Previously from the village of Hamburg, NY: Theaters in the Rain - Hamburg Palace, Brick & Mortar Gallery: Matted, Framed, and Ready to Hang, One More White while Appropriate, More Winter in Hamburg, NY, Theaters in the Rain Revisited, and Beyond, Palace in Winter, A Shed, The Village of Hamburg Waking Up

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Catching a sunrise is always wonderful and somehow more rewarding than a sunset. I usually run away from civilization to enjoy the special moment on my own, away from people and the noises of every day life. This morning, however, I got up early to see the village of Hamburg, NY wake up. It was a weekend and I arrived very early around 5:30 a.m. The sun was nowhere to be seen, yet, there were definitely signs of life already - the occasional pedestrian, a car passing by. All still very quiet but waking up. And that was wonderful to observe as the change was obvious with more and more life showing up every minute.

I am really glad I arrived before the sun lit up the streets as that was another great experience. Not only does the sun need to rise rather high to send its rays into the streets it needs to clear various other obstacles too. There are trees to rise above, and buildings of different height lining the street. Finally, as the sun rises a bit more north in summer its rise also repositions it more to the east clearing the way to enter streets running east to west without obstacles. And since my focus this morning was on Main Street which runs in this direction, the morning time was definitely a time of change.

I'd like to show two pairs of side by side photographs from this morning where the first photo was taken before the sun illuminated the street and the buildings and the second right after the sun made its entrance.

Coyote Cafe at DaybreakHamburg, NY

Coyote Cafe Mexican Restaurant at Daybreak, Hamburg, NY

Coyote Cafe at SunriseHamburg, NY

Coyote Cafe Mexican Restaurant at Sunrise, Hamburg, NY

Hess Brothers Florist at DaybreakHamburg, NY

Hess Brothers Florist at Daybreak, Hamburg, NY

Hess Brothers Florist at SunriseHamburg, NY

Hess Brothers Florist at Sunrise, Hamburg, NY

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! 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.

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Blue Hour Rain at Cyote CafeHamburg, NY Hamburg Palace ClassicHamburg, NY The Palace TheatreHamburg, NY Busy Staub SquareHamburg, NY Theater for Rainy DaysHamburg, NY

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My return to film photography and darkroom photo printing has an interesting side effect. I want to go back and photograph some of my favorite places again on film so that I can make my own black and white prints. I have always liked revisiting places and even have several posts here in the blog on that topic, however, this puts a whole new spin on the topic. I prefer to take only one camera with me on my photo outings, any more seems to distract me. Too many gadgets and not enough focus on what's around me. However, sometimes I at least throw some extras in the trunk.

So for today's post, here are two fresh color photos from one of my favorite locations, the Bird Island Pier, or Nowak Pier, with the camera pointed at Peace Bridge. As I entered the pier I noticed the "new" dedication plaque to Henry J Nowak. Yes, I have probably not been here for longer than I thought. I doubt anyone will start calling the pier by that name just because of the plaque but who knows. I guess renaming things there is popular as the island itself saw its name go from Squaw Island to Unity Island.

As soon as I started walking down the pier I noticed something I had never seen here before. There was so much water and the water level in the Black Rock Canal was so high that the overflow pipes going under the pier were very busy. Water was rushing through all of them with force making for quite a unique sight and also generating quite a bit of noise! It also immediately captivated my attention and I knew I wanted that to be the differentiating element from my past photos.

Water Rush under Peace BridgeBuffalo, NY

I found myself an interesting overflow with a branch and a pretty large log and started working on the camera position and angles. I went lower and lower until the camera was about a foot over the flowing water. The log, however, proved to be an unexpected challenge. Despite being large and heavy it wobbled around in the strong water flow. It was bumping against one of my tripod legs interfering with the long exposures I had in mind. That was easily fixed by repositioning the tripod though.

The second challenge was not so easily solvable. As the log moved back and forth couple inches it was getting blurred and that was not good. In long exposures, I like the blurred water flow to be clearly contrasted with sharply rendered objects like rocks or wood in this case. Solution? I pushed the log off a bit with my foot and lodged it underneath the log to prevent the rocking. In the end, I thought it worked alright despite making for an uncomfortable picture taking position.

I took the first photo shortly after sunset as the sky retained some nice colors. Unfortunately, all of the clouds from an earlier rain floated away about two hours too early.I liked this angle not only because it combined the overflow water rush from Black Rock Canal to the Niagara River but it also showed both the river and Lake Erie in the background.

For the next photo, I had to wait another 45 minutes.

Gold & Purple Peace BridgeBuffalo, NY

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 bridges feel free to explore the Bridges of Buffalo photo collection. 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.

Using my links to do your shopping keeps me sharing more photographs and writing the stories behind them and costs you nothing. You can also use the Amazon search box in bottom left for anything at all. I truly appreciate each purchase, no matter how large, no matter how small. Thank you!

Color Splash Reflection under Peace BridgeBuffalo, NY Peace Bridge at SunsetBuffalo, NY Peace Bridge Dressed in Lavender and BlueBuffalo, NY Illuminated Peace Bridge at DuskBuffalo, NY

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Oklahoma became the 46th state to join the United States on November 16, 1907. The capital city is Oklahoma City. The highest point is Black Mesa at 4,973 feet.

Ed Galloway's World's Largest Concrete Totem PoleRoute 66, Foyil, OK Road Trip 2013 - Day 17 - June 27 - Route 66 - Foyil, OK (Previous 2013 Road Trip posts: Indiana Dunes, De Immigrant, Amana Colonies, Des Moines, Madison County Roads, Bridges of Madison County, White Pole Road, Great Platte River Road Archway Monument, Golden Spike Tower & Union Pacific's Bailey Rail Yard, Loveland Pass, The Resting Day at Powderhorn, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Cimarron, Colorado National Monument, Fruita Rodeo, Grand Mesa, Arches National Park, Grand Junction, Grand Mesa Creek, Arches National Park Add-On, Canyonlands National Park, The Little Big Moments of Road Tripping, Mesa Verde National Park, Santa Fe, Santa Fe Train Depot, Pecos National Historical Park, Route 66 Part I, Santa Rosa, NM, Route 66 Part II, Santa Rosa, NM, Route 66 Part III, Tucumcari, Route 66 Part IV: Cadillac Ranch, Route 66 Part V: Bug Ranch), Route 66 Part VI: Conoco & Magnolia, Moore, OK after the 2013 Tornado, Route 66 Part VII - Catoosa, OK, Road Trip: Route 66 Part VIII - Largest Totem Pole

On the road again moving just over 30 miles north-east since our last stop in Catoosa, Oklahoma and stopping 4 miles east of Route 66 in Foyil, OK to check out Ed Galloway's "playground", including the largest concrete totem pole in the world. I guess it used to be the largest totem pole but now with competing totem poles made of other materials the word concrete had to be added to solidify the claim.

Lizard on the Largest Totem PoleRoute 66, Foyil, OK There are other sculptures on the property, including the turtle the totem pole is built on top of. There's also a Fiddle House where Ed's home made fiddles used to be, and still are on display.

Enjoy The Beauty That Surrounds You! (#etbtsy)

References: Oklahoma on 50States.com - Roadside America - nps.gov - Legends of America

Would you like to see more of my travel photographs? Visit the Travel Photography gallery or the On the Road photo collection. Please, let me know if you have any questions about any photo products offered, or not offered. Looking for a present? I also offer ready to hang solutions like canvas gallery wraps, prints on metal, and matted and framed ready to hang photographs.

Do you like my free content but are not ready to buy a photograph for your walls yet? Using my links to do your shopping helps me share more photographs and write the stories behind them. And it costs you nothing. You just need to start your shopping by clicking on an advertised product or use the Amazon search box in bottom left. It does not matter what you eventually buy as long as you start here. I truly appreciate each purchase, no matter how small. Thank you!

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