Bloomingdale Bog

 I'm back. Long time, no post.

This was a rough winter for me. I had a serious case of seasonal affective disorder. I got out to exercise and shoot photos very few times. The weather is improving, and so is my mood.

Yesterday I drove down to the mountains. Spent some time on the Bloomingdale Bog trail, the section that runs from the Gabiels to Bloomingdale Rd to Rt 86. I hiked in and back out about 3½ miles total. On the way in, I stopped at the bird feeding station and shared a bag of seed with some birds and the squirrel in the photo above. The birds there are sufficiently accustomed to humans that they will feed from your hand if you are patient. I had about 6-7 Chickadees land on my hand to take seed, but it was awkward trying to take the photo at the same time. The camera spooked them because it was so close. I only managed two images.

After 20-30 minutes, I continued down the trail to kill time. I was going to the opening of a juried show in Lake Placid and had about 3 hours before the opening. It was a grey day, and nothing much was green except the evergreens. There were still patches of snow and ice, so I had to look a bit deeper to find interesting subjects. I found a few things that I thought might make good B&W images, but in the end, I left them as color images.

The Bollingdale Bog Trail is an old RR bed that is currently used for hiking, bird watching, and biking. In the winter, it is a snowmobile trail.

I hope you enjoyed this Bog walk with me. If you wish to share these photos with friends, please copy the URL above and refer them to it. Do not copy or repost any of them elsewhere without my permission.

A Walk at the Paul Smiths VIC

 

Yesterday, I went to Saranac Lake to deliver 3 framed photos I was entering in a show. On my way home, I stopped by the VIC. I did not anticipate taking a lot of photos. The autumn color is mostly gone in the ADKs, it was mid-day, and the light was harsh, bright sun/clear sky. As I walked, a 2.3 mile loop around Heron Marsh, I started seeing interesting things and ended up shooting 30+ photos. So this is my walk. There was no one else there, so the remainder of this post will be only what I saw.  You will have to imagine the nature sounds and smells. Enjoy it with me.

Copyright Jim Bullard 10/29/2025

Mt. Arab Fire Tower - Infrared

 

Today's adventure was Mt. Arab fire tower near Tupper Lake. It is a one-mile hike to the summit, an easier trail than Azure because it isn't as steep. Again, I shot a lot of infrared. It was an overcast morning. I have climbed Arab at least 3 times before, including once in winter. I shot a few ordinary color images with my OMD E-MIII, which I posted on Facebook.

Now I have to decide on the next adventure. It may be another fire tower. Enjoy and stay tuved.

Azure Mountain Infrared Adventure

 

A friend and I climbed Azure Mountain today. I have been walking quite a bit this winter, mostly indoors and mostly flat ground with some stairs mixed in. I wanted to see if my legs, specifically my knees are up to climbing. Happily, they are, at least for the 1 mile up that is Azure.

It was a very hazy day, partly because of the humidity but mostly because of smoke from wildfires in northern Manitoba. Yes, I said Manitoba, and yes, it is half a continent away, but the jet stream was carrying the smoke all the way to the Adirondacks today. The views were very limited. I had my IR camera along, so I decided to use that mostly It worked pretty well, cutting through the mist and smoke better than my eyes could.

This rock 'lair' is about halfway up the mountain. It has the aura of a bear's den, but it would have to be a small bear, a cub perhaps. It had been 4-5 years since I had climbed Azure, despite it being the closest mountain to my home. 

Enjoy the photos. Here I insert a reminder that I sell prints. Contact me if you are interested. They are copyrighted. If you want to share the link to this page, please.