Well, another snow event on Sunday inspired me to get on with it yesterday morning and capture some images at sunrise.
My usual Modus operandi is to scroll through my brain, make a list of locations, and then go to bed with the mindset of getting up early and making my way out the door, motivated with a clear objective.
Yes, it was once again very cold this morning, but there was no breeze to contend with, so the real feel temperatures were almost bearable.
I have a pair of winter gloves specifically designed for photographers, where the tips for the thumbs and index fingers can be pulled back and held into place magnetically. My hands were warm, but those exposed extremities, not so much, but not to the point of not being useful in manipulating the various dials and controls on my camera.
I have photographed the Moodna Viaduct countless time (like so many others) that span all four seasons, and although I have composed images here during the winter months, I had never photographed it during a winter’s sunrise.
Since it was a National Holiday celebrating Dr. King, there was much less traffic on the road to contend with as I shot a few different angles of this iconic Hudson Valley Landscape.
I went in with the knowledge that I only needed one capture to make the trip all worthwhile.
This panorama photograph was created by stitching two images together just as the sun lit up the eastern face of Schunemunk Mountain, while the western side waited it’s turn in silent snowy blue. The omnipresent powdery snow gently covered the entire scene making for a beautiful January winter morning photograph.
Once I felt satisfied with what I photographed, I packed up and headed to the Moodna Creek where it flows beneath State Route 94, very close to the High School in Washingtonville.
To create this visual, I utilized the High Contrast Red Filter in Photoshop that simple made this image explode, and totally changed the entire vibe of the original color photo.
“Orchestral Winter Vista”
After photography the iconic Moodna Viaduct , I headed towards the Moodna Creek which also was on my way home.
The last time I photographed this part of the creek was way back in 2014, the year I retired, and it was long overdue to return here and do it some justice.
At this point in time, the traffic heading into town had picked up, and I had to be laser focused on all the passing vehicles to make sure that all eyes were on me. All it would had taken was for one driver to not be in the moment and that would have put an end to my session temporarily or permanently.
The only escape route would had been to jump into the frigid waters with gear. A scenario that was not pleasant to consider, and fortunately, did not have to be implemented. Whew!!!
The image seen here was the first one I shot, and it clearly displays beautiful back lighting of the rising sun, reflections, a snow covered tree canopy and some waterfowl (I believe ducks, maybe geese?).
All those elements came together harmoniously to create an image of pure magic. A Winter Wonderland, one might say.
“Winter Waterway Fantasia”
At the beginning of every season ( there are four of them in the Hudson Valley, NY), I will make out a “wish list” of areas and subjects that I want to photograph. Some of them are repeats, while others are new adventures.
This winter, I wanted to photograph while hiking in the woods, shadows of trees on freshly fallen snow; especially this winter, as we have finally experienced significant amounts of snow. This opened the door for me to create some new conceptual pieces, this being just one of them.
So, before heading out, I switched out my lens to my Wide-Angle glass and waited until it was late afternoon.
These two factors assisted me in composing photos with very long and dramatic shadows. To add even more drama to my captures, I used the smallest aperture setting and utilized the various trees to create starbursts/sunbursts as seen here.
The final touch was to covert the original color photograph into black and white. The originals work too, but the monochrome conversion took the images to a whole other level.
This photograph was once again, taken at a local park in Florida, New York, not more than 2.5 miles from my home.
Mostly, I photograph Glenmere Lake that is located here during the autumn months, but this winter, I have been here twice.
This time I took a hike into the woods on the one of trails to see what I could come up with.
Needless to say, walking in a foot and a half of snow is an excellent aerobic and physical workout.
Definitely a win-win scenario!
“Constructive Interference”
On my “Things To Shoot Winter 2026” list was to photograph the frozen Hudson River, since we’ve been having a “classic” winter season, for once.
As is my routine, I went to bed with the mindset of waking up early (which is normal for me anyway) to be out the door in plenty of time to arrive at a location before the sun gets out of bed.
So, up at five, gulped down two mugs of coffee, and off we went to the Donahue Memorial Park in Cornwall with my new tripod and winter coat. Both of which, performed flawlessly in the cold February air of the Blue Hour.
“Frozen River Quartet” is my fourth entry to my Donahue Memorial Park collection.
As not to be too redundant, we had a legitimate winter here in the Hudson Valley, New York that I took full advantage of.
That legitimate winter came with a prolonged cold snap that froze most, if not all of the Hudson River in the Mid and Upper Hudson areas. As a matter of fact, there were significant ice formations where the river spills out into the New York Harbor near lower Manhattan!
While photographing this icy wonderland since my arrival at dawn, I noticed this collection of displaced pilings that I wanted to capture once the sun had risen over the mountains that make up the Hudson Highlands.
Although a mostly cloudless sky, the river smoke more than made up for it, thus creating an ethereal filtered light over the entire landscape.
The soft winter light of a very cold February morning managed to cast a warm glow upon the surface of the frozen Hudson River as well as to illuminate the abstract quartet of pilings.
All of these combining elements created an inspiring and fascinating photograph.
“Frozen River Quartet”
In case you hadn’t heard, the East Coast had a rather large snow event, one might call it a Blizzard, actually, that’s exactly what it was! 😉
Once most of the roads in the Hudson Valley, New York were cleared ( props to the local DOT for a wonderful job), I prepared myself the night before I headed out the following morning.
NOTE: The storm wrapped up Monday afternoon, 02/23/2026.
I first went to Harriman State Park to shoot a couple different places at sunrise, but the parking lots were not yet plowed. So, with nowhere to park, I turned around and headed back home to find some red barns in freshly fallen snow.
I settled for these two in Warwick, NY right after sunrise. Not a bad consolation prize, right?
Actually, red barns in winter were/are on my winter photography list.
While many people, including photographers gripe about the winter months, I, on the other hand, have been rejoicing in the fact that we are finally having a legitimate winter, so full of exciting photographic opportunities. I’ve have made the most of it, and I’m not done yet.
I took a major risk in photographing this barn, as I was standing on the shoulder of a major roadway in Warwick, and although the roads were cleared, as I just mentioned, there really wasn’t much room along the shoulder of the road due to the plowed snow.
Needless to say, I had to be ultra careful because of it, and waited until there was no approaching traffic before shooting, so that I could concentrate on composing this and other compositions without worry.
As you can see, the skies were beginning to clear right after sunrise, affording me beautiful early morning light to photograph in, which in turn created wonderful color contrasts of red, white and blue.
There is something so heart warming about a red barn in fa clean pallet of white snow! Americana imagery at it’s best, I suppose.
“Winter Sunrise Barn Canticle”
Although it is going to be 70 degrees today (03/10) here in the Hudson Valley, New York, I have so many more winter photographs yet to be processed and shared here on Fine Art America.
As stated before, I had such a productive winter season that produced quite a few wonderful compositions.
This is the one and only Awosting Falls, located in beautiful Minneswaska State Park, which is part of the New York State Park System.
It’s hard to believe that I shot this only a week and a half ago, but that’s March for you, as it can change on a dime. I would not be one bit surprised if we had another snow event before Spring takes over 100%!
This is the second photo I’ve processed so far from my early morning visit there, and this vertical perspective compliments my “Minnewaska Meno Mosso” photograph quite nicely.
Whereas that image was in the landscape orientation, this portrait version utilizes the two pine tree trunks as framing elements to draw one’s eyes to the waterfall and the frozen lava cone in between them.
As always the case, it was a wonderful way to spend a winter’s morning, so refreshing and serene.
“Awaiting Split Tones”
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