Sunrises, Sunsets, waterfalls, barns and more

I didn't know what to expect the first time I visited Upstate New York. It's now one of my favorite regions of the country, offering amazing scenery and a wonderful break from the South Louisiana summers.

I'll be back there next week for back-to-back Bassmaster Elite Series events, and I can't wait.

As during previous trips, I'm planning to drive around the region between those bass-fishing tournaments. This time, however, I'm adding Vermont to the schedule between Bassmaster events.

And then my wife and I will head to New Hampshire for a couple of days before spending five days in Maine. We've never been to either of those states (and my wife has never been to any of our northern destinations), so we're really excited.

Amazing sunrises & sunsets

There's just something about the light in northern latitudes that create some of the most brilliant sunrises and sunsets. 

I've been fortunate to capture beautiful sunrises on Lake Champlain to create the amazing prints "Sunrise Utopia" and "Sunrise over Lake Champlain," as well as photos showing morning and evening light shows over old barns, the St. Lawrence River and Tibbetts Point Lighthouse at the mouth of Lake Ontario.

One of the coolest "accidental" photos came when I was driving to Clayton, NY, one morning to begin covering a Bassmaster event and looked in the rearview mirror: I saw the rising sun and a cool brewery housed in a barn emblazoned with with an America flag and the words "Made in America."

I quickly pulled off the road and took a wonderful photo.

Waterfalls, too

Of course, I'm always on the lookout for new waterfalls to photograph. And Upstate New York region does not disappoint.

Included in my favorites are the beautiful Woods Falls near Plattsburgh and an unnamed waterfall over which the Great Chazy River tumbles.

Woods Falls offered a few compositions, with my favorite being the one at the top of this blog that shows the wonderful waterfall through the archway of the old Highway 15 stone bridge. Getting into position required a lot of care, as the rocks were incredibly slick, but the effort was worth the risk.

I even took my buddy and photography mentor Seigo Saito back to Woods Falls for his first ever waterfall photo shoot! It was a great time of working with one of the fishing-photography legends.

Old buildings and barns

Of course, the region is farming country so there are ample barns and old buildings to be found. Barns on working farms abound, as do abandoned churches.

Driving along back roads and through the Adirondacks provides ample opportunities to document the history of this part of New England.

It's just a wonderful place to visit, and I can't wait to get back!

More Upstate New York photos

More to come!

My 2021 trip to Upstate New York is sure to yield new prints for my New York Collection as I travel from Lake Champlain to the St. Lawrence River for Bassmaster Elite Series events.

So be sure to check back to see all of my newest works!