Wells Area Photo Tour

There was lots of water in the streams and rivers this past weekend in the Adirondacks, with many of them running at spring water levels. I had scheduled a photo tour for Sat. Oct. 15th to photograph along the West Branch of the Sacandaga during a hike back into the gorge. Since this is suggested to be done during low water conditions, I opted to check out some other locations in the area instead. While the rain had taken down many of the leaves from the trees, there were still some nice colors along the waterways.

We headed north of Wells first and checked out East Jimmy Creek, hiked a bit around Griffin Gorge on the East Sacandaga, and then did the short hike back to Hope Falls, which is south of Wells. There was lots of water going over any falls and cascades!

The day was mostly overcast and showery, with a couple of pretty good rains around mid afternoon. The light was perrfect for working in the woods and along the streams. The soft, diffused light filled in shadows so textures were more apparent, and the low light allowed for longer exposure times to help soften the effects of water motion.

Even on cloudy days there’s still often a ‘glow’ in the light that comes around the time the sun sets. We were walking back from Hope Falls, and had set up to photograph Tenant Creek with a forest of beech trees as a backdrop. We hadn’t been there long, when the light began to build, and the recently turned beech leaves glowed a wonderful golden color. It sure was a wonderful end to a great day with a fun group of photographers!