The Adirondack Mountains in northeastern New York State is about four hours north of Manhattan. They extend south from Lake Champlain to the Mohawk River valley. It is not a National Park. There are no fees, and it does not open and close. This region has Several well-known areas, such as Lake Placid, Lake George, and the Ausable Chasm. See our pages on them in NEW YORK STATE – PHOTOGRAPHY LOCATIONS.
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Lake Placid, New York (seen above), is beautiful for year-round photography. The Adirondack mountains provide a stunning backdrop for nature photography, while the charming small town offers ample street and portrait photography opportunities. There is something for everyone, from scenic mountain vistas to quaint small-town streets. So grab your camera and get ready to explore the photography hot spot in the Northeast.
Long Lake offers an ideal starting point for discovering the various lakes and charming mountains of the Central Adirondacks. It only takes 10 minutes to drive from town, and then a quick walk down the road allows photographers to reach Buttermilk Falls, one of the easily reachable waterfalls in the Adirondacks. Every season brings its beauty to capture at Buttermilk Falls.
Ausable Chasm (seen above) is a natural wonder in New York’s Adirondack Park. The chasm is a narrow gorge cut into sandstone by the Ausable River. The chasm’s walls are lined with cliffs, waterfalls, and caves. The Chasm is a popular destination for hiking, camping, and photography.
Photographing Ausable Chasm can be an exciting and rewarding experience. The chasm’s dramatic landscape provides a unique setting for photographs. The light at different times of the day creates different moods and effects in the photos. The cliffs, waterfalls, and caves offer endless opportunities for creative compositions.
We love the fall, but spring and summer are great, too. Winter gets a lot of snow, and the photography is much more limited. We like the new moon week of October to do Milky Way night photography and fall foliage photography by day.
This is a DARK SKY area that is good for Milky Way.
Months: The Milky Way Core can be seen from March to October, disappearing below the horizon for the rest of the year. It appears in the early morning hours in March and becomes visible earlier each month. The best time to catch a glimpse of the core is during summer when it can be seen immediately after sunset, providing an ideal viewing opportunity for stargazers and photographers.
New Moon: Timing is crucial to see the Milky Way. This celestial event can only be seen on clear nights without a visible moon, limiting the window for viewing.
Light Pollution: The best way to experience the full wonder of the Milky Way is to escape from areas with heavy light pollution. However, it may be possible to see some faint traces of the galaxy from places with mild artificial lighting; the most spectacular views can be found in remote locations far from cities and civilizations. Check out our How to Section for more details, including using a light pollution map to guide you to dark sky locations.
This area can be explored and photographed in a few days or longer, depending on how many stops you have. You can travel to many different locations throughout the region. Read each page to decide which locations you want to photograph.
It was not that busy each time we were in the area, but we often traveled midweek and off-season.
You will need a camera to manually control your ISO, shutter speed, and aperture.
A fast, wide-angle lens of 1.4 – 2.8 is ideal. If you use a 3.5 or higher (slower lens), you must increase the ISO. The higher the ISO, the more grain or digital noise or grain will appear in your photos.
A good, sturdy tripod is essential for night photography. If it gets windy, you will need a sturdy one. Remember that when you buy one, it should be sturdy enough to withstand the wind but small enough to fit in your suitcase.
Sky Guide is available through the iTunes Store for $1.99. It has a 5 out of 5-star rating on both the current (3.2) version (1200+ ratings) and all previous versions (8600+ ratings).
Our choice is Coast brand for flashlights. The ideal flashlight will have high lumens, and you can zoom in and out on the light emitting from the flashlight. Get the HP7, PX45, or the G50. Ideally, go with the HP7.
The best time to go is during a new moon; you want to be in the darkest area possible. The week before the new moon, when the moon has not risen, is a perfect time to go, so be sure to check the moonrise chart to see when the moon will be up.
When painting with light and over a 30-second exposure, you must have a shutter release to use your bulb mode. When exposing your pictures in general, you can use the remote release or use your camera’s built-in two-second timer.
Start with ISO 1600 – 3200. This is just a common starting point, and you will adjust from here.
Shutter Speed – Remember, the earth is rotating. If you leave the shutter open for too long, you will see star trails that will not make for a crisp image. We want crisp, non-star trail images. Here is the formula to avoid star trails—the 500 rule – Divide 500 by the focal length of your lens. So, if you have a 24mm lens on a full-frame camera, you will set your shutter speed to 20 sec. (500/24 = 20.83). If you are using a crop sensor camera, first do the math of the crop sensor to find the focal length. Cannon is 1.6, Nikon is 1.5. Convert to full-frame focal length, then use the formula. Nikon 18mm x 1.5= 27mm – 500/27 = 18.51 seconds.
Depth of field isn’t critical on these shots, but letting the light into the camera is; therefore, you should shoot wide open if. If the depth of field is essential to you, try not to go too high. (wide open =the lowest aperture your camera will allow). You will have to increase the ISO some, giving you digital noise.
Now that the ISO and aperture are set in manual mode, roll your shutter speed until your meter reads (0) zero. Take a test shot and adjust from there. Remember, the earth is rotating. If you leave the shutter open for too long, you will see star trails that will not make for a crisp image. You can make star trails specifically, but that’s not what we are going for here since we started with Milky Way photography. We want crisp, non-star trail images when doing this.
Here is the formula to avoid star trails—the 500 rule – Divide 500 by the focal length of your lens. So, if you have a 24mm lens on a full-frame camera, you will set your shutter speed to 20 sec. (500/24 = 20.83). If you are using a crop sensor camera, first do the math of the crop sensor to find the focal length. Cannon is 1.6, Nikon is 1.5. Convert to full-frame focal length, then use the formula. Nikon 18mm x 1.5= 27mm – 500/27 = 18.51 seconds.
In live view mode, you can change your white balance settings and see what it will look like. You can shoot in shade or cloud mode as a standard setting and adjust things later when editing.
To focus in the dark, use your camera’s live view, hit the zoom button, and focus on a bright star. You can also use the infinity setting on your lens but do several test shots to determine accuracy. It can be off a little on some lenses. You can also light it up with a flashlight, focus, then gently, without touching the focus ring, put the camera in manual focus so it will not search for the focus. You must do this each time you move your camera to take your next angel.
The best images are usually of the dense part of the Milky Way. We can see this part of the milk way in the southern sky. During March, April, and May, the Milky Way rises above the horizon in the pre-dawn hours. In June, at about 10:00 p.m., you will see the Milky Way. From July until October, you can see the Milky Way as soon as it sunsets, and it becomes dark enough to see about an hour after sunset. In November, the Milky Way no longer comes above the horizon. You will have to wait until March if you want to stay away really late or get up early to see her again.
See our Milky Way Hot Spot Locator and our Night Photography Information.
Twin Pine Lodge ♠ PO Box 361 ♦ Route 8 & 9, Loon Lake ♦ Chestertown, NY 12817
PO Box 361 – Route 8 & 9, Loon Lake – Chestertown, NY 12817 – Phone: 518-494-4355 – Email: mail@twinpinelodge.com
Bring your tripod circular polarizing filter and neutral density filter. This area has many moving waters to get silky moving water images. Make sure you have a wide-angle lens with an aperture of 2.8 or lower if you visit from March through October to do Milky Way Photography.
This is a prime Milky Way photography area.
Would you like to learn how to create dynamic images/Fine Art? That is what this magazine is all about. The first part of creating incredible photography is to find an outstanding subject matter. It would help if you did several things to create something different from other artists. We are all about travel photography, where to do photography, photography locations, and photography hot spots.
You can read about other places in more detail on our Travel Photography Pages.
NEW YORK PHOTOGRAPHY AREA INFORMATION
There are many areas within the Adirondacks to photograph. A few are possibly especially good for getting jaw-dropping images, but many regions are plain old boring. We list several spots on our N.Y. State Photography Hot Spot Page. Adirondack Park does not have fees, park passes, or open and closing hours, but the hot spots we list do have entrance fees.
2020 Rates at Ausable Chasm Single-day rates for visitors of all ages. See the website for boat rates.
Be sure to click the link if the rates change.
| Basic Admission (Trails Only) | |
|---|---|
| Adult/Teen (Age 13+) | $17.95 |
| Child (Age 5-12) | $9.95 |
| Local Resident (Clinton, Essex, Franklin Counties, NY) | $9.00 |
| Under 5 Years of Age | FREE |
RATES & GROUPS – Be sure to click the link if the rates change.
Credit Cards Accepted: Visa, Master Card, Discover
Standard Summer Tour – 2018
| Adults | $14.95 |
| Children (5-12 yrs) | $8.50 |
| Children 4 and under are free! | |
Twin Pine Lodge
PO Box 361
Route 8 & 9, Loon Lake
Chestertown, NY 12817
Phone: 518-494-4355
Email: mail@twinpinelodge.com
Photography, Lessons, Workshops and Classes.
Catskill Mountains, N.Y. Milky Way Photography
