Yashica LM and FilmTLR Camera This was a day off from work dedicated to hiking and photography and as an added bonus my wife joined me. What was not to like? And who would not like a 4-day workweek? My plans called for an exploration of some new trails as well as for revisiting some well known ones. It was time to hop in the car and drive north to Niagara Falls, NY.

First to the new trails. We walked around the Niagara Falls State Park many times before and hiked the Whirlpool State Park and Devil's Hole State Park as many times. However, we always skipped the area in between. I am not sure what triggered the thought but one day I ended up on the New York State's website for Niagara Gorge Trails and identified Trails #4 and #3 as hiking targets. The website stated there was some water damage to Trail #4 and it would not take us all the way to the Whirlpool Bridges but it should be open to and a little bit past its intersection with Trail #3. At this planning stage, I planned on hiking down and back up the same way. While I always prefer loops that was not an option here, or so it appeared on the map.

And for the trails to revisit? That would very much depend on how much time the new exploration would take. Read on to see what happened.

Whirlpool Rapids BridgesNiagara Falls, NY

Whirlpool Rapids Bridges, Niagara Falls, NY
Yashica LM, Fomapan 100, D-23

After parking at the Niagara Gorge Discovery Center and seeing the blue skies and full sun I loaded my Yashica LM TLR with Fomapan 100 (a black and white negative film) and we headed down the trail. I also had an orange filter affixed on the taking lens of the camera to darken the blue skies and avoid the washed out look. And yes, there are public restrooms available to make hiking more comfortable.

All along the trail I was looking for an opening in the trees towards the river hoping to get a view back to the Falls or forward to the Whirlpool Bridges. In the end, the trail offered both and in two different varieties. There was an official lookout, and in one or two places there was an opening in the trees I liked, as in the photograph above.

Across the Rainbow BridgeNiagara Falls, NY

Creek Gate
Yashica LM, Fomapan 100, D-23

While trail #4 headed towards the Whirlpool Bridges, trail #3 turned our direction almost 180 and headed towards Rainbow Bridge and Niagara Falls, completely descending to the riverbanks. Continuing up the river we reached a point where the river widened quite a bit, which opened up an interesting vantage point as if from the middle of the river.

Then, the hike took us to the paved observation deck you can see in the photo above on the left. There was a heavyweight lift that can probably raise and lower ships into the river, but that is my guess here, I did not further look into its purpose. You can see its tall column in the above photo too. And the most surprising feature for the first time visitors found at that location? An elevator! The Schoellkopf Public Elevator in what remains of the Schoellkopf Power Plant directly connects the parking lot where this whole adventure started with the deck down below and cuts the travel time down to seconds.

I did have some doubts, this was meant to be an outdoors hiking day and using an elevator felt like massive cheating. Elevator? Hike back? In the end, the elevator won. The hike was not a loop but rather a there and back arrangement, thus my motivation to explore sunk a bit. Also, if a chunk of time could be saved here we'd have time for another walk in the area, right?

Storm over Niagara FallsNiagara Falls, NY

Storm over Niagara Falls, NY
Yashica LM, Fomapan 100, D-23

As soon as we walked out of the elevator and looked towards the Falls, we could see a dramatic weather change. An ominous storm was moving in and it seemed like the outdoors activity might be in danger. However, the weather radar seemed to have good news. It was showing a relatively narrow front moving through. Solution? We decided on a lunch break in a restaurant we'd not been in before either and took advantage of already being this far north.

The planned worked perfectly. After lunch, rain stopped and the heavy clouds were slowly moving past. We could see nice weather in the west. Thus, we headed for my favorite walk along the American Falls over the Green Island and to Goat Island. We walked down to Luna Island to see the Bridal Veil Falls. I always enjoy the view of the river rushing down there. Then we continued to the tip of the Goat Island to enjoy the above view of the American Falls. The lighting conditions were insane! The storm moved past us but filled the sky in that direction while it was already sunny overhead and behind us. You can even see a rainbow in the photo above, even though I must admit black and white photography may not be the best way to present one. Yes, that subtle white bow on the left is a rainbow.

Rushing Down to the FallsNiagara Falls, NY

Rushing Down to the Falls
Yashica LM, Fomapan 100, D-23

To add to the day's step count we walked further around the Horseshoe Falls to the Three Sisters Islands. I still love the area quite a bit, however, a dose of nostalgia usually hits me. I definitely liked that location even more before it became civilized. Paved paths and fences have been installed for safety. I miss the days when one could freely wonder about the islands looking for just the perfect photo spot. It also used to be easier to capture the natural look of the Upper Niagara Rapids without the fences finding their way into one's photograph.

Canada Down the RiverNiagara Falls, NY

Canada Down the River, Niagara Falls, NY
Yashica LM, Fomapan 100, D-23

The last two photographs of today's post are literally back to back. They are both taken from the bridge connecting the Three Sisters Islands with Goat Island. First, a view up the river and second, a view towards Niagara Falls even though there is no sign of those. I always enjoy looking at the many islands in the river making the location look more "wild" than it really is. And those buildings? You are looking at the other river bank to Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.

After this stop, it was time to head back to the Niagara Discovery Center parking lot. for a return drive home. If only one could spend this much time walking or hiking daily!

Enjoy The Beauty That Surrounds You! #etbtsy

Do you enjoy reading my photography blog? Would you like to see more photographs from Buffalo and Western New York? Visit my Buffalo Cityscapes and Buffalo & Western New York Landscapes and enjoy! For more travel photography, my Travel Photography gallery offers an interesting mix of places all around. Please, let me know if you have any questions about any photo products offered, or not offered, I will be happy to help! For a quick reference to all photo galleries and collections as well as all photo products currently offered through my site, please, visit the Products page.

Phalanx6x6 Square Cottage in Winter Woods6x6 Square Brant Street Pier, Burlington, ON6x6 Square

Nikon FENikon FE, Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 Pancake Today's eleventh post on cyanotypes builds on what I have posted about before. I shared how different papers can completely change the look of the final image. I compared three types of paper so far, all watercolor papers. On one end, I used a very bright watercolor paper with a very rough texture, which further contributed to an even more lo-fi look and high contrast. In the middle, I used a watercolor paper with a more subtle texture and lower brightness, which preserved more of the original detail and resulted in less contrast. And finally, printing on a basic smooth watercolor paper provided a result looking the most like a regular photograph, just in blue.

That final option is what I selected for the two prints presented in today's post. I wanted to keep and show the fine detail in the tree as well as the grass and thus went straight for the smooth paper.

Along the CreekCyanotype, Hiking Nemotínek

Along the Creek, Hiking Nemotínek, Nemotice, Czech Republic, An Original Hand-Made 5" x 7" Cyanotype
Chemically printed on a hand-coated smooth watercolor paper

The ability to reproduce fine detail really showed in the second photograph below. The grass and shrubs covering the banks of Kyjovka came through with a surprising detail, including the two trees in the background.

KyjovkaCyanotype, Hiking Nemotínek

Kyjovka, Hiking Nemotínek, Nemotice, Czech Republic, An Original Hand-Made 5" x 7" Cyanotype
Chemically printed on a hand-coated smooth watercolor paper

I will definitely continue experimenting with the three papers I have already used as well as introduce new ones. Oh, and I forgot about a fourth type I used at the very beginning and quickly abandoned. It was inkjet watercolor paper and I really do not recommend it for this type of printing, especially if you want something at least somewhat predictable. The cyanotype chemicals will react with the chemicals the paper is coated with to better receive ink and anything can happen. However, even that can provide its own unique look.

Enjoy The Beauty That Surrounds You! #etbtsy

Previous posts in the Cyanotypes series: 1. First Cyanotype - 2. More Cyanotypes - 3. Highlands Cyanotypes - 4. How do Cyanotypes Happen? - 5. Cyanotypes V: Tweaking the Curve - 6. Cyanotypes VI: Toning - 7. Cyanotypes VII: More Toning - 8. Cyanotypes VIII: Toning Different Papers - 9. Cyanotypes IX: Horní Rozsíčky - 10. Cyanotypes X: From Black and White or Color - 11. Cyanotypes XI: Moravian Countryside

If you like cyanotypes you can explore the Cyanotypes Photo Gallery dedicated to my growing collection of them. Would you like to browse through traditional darkroom wet prints? Visit my Darkroom Photo Gallery and enjoy! Do not hesitate to contact me whether you would like to learn more or would like to purchase one of my prints.

Bird Island PierCyanotype BUFFALOCyanotype Chautauqua BelleCyanotype

Pentax K1000 It's hard to believe the origins of this post go all the way back to June 2020. Back then, I was part of a community project called the Partnership of the Passing Pentax. A Pentax K1000 was being shipped around the country with different photographers using the same camera, the same lens, and the same film to photograph their area.

I wanted to make sure the camera would not get stuck with me for too long and only kept it for two days. Day 1 was a roll of Kodak Double-X in Birdsong Park, day 2 was another roll on the shore of Lake Erie (more on that in a future post, hopefully not in two more years). This project and my approach allowed me to see the park quite differently.

Twinkle in the TreesTrees of Birdsong

Twinkle in the Trees
Birdsong on Pentax K1000 and Kodak Double-X

So what was different? Since I visit the park often I try to be very careful about what I photograph. Did I photograph it before? Is it any different? Should I press the shutter? I question every single photograph and try to talk myself out of it. This evening, I fully intended to go through a whole roll of 35mm film. I had just over an hour to get approximately 36 photographs. Even rounding things a bit for simplicity that is about a photo every two minutes. That was definitely something I had not done in this park in a long time, probably since my very first visit.

Creek GateTrees of Birdsong

Creek Gate
Birdsong on Pentax K1000 and Kodak Double-X

There was another significant difference that evening. My cameras usually have a wide angle lens, like a 28mm, attached as the default. The Pentax K1000 used for this project came with a 50mm lens and that was quite a difference. It was a whole different world. Back in 2020, using a 50mm lens was a complete unknown to me. And looking at it now, I suspect it was this experience that opened up the world of normal lenses to me. I now go out with 50mm lenses much more often and even went on whole big trips with that focal length as my only lens!

Old BranchesTrees of Birdsong

Old Branches
Birdsong on Pentax K1000 and Kodak Double-X

There is a saying "can't see the forest for the trees" but I think my usual wide angle approach resulted in me not being able to see the trees for the forest. I'd always be framing for my foreground, middle ground, and background. With the 50mm lens, I could place more focus on details, on narrower areas, I could, or even had to flatten my plane of focus on a specific feature. The opening photo of this post is a scene one gets to see immediately after turning into the woods. It always makes an impression on me, yet, I had never been able to photograph it that way. This evening, I could. The same experience followed just a few steps further into the forest with the gorgeous branches of the old tree. I was able to raise my camera up and focus on just the scene that caught my eye, the branches.

Dead Tree Up CloseTrees of Birdsong

Blooming Bush
Birdsong on Double-X 5222 for the Partnership of the Passing Pentax

This old and very dead tree is the only photograph in today's post that is outside the woods. I love the tree and I always stop, admire it, and sometimes take a picture if I can convince myself that something about it looks different. And again, the normal lens facilitated a different perspective.

ForestTrees of Birdsong

Blooming Bush
Birdsong on Double-X 5222 for the Partnership of the Passing Pentax

However, we are heading right back into the woods. There was something magical with the light that evening. Whether it was a figment of my imagination or reality I am not qualified to say due to my bias towards these photographs but even now more than two years later I still see that shimmering light. Maybe it was the lens, maybe it was the backlight painting the pictures on the Kodak motion picture film, maybe it was my imagination, or maybe it was a combination.

Creek in the WoodsTrees of Birdsong

Creek in the Woods
Birdsong on Double-X 5222 for the Partnership of the Passing Pentax

To close out today's post we're stopping by the creek. This particular spot has captivated me for years but it has been only the last year or two that I've really come to appreciate and enjoy the full length of the creek as it passes through the park. The combo of the creek and the leaning trees along both banks creates some very charming scenes. In this specific location, the fallen tree crossing the creek and its reflection add a little extra to the whole scene.

Enjoy The Beauty That Surrounds You! #etbtsy

• Original project posts: The Partnership of the Passing Pentax, Roll Number 1, The Partnership of the Passing Pentax, Roll Number 2
• My first ever post from Birdsong: Adapt, aka Plan but Welcome the Random

Do you enjoy reading my photography blog? Would you like to see more photographs from Buffalo and Western New York? Visit my Buffalo Cityscapes and Buffalo & Western New York Landscapes and enjoy! For more travel photography, my Travel Photography gallery offers an interesting mix of places all around. Please, let me know if you have any questions about any photo products offered, or not offered, I will be happy to help! For a quick reference to all photo galleries and collections as well as all photo products currently offered through my site, please, visit the Products page.