With the Fall of 2024 on the scene I'd like to share a few photos from a photo walk through the Village of Orchard Park last year, fall of 2023. We're starting appropriately by the decorated village welcome sign.
Welcome!Village of Orchard Park, NY
Welcome! The Village of Orchard Park, NY
Photographed with a 35mm Minolta XG-7 on Agfa Vista 200 Color Negative Film
These Orchard Park walks with a camera in hand have become my favorite. As time passes by, things change, and it is interesting to realize the changes and remember the time when I took a photograph of something changed forever, something that is no more, or on the other hand a place that now has something new in it.
ColorsVillage of Orchard Park, NY
Colors, Orchard Park, NY
Photographed with a 35mm Minolta XG-7 on Agfa Vista 200 Color Negative Film
Take for example the eastern side of the Green Lake. Yep, the dam side. With the "recent" repairs it looks completely different. And it looks a little less natural now, with more concrete on the shore, some trees gone, and even the woods down below the dam have been cut down significantly. Or Custard Lite becoming C's Custard Delight.
What's Left of the Fall at the Train DepotVillage of Orchard Park, NY
What's Left of the Fall at the Train Depot, Orchard Park, NY
Photographed with a 35mm Minolta XG-7 on Agfa Vista 200 Color Negative Film
Or the photograph above, the Train Depot's platform getting a complete overhaul and looking like new! Or if we were going to turn 180- degrees and look towards the railroad bridge we'd no longer see tracks but a Rails to Trails path.
Pumpkins at the Chamber of CommerceVillage of Orchard Park, NY
Pumpkins at the Chamber of Commerce, Orchard Park, NY
Photographed with a 35mm Minolta XG-7 on Agfa Vista 200 Color Negative Film
Look below, the Ginger Snap Patisserie is a relatively new addition to the village of Orchard Park having replaced the Gingham Gallery, I believe in 2021. Wow, a recent change and it's been three years already. A wonderful café and I hope they stay a long time. It seems that running a small business in Orchard Park is rather challenging.
Fall Decoration at Ginger Snap PatisserieVillage of Orchard Park, NY
Fall Decoration at Ginger Snap Patisserie, Orchard Park, NY
Photographed with a 35mm Minolta XG-7 on Agfa Vista 200 Color Negative Film
Look at all of those colors too, whether the decorations or what Mother Nature brings. Fall is just such a wonderful burst of color and it's hard to get enough knowing what change is coming. It's not really winter that bothers me as I can enjoy a well made winter. It's the six months of gray that can get rather tedious. Weird, isn't it? I enjoy black and white photography a lot, yet, the lack of color in the world around for an extended period of time can get to me. It is the gloomy nature of it though. Cover the landscape with fresh white snow, clear the sky of the blanked of the monotonous solid layer of textureless clouds, place the wonderful sun there, and all of a sudden it is a happy scene, in color or in black and white. It creates an intense anticipation of the next season, spring.
The Lounging Leopard GiftsVillage of Orchard Park, NY
The Lounging Leopard Gifts, Orchard Park, NY
Photographed with a 35mm Minolta XG-7 on Agfa Vista 200 Color Negative Film
Doesn't Green Lake look wonderful in blue surrounded by golden warm tones of the season? It's such a little think, but I've come to enjoy this little section of the lakeshore so much. I always remember to walk this path and turn around and see how the scene looks at that moment, knowing it will never look the same again, no matter how hard one might try. But maybe that is just a visual challenge of a person with a camera in hand all too often. Does everyone notice the fleeting nature of moments like this?
Remnants of Fall at Green LakeVillage of Orchard Park, NY
Remnants of Fall at Green Lake, Yates Park, Orchard Park, NY
Photographed with a 35mm Minolta XG-7 on Agfa Vista 200 Color Negative Film
Minolta XG735mm Film Camera
We've also reached the end of today's walk, almost back where we started. I already have similar walks through Orchard Park that I would love to post soon, and I am sure there will be more in the future. However, if you have been to my blog here and there, you know that I love photography too much to be able to keep up with it in my posts to this website, or anywhere. My backlog is too long to ever catch up on and maybe that's just fine.
I hope you've enjoyed the short visit to Orchard Park 2023 and if you live in the area, maybe you can try ti spot what's already different just about a year later. Do the decorations look the same? Are the even there? Did the storefronts change their look? Are all of the trees still in their place? There's only one way to know. Well, maybe two. You can head out on your own and check things out or you can wait for me to blog about it someday. The choice is yours.
Thanks so much for visiting! If you like the imagery, by all means, please, scroll to older posts or use the search to find posts about whatever topic that you might be wondering about. As years go by, my reference library is growing and I personally like that aspect of my website the most. It documents things that surround me and it documents my journey through photography that started in 2004 with a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ10.
Enjoy The Beauty That Surrounds You! #etbtsy
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Historical Society MuseumOrchard Park, NY
This Way to SPOT CoffeeOrchard Park, NY
Fall Colors by the Train DepotOrchard Park, NY
Custard LiteOrchard Park, NY
Kaylena Marie's Bakery on New Year's DayOrchard Park, NY