Chapel Pond autumn reflections, Adirondack State Park

I finally had a chance to process a few images before hitting the road again for some photography down in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Here’s an image that was taken on the last day of my Adirondacks workshop. My students and I were treated with calm conditions (it had been windy all week) and peak fall color at Chapel Pond. After sunrise, some light clouds drifted in, diffusing the light slightly, reducing harsh shadows and bathing the autumn colors in a soft warm glow. Chapel Pond was almost as calm as a mirror, with just a slight ripple breaking up the reflection of the cliffside on the other side of the pond.

"Light Bend" - Chapel Pond, Adirondacks

I zoomed in with a short telephoto lens in order to pluck out a portion of the scene. I was attracted to the repetition of curving shapes in the cliffside, which were reflected almost perfectly in the water. The light was striking the scene at an angle, so only the trees were illuminated. Click on the image above or follow this link to see the image at a larger size. I used a polarizer filter to remove glare from wet surfaces on the rocks, thus enhancing contrast and color in the scene.

Technical details: Canon 5D Mark II camera, 100-400mm zoom lens (@100mm), ISO 100, f/11, 0.5 seconds.

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About Ian Plant (275 Posts)

Ian Plant's photographs and instructional articles have appeared in a number of books, calendars, and magazines, including Outdoor Photographer and Popular Photography. Ian writes a regular blog column for Outdoor Photographer online, and he is the author of numerous instructional eBooks and digital processing tutorials. Ian leads several photo tours each year.

Tags: adirondacks, autumn, chapel pond, fall

4 Comments

Richard Slider October 19, 2010 at 2:30 am

this is a very nice photo….Reflections of the trees with fall colors on Chapel Pond makes this a very photo…excellent photo
Pete C. October 22, 2010 at 1:02 pm

Ian-
[from Cville Camera Club] I can’t imagine a finer place to see the fall colors than Chapel Pond and Upper/Lower Lakes in St. Hubert region; enjoyed living there for a number of summers….long ago.
New post to Outdoor Photographer blog | Ian Plant Dreamscapes October 23, 2010 at 10:03 am

[...] unique and compelling nature images. The post features a recent image displayed on this blog (Light Bend, taken in the Adirondacks of upstate New York), plus a new image that I haven’t shown yet. [...]
Earth Shots » Light Bend by Ian Plant October 26, 2010 at 8:01 pm

[...] of abstraction to the reflection. To ream more about the story behind this image, visit my daily photoblog. Equipment: Canon 5D Mark II, 100-400mm lens Ian Plant Ian Plant is the author/photographer of [...]