Going in Circles

I often envision photographs as I drive, and I make a note of returning to the site. Recently, I’ve been having a problem finding the places that I want to go back to.

Earlier in November, I was driving north of Auburn looking for a landscape I had passed earlier in the year, but because I was a bit lost the first time I saw it, I didn’t know the exact location. It was only later when studying Google Maps that I realized my mistake, and I believe I've now located it. It's on my list to return to when I next find myself out that way.

When returning home from western to central NY for the Thanksgiving holiday, I thought I’d go back to check on a sinking tree I’ve photographed a couple of times in the past that’s located in or just outside of Wellsville. When I finally found the location, the tree was gone. It had sunk.

The other problem I often have is that the sites I want to photograph are in precarious places where there is no shoulder to pull over safely or the speed limit is 55 MPH. Sometimes Lou will drive while I take photos from the passenger seat with the windows down. I need to use a high shutter speed in these cases, but it can work if there’s enough light.

After discovering that there was no longer a subject for my intended photo on my drive home (the sunken tree), I took an odd route home on back roads through farm fields and forests. At one point, somewhere between Canisteo and Bath, I came across this landscape. The high elevation and dramatic sky made for a striking silhouette.