Bakers Woods Preserve

 Baker Woods Preserve

Hiked July, 26

In this episode we visit the Baker Woods Preserve just outside of Natural Bridge, NY.

Baker Woods Preserve consists of over 5 miles of trails, and features both a river, and pond at opposite ends of the preserve. 

We go looking for the pond and follow a tip from someone on the trail in search for the best view. 

So I hope you enjoy the episode, and check out the photos we made along the way.

22mm f/2.8 1/640sec ISO 100

22mm f/2.8 1/60sec ISO100

It's always a good idea to sign in when ever you're going on a trail, it serves a couple different purposes. The main one being your safety. in the event you don't show up back home, then the sign in sheet can be referenced to see if you were in fact on the trail, Versey, its important to sign out for the same reasons.

This information area, along with the hand made wooden map were VERY unique, and I'm not certain any time spent trying to make a proper artistic photo would have done it any justice. 

22mm f/2.0 1/60sec ISO100

Interestingly, as of typing this I'm realizing the wooden map shows a north side, and a south side trail, I never saw a paper south side map, nor have I seen a trail leading across the river, but I think we may have found a reason to return to Baker Woods Preserve sometime in the future. 

I can see this location being quite photogenic in autumn with its low lying ferns and ever green trees to contrast, though I'm not certain what the south trails may hold.

Every sign in the preserve appeared to be hand made, the hand carved wording and staining made each sign unique and quite interesting. The sign post immediately left of the information desk was paired with this bed of flowers. I wanted to find a way of coordinating the flowers so that the colors and tones of the photo would be most pleasing to the eye, but the overwhelming amount of yellow flowers left me with a low sense of confidence that the photo would turn out the way I had pictured it in my head, however, a bit of tinkering in the HSL panel and my favorite lifted blacks,  I think it turned out better than I could have imagined. I made 3 photos at this spot, but it was this one that I think turned out the best.

50mm f/2.8 1/200sec ISO100

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50mm f/2.8 1/200sec ISO100

I was well aware of this ancient looking piece of farm equipment when I arrived at Baker Woods Preserve. I had seen it on a previous hike and even photographed it, but I'm still not certain what it was, or what to call it, I can hardly describe it.

Although it is quite photogenic being all old and rusty. The thick brush leading up to it made it difficult to get any closer to it than the trail would allow. In the moment I just plopped now my tripod and hit the shutter button, almost as if I were taking the picture because I was required to, just because it was a point of interest. fortunately, I found the results to be quite nice. a voyeuristic approach with the trees, and brush in the foreground, and the light highlighting the focal point of the image. Editing was very simple. I started with the Matte preset, then lowered my highlights (all the way), and brought down the shadows. all and all, for an image I treated like a quick snap shop I think it turned out pretty well.

Having been to this location before I had a rough idea of what to expect and when to expect it. I knew if I went down a certain path I would eventually be greeted by a wide pathway with large trees on both sides. In my mind I envisioned over hanging branches covering the trail like a dome creating a tunnel with a shaft of light breaking through in the center to reveal a single flower growing in the trail. ok, that might be a little bit of an exaggeration, but I had forgotten the forest was not made up of mighty oaks and maples, it was made up mostly of tall straight pines. In the moment I was a little disappointed in the lack of tunneling that I was expecting, but this photo is a great example of how with proper editing you can bring the emotion out of a photo that may have otherwise been very dull. The deep dark shadows and slightly muted greens (yes I actually brought them down) give me the sense that this is a deep dark part of the forest, when it fact, it was about 600 yards from the road.

22mm f/11 1/5sec ISO100

18mm f/9 1/250sec ISO200

On my previous trip to this location I took a very similar photo, only this time in the snow. It's hard to believe these 2 photos are very much from the same location. Although I wasn't in the exact same spot with the same angle, it is very close. you can see the same white trail marker nailed to the tree on the left hand side of the trail in both photos. This is the location I think would be best photographed in the Fall when all those low lying shrubs and ferns turn to a their reds, oranges, and browns, while the tall pines remain green in contrast.

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My first visit to the Baker Woods Preserve also included my family. Regardless of how it looked with all the snow it was, in fact, a very warm day in March. This, however, did not make the hike any easier, the snow quickly wore on the children, and they were quite verbal about turning back. From that moment on I was always curious about the pond that we weren't able to reach that day. So I made it my mission to reach it on this trip. I wasn't expecting a manicured shore with benches and a man selling hot dogs, but I wasn't expecting what I found either. It was a swamp, a bog, a wetland, a low lying area that once had a small stream that likely got dammed up by some local beavers which resulted in the flooded plane that laid before me, that's how I assume these things happen anyway.

22mm f/11 1/5sec ISO100

I've never been a fan of these scenic wetlands, and I'm not aware of anyone who is, though I see them all the time with decks looking out over them as if the dead trees and stagnant water created some kind of romantic view that people want to see. Well it's not the type of scenery I'm into, if you haven't been able to tell so far. I have a hard time seeing past the rotting decay and potential to lose a fishing lure should I even attempt to fish at such a location. In a desperate attempt to make something resembling a photo from the scene. I spent some time trying to incorporate the awesome handmade sign into the frame while still trying to capture the desolate bog that it advertised. after several attempts I felt the view was too obscured by the trees to convey the message I was trying to send, but after reviewing the photos on a screen larger than 3 inch's I actually found something I liked, the first photo I made in fact. The edit is similar to the rest of the gallery with a Matte preset and some tweaking to the shadows and highlights.

 

22mm f/2.8 0.3sec ISO100

Although the pond was not the sight I was hoping for, I was told there were photo opportunities on the other side of it, This of course, meant crossing the very bog its self. Now I usually enjoy a good board walk through the forest, but by this time, I was feeling pretty down about the whole "the pond is a swamp" thing. I may have passed up better boardwalk photos while griping, but I did stop long enough to grab one. In my head I wanted utter darkness in the background, a feat I did not achieve, that doesn't mean the emotion of mystery wasn't captured in this photo though. We don't know where this boardwalk leads... could be anywhere.

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Earlier on the trail we ran into a neighbor of the trail, a steward of the preserve who suggested taking beaver sprite loop, we were promised a bench and a view of the pond. Where as I was expecting a lovely forest pond and was delivered a desolate forest swamp. I was also expecting a standard  park bench, and was delivered a one of a kind, hand made, rustic bench on a short cliff side. I was both shocked and disappointed. Shocked by the general awesomeness of the bench, and disappointed by the lack of  front side vantage points for photos. By this time the clouds that I was told were not going to produce rain had begun to rumble, and I knew rain was indeed on its way. There was no time to spend lining up the perfect shot to full exemplify the grandeur of the bench and its surroundings

22mm f/11 3 Photos Stacked ISO100

I set up my tripod in the flattest spot nearest the bench and took 3 photos to stack them as the sky, though cloudy, was bright compared to shadowy area behind the bench.

I know for a fact I passed up several good photos on my way back, but the rain started shortly after I packed up my things, so there was no stopping for photos at that point. By the time I had made it to my car I was completely soaked, as if I had been swimming in the very pond I had come to photograph. 

I can see myself coming back to Baker Woods Preserve in the fall for the colors, and to see what lies on the south side of the trail, and rest assure if I do I will take you with me, and we'll make photos along the way.