Waterfall Photography Simplified
Quickly learn how to shoot waterfall photography
Lake Placid Photography Location
Lake Placid, New York Photography Hot Spot is a beautiful year-round photography place. 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.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Lake Placid is a picturesque town in upstate New York that is often associated with winter activities like skiing and ice skating. But did you know it’s also a fantastic place to do photography?
The natural beauty of the Adirondack Mountains provides a stunning backdrop for any photo, and there are plenty of interesting subjects to capture throughout the town.
If you’re interested in doing some photography, here are a few tips to help you get started:
1. Get to know the town. Spend time walking around and exploring the area to see what it offers. This will help you find the best spots for taking photos.
2. Everyone in Lake Placid is friendly and willing to chat, so start conversations with people you meet while you’re out and about. They might have some great suggestions for places to take photos that we did not discover.
3. Visit during different seasons. The landscape changes drastically throughout the year, so visiting Lake Placid at other times is worth seeing all it offers. Autumn is incredibly stunning when the leaves start changing color.
4. Be prepared for weather conditions. Even in summer, it can be cold, so dress appropriately and pack plenty of jackets.
WHEN TO GO
If you love the outdoors and are a fan of winter sports, Lake Placid is the perfect destination. It was home to the 1980 Winter Olympics and is a popular spot for winter sports enthusiasts. You can visit during the winter when the snow-covered landscape provides a beautiful backdrop for your photography.
HOW TO GET THERE
To get to Lake Placid, New York, take the Adirondack Northway (I-87) south from the Canadian border or west from Albany. From Saranac Lake, follow State Route 86 south for about 15 miles to reach the location.
If you’re coming from Montreal, take A-15 south to I-87 south, then follow the directions above. The drive takes about 4.5 hours.
There are also a few different bus companies that offer service to Lake Placid – Adirondack Trailways, Greyhound, and Megabus all have routes that go there.
There are plenty of places in town to do some quaint town images. There are several lakes in the region, but they can be plain sometimes, except during fall foliage. Be sure to get up for sunrise and catch the mist on the lakes in the morning; that is when you will get your dynamic images. Reflection Lake is spectacular in the fall with the reflections. Do not go without a circular polarizing filter. See our page to purchase them. There are moving streams and waters here to do long-exposure photography. We like Ausable Chasm, The Gorge and The Natural Bridge. They are all close to this area.
This is a dark sky area for Milky Way photography. Go at the right time! See our Night Photography Section.
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. PHOTOGRAPHY INFORMATION
PHOTOGRAPHY INFO
Dark Skies—You are in the dark sky photography area when you go here, my friends. Do not go here without doing some night photography, and try to plan your trip around the new moon to get some Milky Way photography!! See our pages on Night/Dark Sky Photography here. We have a whole how-to section on how to do Milky Way Photography, along with a resource page.
AT A GLANCE
Lens: Wide Angle but you may find a bird or two. Not much wildlife here.
Gear List at a Glance: Circular polarizing filter, neutral density filter, tripod, shutter release, wide-angle lens.
When to Go: The only time not to go is when they close the road down due to winter conditions. Check with the park before you go. Fall is ideal.
SHUTTER PRIORITY
If you have moving subjects, you will want to shoot in shutter priority to assure your shutter speed is high enough to have your subject in sharp focus. For people walking by, approximately 1/250th of a second is appropriate, and adjust your ISO accordingly. If they are running fast, increase your shutter speed to about 1/500th of a second. A fast bird flying by would be shot at about 1/1000th of a second. If it’s a bright sunny day, go as high as 1/1200th of a second. Remember, the higher your shutter speed; the less light comes into the camera. It should not be an issue outside during daytime hours. For More Details, see our Shutter Priority Page.
MANUAL MODE
If you have moving waters here. You can do your long-exposure running and milky water shots. You will have to use a tripod for this effect. Your settings will vary depending on the lighting and your neutral density filter. You will shoot in manual mode for the milky waters. ISO is always 100 or as low as your camera will allow. The aperture is f22. Your shutter speed will be the only variable depending on the light. Roll your shutter speed until your meter reads zero. (In the center) Use your shutter release or your 2-second timer to prevent camera movement when exposing. You will want at least a 2-second exposure for milky water. If you don’t have a neutral density filter, you may not get more than 1/15th of a second in the sun.
We highly suggest you do not go anywhere without an ND filter for moving waters. It makes all the difference between lifeless images and outstanding, dynamic images.
APERTURE PRIORITY
Aperture Priority is often used to blur the background of your images and control your depth of field (how much from the subject to the background is in focus). For more information on this – see our Aperture page
ISO
The higher you set it, the more light comes in when exposing an image. The higher the number, the more digital noise, so if possible, stay below 800. If you need to go higher to get the shot, you can use Topaz Denoise to filter out the digital noise later.
Area Information ♦ Hotels ♦ Restaurants ♦ Camping ♦ Weather
AREA
INFORMATION
FEES:
There are no fees for this area.
CAMPING
CAMPING:
North Pole Campground Open May-October – Rooms & Cottages available year-round
Located 3 miles from Whiteface Mountain. Ski packages available. They are accepting reservations for Ironman 2016 by phone.
Please call 518-946-7733 to book (online reservations not available for Ironman) See more at: http://www.northpoleresorts.com/#sthash.nr0UfB8r.dpuf
Where to camp
Do you want us to send our photography and ghost-hunting friends to your campground to stay during their ghost-hunting trip? Put your campground information here. We will put a picture of your establishment, the website link, the phone number, and your information on your campground to make it easy for our photographers and ghost hunters to find you. They are good at getting there in the dark.
Would you like to be featured in an article as a place to stay while doing photography or ghost hunting? If so, please send us an email. You will be surprised at how affordable our prices can be.
FOOD & DINING
RESTAURANTS:
Our healthy food recommendation:
The Good Bite Kitchen is a vegetarian lunch restaurant that creates inventive and fresh meals.
There are six available seats inside; otherwise, all food can be taken to go. Please visit our Facebook page for the most up-to-date menu, which changes frequently. 2501 Main Street—Lake Placid, NY 12946 – (518) 637-2860 Monday Closed—Open to 5 p.m.
Add your Restaurant here!
Do you want us to send our photography and ghost-hunting friends to your restaurant after their ghost-hunting trip? Put your restaurant information here. We will put a picture of your establishment, the website link, the phone number, and your information on your restaurant to make it easy for our photographers and ghost hunters to find you.
HOTELS
New York Hotel Information:
We need a really cool place to advertise here.
Add your hotel here!
Do you want us to send our photography and ghost hunting friends to your hotel for their photography or ghost hunting trip? Put your hotel information here. We will put pictures of your hotel, the website link, the phone number and your information on your hotel.
Would you like to be a featured hotel like this article or this one? Please send us an email. You will be surprised at how affordable our prices can be.
WEATHER
Area Weather: Click here to see what the weather is in the park.
Check out the weather
Don’t forget that you can use a rain sleeve on your camera if it is raining. If it is bright and sunny, you want to use a low ISO such as 100.
If you are doing photography along with your ghost hunting on cloudy days, you can do running water or waterfall photography to avoid the glaring sun. You can also use an ND filter to get a long exposure for dramatic effects, even in the sunshine. If you ghost hunt indoors in abandoned places, be careful!
Photography Lessons
Photography, Lessons, Workshops and Classes.
Ghost Hunting
Photography Contests
