Zion Crossing Park

I found a new Open Space trail in my town that is a great place to relax while listing to the wind in the trees and watch fish swim.

I was clearing out my email when I stopped to read one from the Sourland Conservancy. I learned that a new member of their staff, Carolyn Klaube, had a website detailing her hikes along the Sourland Mountain range trails. Carolyn has been hiking the trails - alone or with assistance from her two young boys - through the seasons, photographing items of interest, and sharing random facts and links to learn more.

Carolyn wrote about her discovery of a new mini-park, Zion Crossing, along Hollow Road on the border with Skillman and Hillsborough. Carolyn’s blog is called Sourland Niche, and I spent almost an hour reading it before I came upon the post that prompted this blog post.

According to the Montgomery Township website, this land borders 300 acres of open space owned by Montgomery, Hillsborough, and Somerset County. These acquisitions will expand the Township's "Rock Brook Greenway" project area (link). Rock Brook, originating in the Sourlands, is Montgomery's highest-quality stream with trout-stocked waters. Preserving these properties and others in the Sourlands safeguards water quality and ensures a continuous forest canopy. Clearing woodland for development creates gaps in the tree canopy, affecting susceptible species, especially migratory birds in the Sourlands, which require contiguous forests for foraging, breeding, and nesting success.

Zion Crossing Park | Canon EOS 5D Mark III | EF24-70mm f/4L IS USM | 41 mm | f/4.0 | ISO 100
Zion Crossing Park | Canon EOS 5D Mark III | EF24-70mm f/4L IS USM | 24mm | f/16 | ISO 2500
Zion Crossing Park | Canon EOS 5D Mark III | EF24-70mm f/4L IS USM | 70mm | f/16 | ISO 100

I was excited to visit Zion Crossing. The day before reading Carolyn’s post, Bhavna and I had visited my favourite spot along Hollow Road. A small patch of gravel on the northern side of the road allows access to a clearing in the trees, and a path leads down to the Rock Brook. I told Bhavna about Carolyn’s post and the new park, and we agreed to find it the next weekend.

Zion Crossing Park | Canon EOS 5D Mark III | EF24-70mm f/4L IS USM | 50mm | f/22 | ISO 100

It was easy to find. Carolyn provided a Google Map link to the location. We almost drove past the entrance. There is a very small sign to the unpaved roadway to the parking area.

Getting out of the car we could immediately hear running water. A trail leads down from the parking area to the Rock Brook. We saw a picnic table with an umbrella. I made a mental note to return with a picnic basket when the weather is cooler.

Zion Crossing Park | Canon EOS 5D Mark III | EF24-70mm f/4L IS USM | 50mm | f/22 | ISO 50

Bhavna walked down to the water the area while I looked around taking in the scene and thinking through what photographs I might capture. I set up high on the bank just above the rocks but struggled with the camera settings. I eventually gave up and walked down to where Bhavana was. We could see a small waterfall pouring into a rocky beach. I set up there.

Zion Crossing Park | Canon EOS 5D Mark III | EF24-70mm f/4L IS USM | 24mm | f/22 | ISO 50

I spent most of my time listening to the water, the wind in the leaves, and taking photos. I head Bhavna exclaim in joy at seeing fish in the water. She sat on a rock and waited for me to finish taking my photos. I watched her relaxing.

Zion Crossing Park | Canon EOS 5D Mark III | EF24-70mm f/4L IS USM | 50mm | f/22 | ISO 50
Zion Crossing Park | Canon EOS 5D Mark III | EF24-70mm f/4L IS USM | 24mm | f/22 | ISO 50
Zion Crossing Park | Canon EOS 5D Mark III | EF24-70mm f/4L IS USM | 24mm | f/22 | ISO 50

Steps

Created by photographer Frank Jansen, the Tuesday Photo Challenge is a weekly theme-based challenge for photographers of all kinds to share both new and old photography.

In the Princeton area, the rains started in March and it seems they will never stop. The total precipitation for June was almost as high as May and May exceeded April which exceeded March.

I didn’t notice the spider until after I downloaded the image to Lightroom. | Saturday 1 July, 2017 | Nikon D5100 | Tokina AT-X 116 PRO DX II 11-16mm F2.8

For this weekly challenge, I had no idea what to do.

Saturday 1 July, 2017 | Nikon D5100 | Tokina AT-X 116 PRO DX-II 11-16mm F2.8

This week, the governor of New Jersey and the state Jersey Legislature were at an impasse over the state budget. On Friday at midnight, the governor ordered the closing of non-essential state agencies. Everything from state parks to motor vehicle services offices and the Administrative Office of the New Jersey Courts will be closed until further notice. I work as a cybersecurity consultant to the Courts and many of the people I work with (including myself) are concerned.

Komorebi | Saturday 1 July, 2017 | Nikon D5100 | Tokina AT-X 116 PRO DX II 11-16mm F2.8

Early on Saturday morning, after dropping my son off to the farmers’ market I drove over to the Rock Brook and parked my car along Hollow Road. The sky was partly cloudy but it seemed there was a chance of rain.

Rock Brook is one of my favourite places. With the rains, the woods have grown green and lush. On this trip, I documented my steps from the edge of the Sourland Mountain Range down to the brook.

Saturday 1 July, 2017 | Nikon D5100 | Tokina AT-X 116 PRO DX II 11-16mm F2.8

The underbrush was thick with some sort of grass. I thoroughly enjoyed the komorebi. The Japanese word, “komorebi” refers to the sunlight that filters through the leaves of trees. I find it fascinating that the Japanese culture has created a single word to capture that feeling.

The Rock Brook | Saturday 1 July, 2017 | Nikon D5100 | AF-S Nikkor Tokina AT-X 116 PRO DX II 11-16mm F2.8

I walked down to the “waterfall” enjoying the sound of rushing water and the sweet smell of the gentle morning breeze. Step by step, I made my way down to the water, stopping to snap some photos along the way.

Saturday 1 July, 2017 | Nikon D5100 | Tokina AT-X 116 PRO DX II 11-16mm F2.8

“Shinrinyoku” (“forest bathing”) is a Japanese word which means to go deep into the woods where everything is silent and peaceful for relaxation.

Between photos, I stood or sat to enjoy the sounds of the wind in the trees and just take things in. My steps were slow. I wanted to enjoy each moment of my shinrinyoku. I dipped my shoes1 in and enjoyed the sensation of the water running between my toes. The water in the stream was clear and cool. I noticed some fish, about six inches in size, slowly swimming about. Smaller fish darted around between the pebbles.

Saturday 1 July, 2017 | Nikon D5100 | Tokina AT-X 116 PRO DX II 11-16mm F2.8

Stepping among the rocks I suddenly realized that, perhaps subconsciously, I had photographed the theme for the week.

Saturday 1 July, 2017 | Nikon D5100 | Tokina AT-X 116 PRO DX II 11-16mm F2.8

After snapping all the photos I wanted, I stood for a while in the middle of the brook, with my eye closed and enjoyed the sound of the wind in the trees and the water flowing past my feet.

Peace.

Created by photographer Frank Jansen, the Tuesday Photo Challenge is a weekly theme-based challenge for photographers of all kinds to share both new and old photography.

Morning

My vision for the morning keyword challenge was to use one of two concepts, Komorebi and Shinrinyoku.

"Komorebi" refers to the sunlight that filters through the leaves of trees.

Shinrin-yoku” is a term that means "taking in the forest atmosphere" or "forest bathing." It was developed in Japan during the 1980s and has become a cornerstone of preventive health care and healing in Japanese medicine. For relaxation, practitioners go deep into the woods, where everything is silent and peaceful.

Those were the two concepts I had in mind for the weekly challenge. I also envisioned a fog among the trees that would make that filtered light look a certain way. In my vision, the photo would evoke a mild spring fog among the trees of the Sourland Mountain with early morning sunlight shining on a single spot on the forest floor.

In my mind, I envisioned something like this. The photograph below is by Tomasz Przywecki captured in Trzebiez, West Pomeranian, Poland.

Poranek

But instead, I captured an image of light falling on the trees in my backyard. Not inspiring.

In many ways, this photo is a compound failure. I failed to get out of bed early. Usually, I am a morning person. Weekdays my alarm goes off at 6 AM. On the weekends, I sleep in, waking around 6:30 AM. Unless I am tired. My son is a senior in high school and starting college this fall. He was accepted into the Honors College at Rutgers University. Yesterday, we toured two of the fours campuses. I was tired last night. I did not get up for the sunrise at 6:30 AM.

One of the challenges of outdoor photography is being at the mercy of nature. We had a lovely foggy morning one day this week. In the middle of the week. Is there such a thing as a fog forecast? Had I known about that fog, I might have been able to get up early for some photography. But ... it was overcast that day, so there would be no light filtering through the trees—just fog.

I live on a slightly hilly area in a valley beneath the Sourland Mountain Range. Most of my sunrises and sunsets are through the tops of the trees. But there is one place I could have gone this morning; Carnegie Lake.

Two years ago, I looked out the kitchen window on a fall morning and saw a light fog hanging over the area. I can’t see the lake from my home, but I imagined what scene might be unfolding.

It was a workday. I quickly assembled my diabetes kit, took a bolus of insulin for my liquid breakfast of Soylent, packed my TimBuk2 messenger bag, grabbed my iPhone 6 and Nikon D5100 and headed out the door. The tripod was already in the car.

Driving along Blue Spring Road, I noticed some colour in the sky. A sort of reddish-orange. I headed toward the Princeton side of Carnegie Lake, expecting to capture images of the fog over the lake. But as I pulled off Route 27 into the parking area, I knew I had something special. I mounted the iPhone 6 on the tripod and set about capturing some images.

After a few long exposure shots of just the lake, I tried something new. I put myself in the image. I don’t usually put myself into my scenes. With a shutter speed of 60 seconds, I knew I had to stand very still to reduce motion blur and ghosting.

sunrise, man, silhouette, water, lake , morning
Sixty Seconds
[exif id="26459"]

As I stood there counting down the seconds, I forgot about the photography. The camera had long ago captured the scene. I stood still. Not moving. Just enjoying the scene before me. It was just me and the lake and the sun. I could hear the sound of the lake water lapping against the lakeshore. I listened to the early morning birds call out to each other across the water.

Sixty seconds.

Created by photographer Frank Jansen, the Tuesday Photo Challenge is a weekly theme-based challenge for photographers of all kinds to share both new and old photography. This week's theme is morning.