The United States Civil Conservation Corps (CCC) Camp number SP 33, inaugurated May 1, 1934, Marathon New York, worked four years (1934-1938) to improve Fillmore Glen State Park.
Bridges Five (5) and Six (6)…..
We can see the work to maintain the CCC work continues today by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Look closely to see the cable flowing from the south gorge rim (to right) by which the limestone, out of sight along the gallery, was lowered for this project. There are building supplies at Bridge Five and Six, both left in these photographs.
…the gallery and Bridge Six (6)…..
Fillmore Glen, Cayuga County, Moravia. In the Finger Lakes Region of New York State
Copyright 2022 All Right Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
A faint organic whiff of Paleozoic Era generations follows hikers enjoying the Gorge Trail, an odor luring contemporary treasure seekers thankfully spurned by the December 2014 New York State fracking ban. Thanks to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s leadership, the ban protects public health, drinking water, the environment, local economies based on agriculture, tourism and small businesses. The ban on fracking sets the New York State apart for its climate leadership by leaving fossil fuels in the ground while the state simultaneously leads the nation in expanding renewable energy.
A plentitude of waterfalls…..
…bridge number 5…..
Fillmore Glen, Cayuga County, Moravia. In the Finger Lakes Region of New York State
Copyright 2022 All Right Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
We walk the Gorge Trail surrounded by the remains of two mountain ranges (the Taconic and Acadian) as high or higher than the Himalayas. Humbled by the fullness of time the mountains persist, now as this layered, fractured, water and frost battered rock. When the first grains flowed here the Earth’s day was 22 hours, a year 400 days, the Moon’s relative closeness moved tides higher. Four billion years ago, the first formed Moon was only 3.8 Earth radii, 15,000 miles, away. Today, a half billion years after the Cambrian, the distance averages 30 Earth radii (250,000 miles) and increasing at the almighty’s pace through the daily round of tides.
notice the right angles of fracture…..
…the angles record the changing directions of pressure of the continent against Africa as tectonic plates shifted.
Fillmore Glen, Cayuga County, Moravia. In the Finger Lakes Region of New York State
Copyright 2022 All Right Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
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
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.
Fillmore Glen, Cayuga County, Moravia, New York
Reference: Wikipedia “Slippery Elm”
Copyright 2022 All Right Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
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
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.
Emergence of a Monarch butterfly from a chrysalis 4K UHD with relaxing music. A caterpillar attached itself with silk to hang by its two rear legs to transform to a green chrysalis. Fourteen days later the chrysalis shell becomes translucent. Inside the chrysalis the Monarch butterfly moves to shed the shell. The released insect’s abdomen pumps fluid, expanding the crumpled wings. The entire process takes twenty minutes, compressed in this video to about six (6) minutes.
As the moment of emergence approaches, the skin of a Monarch chrysalis becomes translucent to reveal the butterfly compressed into that small space.
A real time film of our first 2022 Monarch Butterfly emerging from the chrysalis, then expanding its wings in 4K UHD with relaxing music. The process takes twenty (20) minutes.
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.
Copyright 2022 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
Michael Stephen Wills Photography 