Page 6: Ithaca Area
October and November 2011
One day (Monday), we went to Ithaca. Anne's nephew is going to graduate school at Cornell, which is in Ithaca. We went to Buttermilk State Park with him. Craig was very patient. As a general rule, you don't want to go on a photography hike unless you are also taking pictures; Craig ended up standing around a lot. But we loved having him with us!
Buttermilk is very photogenic. There are a number of falls of various sizes, and a nice walkway along side it. In many places you can get closer to the water than in Watkins Glen. Here Paul is taking a picture, and Craig is waiting patiently for us.
The park has some interesting rock formations as well as the falls. The water has carved out this large tunnel / cave.
One of the lovely tiered falls in the park.
People sometimes wonder why it takes photographers a while to take a picture. Of course, we have to compose the picture. We also have to decide on which settings to use. They have tradeoffs. For instance, how long the shutter is left open: longer lets more light in, which can be good if it is dark but bad if you have the sun reflecting off water. Longer also changes how the water looks, creating a 'salt shaker' effect. These next two pictures show you a fast vs a slow shutter speed.
Moving along in the park ...
Here is a slightly dreamy picture that Paul took.
The three of us: Craig, Anne, & Paul.
Some more interesting rock formations, this time on a smaller scale.
I believe these were taken at this fall.
We finally let Craig for for the afternoon, so he could get some work done, and we went to the other main Ithaca state park, Treman. This is a very nice park for a walk through the woods, but not as photogenic as Buttermilk.
The woods were very pretty, with a lot of small undergrowth.
Sometimes you have to get right down on the ground to get the shot you want.
At the far end of the walk (starting from where we started, at least) there is a really, really steep stair case. Ithaca should really be called "Town of many stairs."
The 'Big Falls' of the park are viewed from the top of those stairs. It is a grand fall, although difficult to get a good picture location.
Paul is particularly fond of this picture of Anne, where she is wondering "Where did Paul go?"
This is the falls behind me.
We had a great supper with Craig at an Indian restaurant in Ithaca before heading back on our B&B.
Updated April 2026