LOCALadk Magazine

Winter 2019 LOCALadk Magazine 51 LOCALadk Ausable River The expansive nature of the alpine zone is perfect for wide-angle landscape photography. Fierce winds that rake the high summits car ve snowdrifts into fanciful shapes that create interest in the foreground, and leading lines that draw the eye into the photo. The crisp winter air produces the deepest blue sky imaginable, which contrasts nicely against puff y white clouds and the snowy landscape. Utilizing a cir- cular polarizer to reduce glare can make this contrast pop even more. While clear skies make for beautiful, sunny hiking weather, they present a challenge to the photographer. Fea- tureless skies can make an other wise intriguing composition boring and uninteresting. This can be combated by having hikers or trees silhouetted on the horizon or by using a small aperture to create a sunburst that adds drama and intrigue to an other wise featureless sky. Frozen Waterfalls The sound and sight of water cascading through a pristine forest is one of nature's greatest gifts. While waterfalls are beautiful photographic subjects any time of year, when the temperature drops and the falling waters of autumn slow- ly solidif y, they take on a surreal and other worldly magnif- icence. The Adirondack Mountains are blessed with a boun- ty of waterfalls, big and small, easily accessible and off the beaten path, providing countless opportunities for photo- graphing the haunting beauty of water frozen in time. Early in the winter season, when intricate ice details begin to take shape yet water is still flowing, offers optimal condi- tions for making dynamic photos. A favorite technique when photographing waterfalls is to utilize a long exposure, anywhere from ¼ second to multiple seconds, depending on the water's flow rate and the desired effect. This technique gives the moving water a silky smooth appearance. A circular polarizer not only reduces glare off of rocks and ice, but also helps to increase exposure time by decreasing the amount of light that reaches the camera sensor. Neutral density filters can also be used if an even longer exposure time is desired. A tripod is essential for these long exposures in order to achieve a sharp image, and to take multiple expo- sures to blend in post-processing if the dynamic range of the scene is too broad to cover in a single exposure, as often is the case when bright white snow and water, as well as dark rocks or trees, are all found in the same composition. An unlikely piece of gear that can come in handy when photographing waterfalls is a small travel umbrella. Depend- ing on the size of the waterfall and how close the camera is placed to the moving water, spray from the waterfall can be a nuisance, and can ruin a photo shoot if it unknowingly accu- mulates on the front of the lens. Spray is especially a concern when using a wide-angle lens and getting close to moving water to emphasize water action as a foreground element. After settling on a composition, if spray has accumulated on the lens front, a microfiber cloth can be used to wipe the water droplets away with one hand while shielding the cam- era with the umbrella, thereby preventing more spray from accumulating. The umbrella can then be lifted right before tripping the shutter to ensure that the shot gets off before water droplets accumulate on the lens again.

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