Rolleiflex Automat1940s TLR Sometimes even a roll of 12 exposures proves to be too much for a single photo outing. This one covered two locations. First, a walk in the Niawanda Park in Tonawanda where the final stretch of Tonawanda Creek caught my eye. It was not the creek itself but the manmade features on the creek and along its banks. Second, an always refreshing walk down the Bird Island Pier in Buffalo. And again, without any effort to coordinate the content of this roll of film, my fascination was diverted from the Niagara River to the encountered manmade features.

I had my Rolleiflex Automat from the 1940s loaded with a fresh roll of Fomapan 400, my favorite all around film. You might think a 400-speed film is not the best fit for a sunny day, but I rate this specific film at 200 and I usually have a yellow or orange filter on my cameras loaded with black and white film. So right there, one is down to either a 100 or 50. That leaves just enough leeway to stop the lens down a bit for the right dose of depth of field.

Alright, let's head to the northtowns first, specifically the place where Tonawanda Creek finds its mouth into the Niagara River. And there, its northern banks are lined with picturesque boathouses that caught my eyes many times before and I keep looking for the best way to capture the idyllic sight in a photograph. This day, that attempt was a black and white square.

Tonawanda Creek BoathousesBlack and White

Tonawanda Creek Boathouses, North Tonawanda, NY
Rolleiflex Automat, Fomapan 400, D-23

There is also an old defunct swing bridge that now remains permanently swung out of the way. It has been drawing my attention for years. Here's a 2012 photograph with a completely different take on the same structure. It was built in the 1890s and served the New York Central Railroad through the 1970s.

Boathouses and Swing BridgeBlack and White

Boathouses and Swing Bridge, North Tonawanda, NY
Rolleiflex Automat, Fomapan 400, D-23

For the next two photographs let's head south from Tonawanda to the city of Buffalo, specifically to Broderick Park on Unity Island (previously Squaw Island). That's where the Bird Island Pier starts and splits apart the Niagara River and Black Rock Canal. The total length is around 2 miles but unfortunately, it's been a long time since I could walk its whole length. Weather is taking a toll on the structure and repairs don't keep up. A good chunk of the pier is flipped over making the section unpassable. In the photograph below, we're looking from that point back north towards the Peace Bridge

On Bird Island PierBlack and White

On Bird Island Pier, Buffalo, NY
Rolleiflex Automat, Fomapan 400, D-23

And the final photograph brought a smile. In one of the many overflows from the canal to the river there was a "For Rent" sign drowning. Maybe it would not be so funny without the context, but I was walking with a friend who is in the rental business.

For Rent, A DealBlack and White

For Rent, A Deal, Buffalo, NY
Rolleiflex Automat, Fomapan 400, D-23
 

And those were the four squares I prepared to share with you all today. What's planned for the next one? As the Western New York weather turns cold it will be something warm. Come back (hopefully) next week and see for yourself.

Thanks a bunch for stopping by and ... 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.

Different Types of ShipsBuffalo, NY On the WaterBuffalo, NY Sailboat and a CruiserBuffalo, NY

Edward M Cotter & Spirit of BuffaloBuffalo, NY Edward M Cotter at Naval Park IIBuffalo, NY

ZeroImage Pinhole CameraPhotography simplified One of the reasons I love photography so much is that gets me out, away from the busyness and routine of the everyday life. It gives me an opportunity to get lost in my thoughts and vision and see the world around me with a renewed interest and intensity. It was this feeling years ago that prompted me to start closing my blog posts with "enjoy the beauty that surrounds you" #etbtsy.

Pinhole photography takes that concept to the next level. It drastically simplifies the whole photographic experience and allows me to fully focus on the experience. Most of the technicalities simply go away.

There is no lens, just a tiny hole through the front of the camera in its place. As a result, any considerations for the aperture opening (f-stop) go away. These cameras have a fixed aperture size and it is very, very small. The resulting f-stops are usually between 100 and 200. That removes any depth of field considerations. Anything front to back will have the same level of focus. You will often hear that pinhole cameras have an unlimited depth of field. That's an interesting combination with the other fact that images from pinhole cameras are never really "sharp", especially by today's standards.

Down the Lower Niagara RapidsNiagara River Gorge

Down the Lower Niagara Rapids
Photographed with a 35mm ZeroImage pinhole camera on expired Kodak Max 400 film

Since I am talking about pinhole photography on film here, once the film is chosen and in the camera that removes another variable during photography. There is no changing of the light sensitivity (ISO/ASA) mid-roll. With the aperture fixed and the light sensitivity fixed only one variable remains, and that is the shutter speed. And that is usually not a real variable. The shutter speed needs to correspond to the level of light hitting the scene to achieve a proper exposure. Whirlpool Rapids BridgesNiagara River Gorge

Whirlpool Rapids Bridges
Photographed with a 35mm ZeroImage pinhole camera on expired Kodak Max 400 film

I carry an external light meter when out and about with a pinhole camera but whether I use it or not depends on the situation. On a sunny summer day no light meter is needed and the good old Sunny 16 rule works remarkably well. Sunny 16 states that you can set your aperture to f/16 and the shutter speed to 1/ISO. For example, with an ISO 400 film, 1/16 and 1/400 sec. will result in a good exposure. With today's cameras that would mean using a 1/500 sec. (if shutter speed set manually). Rocky Banks of Niagara RiverNiagara River Gorge

Rocky Banks of Niagara River
Photographed with a 35mm ZeroImage pinhole camera on expired Kodak Max 400 film

Now let's see how this applies to the pinhole camera used for all of the photographs in today's post. The 35mm ZeroImage camera features an f-stop of f/136. Going from the Sunny 16 f/16, we have these steps: f/22, f/32, f/45, f/64, f/90, f/128 (close enough to f/136). With each next f-stop the amount of light hitting the film is cut in half and thus the shutter speed needs to double to compensate. In our example, we have to double it 6 times: 1/250, 1/125, 1/60, 1/30, 1/15, 1/8.

The Kill ZoneNiagara River Gorge

The Kill Zone
Photographed with a 35mm ZeroImage pinhole camera on expired Kodak Max 400 film

Things get a bit fuzzy from here but in my experience that is just fine with pinhole photography. The Kodak Max 400 I was using was over 10 years expired and thus I decided to rate it at 200 instead of 400. With that the shutter speed goes to 1/4 sec. And the light was not really at a full summer blast so I decided to go to 1/2 sec. All this "accuracy" is not really critical with this camera. As you can see in the picture the shutter is a wooden slider that is moved manually. However, what this helped me determine was that the required shutter speed was slow enough and I could use this camera and film combo and simply open and close the shutter within about 1/2 second.

After this initial mental exercise, it was just photography. The lighting remained about the same the whole afternoon and all I had to do was find a scene I liked, lay the camera on a rock, guess the angle of view, press the camera down with my left hand and open and close the shutter latch with my right. And don't forget to advance! I always wind to the next frame right after taking a picutre to avoid unintentional double exposures.

Water Zooming ByNiagara River Gorge

Water Zooming By
Photographed with a 35mm ZeroImage pinhole camera on expired Kodak Max 400 film

I rarely use expired film but did have a few rolls of this expired Kodak Max 400 and figured this was the perfect use for it, with the lose definition of focus and proper exposure. It was also an opportunity to try pinhole photography in color as I almost always use black and white film for this purpose. And finally, I took advantage of the dual formats supported by the ZeroImage camera and removed the frame spacers for a slightly wider panoramic view.

What do you think about this bare bones take on photography? Does the lack of sharpness bother you or are you alright with it? In 35mm, the effect is definitely more pronounced as the tiny original image gets more magnified for viewing. With 6x6 or 6x9, some pinhole photographs may be hard to tell from regular lenses photos. And in large format, it they may be unrecognizable.

A different point of view to judge this lack of sharpness by is my reality. I have been wearing glasses for a while and every few years they get stronger. When I take them off my world is far from sharp and exact. Pinhole photography gives me a chance to show the world more of what I see without my lenses.

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.

Cargill Pool Grain ElevatorPinhole Shipwreck BeachPinhole Makawehi Lithified CliffsPinhole

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