Manfrotto studio tripod and hydrostatic ball head – Michael Stephen Wills Photography

Early Spring IV

exploring Trillium habitat

April 30, 2024April 29, 2024 MichaelStephenWills13 Comments

Trillium as subjects are a continual challenge to find the compelling composition. Click me for another Trillium posting.

This afternoon’s sky was overcast, perfect for photographing wildflowers: clouds thin enough for light to pour through. In the clouds’ shadow there is not enough light for the plant to cast its own distracting shadows. Compare an earlier trillium photograph (click me to go there).

For the following photograph is a study in habitat. At f32, focusing on the trillium, the surroundings are clearly identifiable: several budding Foam Flower heads (Scientific Name: Tiarella), fern, rotting wood, the forest floor hidden by leaf clutter.

I released the shutter (with a 2 second delay) during a break in spring breezes, the overcast lighting bright enough for a speedy 1/8 second exposure. The focus on the opening trillium bloom is just as crisp in this exposure as the next.

Click photograph for larger image. To do this from WordPress Reader, you need to first click the title of this post to open a new page.

At 4 f-stop, the entire plant is in focus while many habitat elements are a soft blur. An interesting point is the leaf on the left. It is in focus somewhat and is a distraction. This was an issue, in my opinion, for the first photograph.

Click for my “Finger Lakes Memories” Fine Art Photography Gallery.

Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Bells for Christmas

The symbolic power of the numeral three, reflected in various cultural, religious, and secular contexts, underscores its universal significance. From the mystical trinities of gods to the practical applications in rhetoric and storytelling, and the fundamental structure of our physical world, the number three resonates with a sense of completeness, balance, and harmony. Its pervasive presence in different aspects of human thought and culture attests to its enduring and profound symbolism.

December 14, 2023December 6, 2023 MichaelStephenWills29 Comments

Continue reading “Bells for Christmas” →

Early Spring V

Purple vs. White Trillium

April 25, 2023 MichaelStephenWills4 Comments

Purple Trillium, a different species from the white, present different challenges. The purple blooms tend to dip down toward the ground. White flowers face upward toward the sky. My successful photographs of purple (Click me for another Purple Trillium posting) have the camera lower than the plant, say where there is a bank above the trail.

Shot from beneath, White Trillium project a hopeful air. Here is a comparison of the two species in the environmental and individual treatments.

Click photograph for larger image. To do this from WordPress Reader, you need to first click the title of this post to open a new page.

Click for my “Finger Lakes Memories” Fine Art Photography Gallery.

Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Treman Gallery Footbridge II

Looking back after crossing the Gallery Footbridge we are rewarded with this view, providing a better understanding of the site. It is evening on a mid-September evening, Robert H. Treman Park, Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

February 13, 2023December 14, 2022 MichaelStephenWills3 Comments

Looking back after crossing the Gallery Footbridge we are rewarded with this view, providing a better understanding of the site.

This is the footbridge at east side of gorge gallery entrance, seen from the east where the trail descends.

It is evening on a mid-September evening, Robert H. Treman Park, Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York

Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Treman Gallery Footbridge I

Here we are on the Gorge Trail of Treman State Park. My readers have seen this marvelous stone bridge from a distance. Here it is on the west side, facing east/northeast and looking down into the gorge. It is evening on a mid-September evening, Robert H. Treman Park, Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York Copyright 2023 […]

February 12, 2023December 14, 2022 MichaelStephenWills3 Comments

Spanning the eastern side of the gallery entrance of the gorge.

It is evening on a mid-September evening, Robert H. Treman Park, Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York

Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

19th Century Enfield Falls

A Bit of History

February 11, 2023December 14, 2022 MichaelStephenWills

“Enfield Falls, like many other towns, grew around its grist and sawmills. Farmers coming to this mill about the middle of the 19th century could do errands while waiting for their grain to be ground. In Enfield Falls at that time, there were two sawmills, a shingle mill, cooperage, tannery, carding factory, store and hotel. By the late 19th century there was also a post office.”

“As farmers turned asway from growing wheat, Enfield Falls evolved from a busy milling center to a place appreciated for scenery and a quality hotel. Robert and Henrietta Wickham build and ran the hotel for many years during the middle of the 19th century. The hotel hosted popular dances in its ballroom. Guests could also dine and rest at the hotel.”

This placard from the Mill Museum at Treman Park is the source of much of today’s information. I used italics and quotes to attribute this source.

The sign in the heading of this post “hung near the hotel at least as early as 1883. In that year, D. Morris Kurtz mentioned it in his “Ithaca and Its Resources”: “At the foot of the hill is the Enfield Falls Hotel, but you look around in vain for the falls or even any sign of them. Upon the side of the stable into which our horses are driven is nailed a small board, on which is painted ‘Admission to the Falls, 10 cents.’ In reply to our inquiry the bright little urchin that takes charge of the team says, ‘Down there they are,’ pointing to the rocky wall which apparently forms the eastern and an unsurmountable boundary to the valley. And to ‘down there’ we proceed……“

Treman Gorge Trail from the Old Mill enters a narrow gallery looking here southeast along Enfield Creek, passing over a stone footbridge. This was the control point in the 19th century for collecting the ten cent admission fee. Here are some photographs of the entrance as it exists today. The retaining wall, footpath and stone bridge were constructed in the 1930’s by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The site was far rougher for those earlier visitors.

The Gorge Trail next to Enfield Creek on a midsummer morning. Robert H. Treman State Park, Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York

Photograph captured on a midsummer morning. Robert H. Treman State Park, Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York

Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Devil’s Kitchen

A small difference

February 10, 2023February 10, 2023 MichaelStephenWills8 Comments

Can you see the small difference between yesterday and today’s take on Devil’s Kitchen? Is the change and improvement, degradation or no difference? User Response Requested: respond in comments.

Aptly named Devil’s Kitchen is where Enfield Creek passes over these 20 foot falls before the Lucifer Falls 115 foot rock face cascade. Captured on a Memorial Day morning. Robert H. Treman State Park, Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York.

Here they are side by side.

It is 9:00am on a Memorial Daty morning Robert H. Treman Park, Ithaca, Tompkins County, Ithaca, New York,

Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Devil’s Kitchen I

Near Lucifer Falls

February 9, 2023December 14, 2022 MichaelStephenWills3 Comments

Aptly named Devil’s Kitchen is where Enfield Creek passes over these 20 foot falls before the Lucifer Falls 115 foot rock face cascade. We are occasionally appalled by families and adventure seekers climbing over these falls, wading in the water downstream and other insanities happening next to a waterfall so dangerous it is named after the Prince of Darkness and this very location “his” kitchen.

I am not one to talk, though. One winter on this very spot when the Gorge Trail was closed for winter, black ice brought me down almost into the water. All for a winter scene (photograph) of this marvel. Thankfully, I am wiser for the experience.

It is 9:00 am on a Memorial Daty morning Robert H. Treman Park, Ithaca, Tompkins County, Ithaca, New York,

Newlywed View IV

Under the Spell of Treman Gorge

February 8, 2023February 8, 2023 MichaelStephenWills3 Comments

View shared by generations of newlyweds standing on a stone bridge across Enfield Creek. This is another version, taken a few years later and earlier in the season, Memorial Day morning.

Here is an image having me rethinking my conclusions. Here, I combined two images and worked hours to make many adjustments. The resulting Tiff is four times the filesize of the Raw file from yesterday.

Here they are side by side. In this case IMHO the extra disk space and time are worth it.

It is 8:30 am on a Memorial Daty morning Robert H. Treman Park, Ithaca, Tompkins County, Ithaca, New York,

P.S. I mistakenly published this post with a repetition of III in the title. Today, I changed it to “IV.”

Newlywed View III

Under the Spell of Treman Gorge

February 7, 2023December 12, 2022 MichaelStephenWills3 Comments

View shared by generations of newlyweds standing on a stone bridge across Enfield Creek. This is another version, taken a few years later and earlier in the season, Memorial Day morning.

Here, I have taken the lessons learned from the last post: to run from the Raw file, open it in Photoshop, make Raw dialog adjustments conversed in an .XMP file written by Photoshop. Export from Lightroom using these adjustments.

We are looking back on the place where Treman Gorge Trail from the Old Mill enters a narrow gallery looking here northwest along Enfield Creek.

It is 8:30 am on a Memorial Daty morning Robert H. Treman Park, Ithaca, Tompkins County, Ithaca, New York,