following.
…and with HDR.
Copyright 2022 All Right Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
Slippery
Fillmore Glen Autumn
Ulmus rubra
The Slippery Elm (scientific name Ulmus rubra) gives Fillmore Glen this characteristic golden glow. The species has various traditional medicinal uses. The inner bark has long been used as a demulcent and is still produced commercially for this purpose in the United States with approval for sale as an over-the-counter demulcent by the US Food and Drug Administration. Sometimes the leaves are dried and ground into a powder, then made into a tea.
Reference: Wikipedia “Slippery Elm”
Copyright 2022 All Right Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
To the Brink
Take the Leap, or Not
On to Cowsheds Waterfall
The bed of Dry Creek bends before the fall. Fillmore Glen, New York State Park, Moravia, Cayuga County, New York
around the bend…..
…and over the brink.
Fillmore Glen New York State Park, Cayuga County, Moravia, New York
Copyright 2022 All Right Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
River Bend
Fillmore Glen Autumn
waiting for the people to leave
Patience was a virtue as I set up along Dry Creek where it bends before approaching Cowsheds waterfall drop-off. Fillmore Glen, New York State Park, Moravia, Cayuga County, New York
with…..
…and without hikers.
I say “without” with reservations. A moving hiker was blurred out in this 3.2 second exposure at f/22. I hid the blurred figure with a cut and pasted pristine pixels from the second exposure. The “without” take is earlier than “with.”
A minute and 50 seconds transpired between exposures. In that time, Pam rested her hiking pole against the wall.
Copyright 2022 All Right Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
Wonderland
Fillmore Glen Autumn
Do you have a preference? If so leave me a comment. Thanks!!
The bed of Dry Creek bends before approaching Cowsheds waterfall drop-off. Fillmore Glen, New York State Park, Moravia, Cayuga County, New York
with…..
…and without cascade.
Copyright 2022 All Right Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
Autumn Ithaca
Cass Park
Pam and I arrived early to Cass Park for our grandson’s October afternoon soccer match, in time for a 2 mile walk on the generous footpaths. This is my impression of that time, from the IPhone 7’s camera.
This completes our Sunday afternoon walk around Cass Park, Ithaca, New York.
Copyright 2022 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
Unidentified Tree
silhouette
This branch of spent, lancate leaves with hanging seeds grows wild on the slopes above Treman Gorge in the Finger Lakes Region of New York State.
Assistance with identification of this tree is requested. Please leave your suggestions as comments to this post. Thank You, everyone.
Here is a series of Lucifer Falls view from the overlook.
Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
Gorge Exploration
Fillmore Glen State Park, Moravia, New York
Late August last I captured these photographs and videos on the fly using an Iphone7 while Pam and I walked Fillmore Glen State Park, Moravia, New York. Click me for “The Space Station and the Waterfall,” another glen exploration.
Metal Intrusion
Spring thaw washed away the gorge wall, this functional metal bridge will outlast all but the most catastrophic gorge wall disruptions.
Flora
All parts of all Baneberry varieties (red and white) are highly poisonous, the bane of Baneberry. The berries are deadly. Ingestion of as few as two berries by children will cause death from cardiac arrest. Six for an adult.
Landscape Features
Copyright 2022 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
Goodbye for 2022
Our last Monarch for 2022
We successfully raised nine (9) Monarch butterflies this season, leaving us feeling, “Let’s do more in 2023.” Today’s post cover is a portrait of the last. She flew yesterday, September 23rd, forty (40) feet up to the oak tree shading the back yard, lost to us in the leaves.
Her chrysalis is the second from right in the following family photograph.
Here are two videos of our last 2022 Monarch to emerge and the first.
The butterfly emerges from the chrysalis about fourteen (14) days after setting. To the photographer needing to capture the moment a signal is the green, jewel-like chrysalis turns transparent, apparently darkening to reveal the compressed form of the butterfly. It can be hours before the insect breaks free, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV dslr camera is used for this. I set it on a Manfrotto BeFree Carbon Fiber tripod (with ball head), a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L macro lens for optics. The Mark IV has WIFI and HD video capabilities, so I connected the camera to an Apple IPhone 7 using Canon software. Monitoring the transparent chrysalis in real time, I continually reset the video from the IPhone until the butterfly emerged. I used AVS video editor software to produce the film for YouTube publication.
Michael Stephen Wills Photography 