Homebound on the final day of a recent work trip I stopped off in upstate New York to hike a favorite gorge. I entered the park, paid the fee, and anxiously approached the trailhead. The way is shut! OK, the sign didn’t exactly say that. It was gated, however, and a sign said the trail was “Closed for the Season”. With May 1^st just a few days away I thought to myself “geez, how short is their season?”. 

The sign additionally explained it was illegal to proceed and that I would be fined and prosecuted if I tried. Wow, that stung. I understand the reasons for this type of thing, but it’s hard not to feel a bit offended. This is public land. Taxpayers own it, right? Then again, what might happen if we let everyone run amuck with no rules? It’s a delicate balance and rather than get righteous I decided it was best to look around the rest of the park, which was open, for some beauty and not get worked up. What kept gnawing at me was the park staff didn’t have the courtesy to post a sign that the trail was closed BEFORE they took my money for parking. 

It’s quite common for things to take unplanned twists and turns. As photographers, we need to be adaptable to changing light, changing weather, and detours. The bright side is that I explored some areas of the park I had not seen before and made a few respectable photographs along the way. Had the gorge been open, I certainly would not have done this.

I would have stayed longer but after a while I desperately needed a restroom. I found two of them, but both were locked with signs “Closed for the Season!”. Argh, stumped again. 

I’m pleased with the first two photographs. The third one could be improved upon when I have more time to visit this area in the future. I spotted it on my way out of the park. A field with large rocks strewn about. How fascinating! This last photo gave my Actus a real workout. Using my Mamiya G 50mm lens I applied 4 degrees of rear rise and 7 degrees of front tilt along with a smaller aperture to hit the focus where I wanted it. I tinkered with a small amount of rear base tilt as well. An ND grad used “upside down” (there’s really no correct up or down to an ND grad filter) controlled the bright surface of the rock in the foreground and a slight yellow grad perked up the background. I can’t wait to return, with more time, to try and improve upon this photo!