What a great opportunity for an unscheduled blog post! Happy 1st Day of Fall / Autumn to all of you and a new fall photo to share with you. I will admit, I did not even realize it was the first fall day until after I shared this photo with a few friends. However, it was a wonderful morning, the fog was an unexpected present from Mother Nature, the glow in the sky was amazing in all directions, and I was not sure where to run first knowing the fog would get burnt off rather quickly once the sun peeked over the horizon.

As I moved from location to location I passed an area scented with fresh cut grass and hay, which I though went really well with the rest of the experience. On a few occasions, I just closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths in as the experience was rather intense.

Meadows and Fences at Sunrise, Knox FarmFirst Day of Fall 2015

Meadows and Fences at Sunrise, Knox Farm

Enjoy the beauty that surrounds you! (#etbtsy)

Have you enjoyed this post? Would you like to see more of my Fall / Autumn Photographs? You can visit the Autumn collection. Please, let me know if you have any questions about any photo products offered, or not offered. I also offer ready to hang solutions like canvas gallery wraps, or matted and framed photographs. Those options are available using the "Frame It" link once you place a photo in your shopping cart.

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 not mentioned here. I truly appreciate each purchase, no matter how small or large. Thank you!

Mysterious BlueUnion Ship Canal Bridge This late evening led me to the Union Ship Canal on Buffalo's Outer Harbor. It was a targeted mission. I had photographed the bridge there before during daytime, and I had photographed other locations in its vicinity at dusk to get the deep blues of the blue hour as a backdrop. I had not taken advantage of that light at the Union Ship Canal Bridge though before and really wanted to see that look.

I was really excited to combine the strong symmetry of the bridge leading one's eye into the darkness of the distance combined with the mysterious deep blue sky and the illumination of the bridge.

The conditions were very good upon my arrival with quite a few clouds filling the sky after sunset. That was perfect as I was planning to use a very long exposure here to have the clouds completely blur out as they move through the scene. I just had to wait a little as it was still too light.

When the bridge lamps and the light in the sky started to balance better I started setting up my tripod head on against the bridge. It was pretty dark by then and the park almost empty, which was good as I was not in the way of too many people trying to get through. It took me a while to get the rig aligned properly. In architectural shots, I really do not like any distortions introduced due to not having the camera level and perfectly aligned with the subject.

Canal BridgeBuffalo Union Ship Canal The first photograph here was the longest exposure of the evening at 12 minutes. The completely blurred out background and the slightly underexposed bridge illumination created a more mysterious photo. I intentionally shot in this direction to get the darkness in the distance and to have the far opening of the bridge submerged in complete darkness adding to the mystery.

When I was done with the head on symmetry I also wanted to take advantage of the reflected bridge illumination from the waters of the canal. As it was really late and dark I positioned the camera and tripod carefully not only to get the side angle on the bridge and the reflections but also to catch the last section of the sky that was not completely covered with clouds and thus was still showing more of the blue tones.

To close out today's post, I would like to share one more version of the initial set up, even though it will be out of sequence here. It was the closing head on photo and I changed camera settings for a brighter scene giving it, in my opinion, a completely different mood.

Union Ship Canal in BlueOuter Harbor, Buffalo, NY

Union Ship Canal in Blue, Outer Harbor, Buffalo, NY

Enjoy the beauty that surrounds you! (#etbtsy)

Have you enjoyed this post? Would like to see more of my photographs? Visit my Buffalo Cityscapes gallery for more photographs from the city or Western New York Landscapes for natural scenes from its vicinity. Please, let me know if you have any questions about any photo products offered, or not offered. I also offer ready to hang solutions like canvas gallery wraps, or matted and framed photographs. Those options are available using the "Frame It" link once you place a photo in your shopping cart.

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 not mentioned here. I truly appreciate each purchase, no matter how small or large. Thank you!

More about the Union Ship Canal: Looking Backward: Hanna Furnace - Ship Canal Commons Opens on Outer Harbor - Union Ship Canal (Buffalo, New York) - The Hanna Furnace Corporation and the Union Ship Canal

Fish Market - Luray CavernsShenandoah Valley, Virginia This is a tough one for me. I'll say it right at the beginning here, Luray Caverns are absolutely fantastic! Stalactites, stalagmites, columns, cascades, colors, textures, formations resembling objects from the world above ground, whether natural or manmade. Add water and reflections to the mix and it becomes irresistible. Another advantage? At least for now, Luray Caverns are photographer friendly. Cameras are allowed, and so are the tripods.

So why is this a tough one? The caverns are located in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia right next door to the Shenandoah National Park and its spectacular Skyline Drive. There, sweeping landscape views of the valleys below, breathtaking sunrises and sunsets, and a plentiful supply of gorgeous waterfalls create a photographers' paradise. How do you leave all of that behind and go underground?

Wall of Light and Shadows - Luray CavernsShenandoah Valley, Virginia

One possible way is to make this a rainy day activity.

Many of the natural limestone creations are named based on objects they resemble: Titania's Veil, Dream Lake, The Stalacpipe Organ, Fried Eggs, etc. I did not do too well remembering them or taking notes to be able to align them with my photographs later. As such, I had to, and had the freedom to, select my own names for all of these. Should you be a Luray Caverns expert, I'd love to hear back though regarding their proper given names.

Stalactite Nest - Luray CavernsShenandoah Valley, Virginia Luray Caverns are not the only caverns around the Shenandoah Valley. As you drive through the valley you will see many billboards trying to lure you to other cavern systems like Shenandoah Caverns, Endless Caverns, Skyline Caverns, and more (see references at the bottom to get a full list).

As you finish your underground visit you're not necessarily done with the location though. There are other attractions right at the same sight, no need to move the car anywhere and no need to pay extra either. You can visit the Luray Valley Museum of the American Frontier, Car and Carriage Museum for a trip back in time, the Garden Maze, Gem Sluice, and Rope Adventure Park. Not too far you will also find the Luray Singing Tower.

Enjoy the beauty that surrounds you! (#etbtsy)

Have you enjoyed this post? Would like to see more of my photographs? Feel free to visit my photo galleries! Please, let me know if you have any questions about any photo products offered, or not offered. I also offer ready to hang solutions like canvas gallery wraps, or matted and framed photographs. Those options are available using the "Frame It" link once you place a photo in your shopping cart.

PS: If the above was not a sufficient teaser here one final one ...

Cavern Window - Luray Caverns

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 not mentioned here. I truly appreciate each purchase, no matter how small or large. Thank you!

References: Luray Caverns - Virginia's Caverns - Cavern Creation on Luray Caverns - Luray Caverns on Britannica