Colton – Decaseconds

Smooth Water (Finally)

2026-Sep-23 adohertyhLeave a comment

I’ll spoil the double meaning of this title: On the one hand, very literally the waterfall in Stone Valley is ending on the left side of the image and smoother water is in the river’s future. But in a photographic sense, this is an image that I couldn’t previously share because the mist from the waterfalls spotted the lens so badly that the image was hidden behind a layer of dark spots. The improved spot removal tools in present-day Adobe Camera Raw have finally allowed me to effectively get rid of those spots (and I’ve learned some other photographic tricks in the meantime), so this image is ready to face the light of day.

Colton’s Dam

2023-Aug-21 adohertyhLeave a comment

Every town between the high peaks of the Adirondacks and the low point of the St. Lawrence River seems to have its own modest hydroelectric dam to capture their slice of the accrued aqueous kinetic energy.

Rapid Patterns

2023-Aug-022023-Aug-02 adohertyhLeave a comment

Though there’s chaos in the turbulent flows of rapids through Stone Valley, I like the rhythm in the repeated lengthscale between crests. The long exposure smooths out the water, but the trees remain sharp and spiky.

Torrent Below the Dam

2023-Jul-26 adohertyhLeave a comment

Movies are filled with imagery of high castle walls holding off hordes of attackers. I suppose this picture of Colton, New York’s dam is a bit of the opposite: the chaos is caused by the wall, rather than the wall being constructed to protect from the chaos.

Hydroelectric Output

2023-May-082023-May-09 adohertyhLeave a comment

Colton, New York’s hydroelectric dam brings together dark, deep, deceptively passive water on one side and a raging torrent on the other. It’s perhaps a useful metaphor for the experience of preparing to leave a place one has lived for a decade. Visiting sites like this is also a reminder that sometimes I avoid exploring the interesting places near me until I’m preparing to leave the area; something analogous happened near the end of my sabbatical.

Stone Valley Rückenfigur

2022-Apr-13 adohertyh1 Comment

A poster of Caspar David Friedrich’s “Wanderer above the Sea of Fog” hung above my bed in college, and I’ve since then developed a love of Rückenfiguren in images. Building from my last post’s theme of self-portraiture, I thought using myself as the POV for an image in Stone Valley might add the right German Romantic vibe.

First to Turn

2022-Apr-08 adohertyhLeave a comment

The first organisms to shift and adapt to a new season have always seemed to me like its harbingers. Here in the North Country, I’m noticing the first buds appearing on the maple trees—several weeks after their sap was harvested to make some delicious New York maple syrup—but back in the autumn, those same trees were the first to display their autumn foliage.

Little Waterfalls in Fall

2022-Apr-012022-Mar-31 adohertyhLeave a comment

Earlier this week, I posted an image that used long exposure to contrast textures in a landscape. This image achieves a similar goal, but perhaps with even more drama and structure. The oblique lighting from the blue-hour sky exaggerates the sheets of stone that have been thrust forth from the Earth.

Shades of Pestle Stones

2022-Mar-28 adohertyh1 Comment

Rough rocks, fuzzy trees, and long-exposure-smoothed water make this a North Country texture combo platter.

Smooth Falls at Dusk

2022-Mar-232022-Mar-22 adohertyhLeave a comment

This is one of those images that’s definitely worth clicking through to view at full size. The rough surfaces of rocks, moss, and pine needles contrast so effectively with the smooth, graceful textures of the waterfall.

A Gray Sunset in Stone Valley

2021-Oct-042021-Oct-03 adohertyhLeave a comment

Hiking through Stone Valley to capture a vibrant sunset over long-exposure-blurred rapids really only works if the sunset shows up for the party. What I found instead was a more quiet and contemplative view of early autumn in the Adirondacks.

Rapids to the Sunset

2019-Mar-012019-Mar-13 adohertyhLeave a comment

The deep gouge in the landscape that is Stone Valley winds off into the post-sunset, on its way to meet the distant tiny tower.

River Triangle

2019-Feb-252019-Feb-24 adohertyhLeave a comment

Stone Valley’s sharp river slicing through the fuzzy trees is a good reminder that there are forces far more powerful than photosynthesis sculpting the world we see each day.

Shadow River

2019-Feb-182019-Feb-17 adohertyhLeave a comment

Flying a drone makes me think a lot about my xyz position in space. Dark stone and glossy water and fuzzy trees seem to occupy orthogonal dimensions: the trees point along the z-axis, the striations in the stone along the y-axis, and the ripples and rapids in the water along the x-axis.

Rapids at Dusk

2019-Feb-082019-Feb-07 adohertyhLeave a comment

Stone Valley is a hyperreal place at sunset; the effect is a bit different from above but no less magical. The rapids do, I’ll grant, look a bit less steep from up here.