Back in May, a dazzling display of aurora borealis lit up the night sky in much of the northern hemisphere. I captured the phenomenon at the Oklahoma Track in Saratoga. Click here to see those photos. Then again, on October 7, it came back, albeit this time not as strongly. In this post I will share some photos I took that night as well as some other photos I took this fall. For my fall photos at Old Friends at Cabin Creek, click here.
When my photographer friend Alex Zhang first texted me that northern lights were visible, I went to Skidmore College in Saratoga. This photo was taken by Haupt Pond. The sky was really vivid for a few minutes, but hard to see with the naked eye with all the lights on campus. This is a composite of the main exposure blended with a darker exposure for some of the blown out highlights.
Here is the pond from a slightly different angle.
The lights were just starting to fade as I took this photo of the track. This is a composite of the main exposure with a darker exposure for the seats where the highlights were blown out.
Here’s a slightly different photo taken at the same spot. With the aurora, every photo is a little bit different as the light moves and changes color.
Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS was visible in the night earlier this fall. I went to Saratoga Lake to get some scenic photos of it. This one’s my favorite.
I took this close up shot at 400mm, f/6.3 (the widest aperture), ISO 10,0000, and 3.2 seconds. Significant noise reduction was applied.
I turned around to the other side of the bridge I was standing on to get the previous two photos, and got this shot.
A quick trip to Lake George’s Shepard Park with my photography friend Barb Tyler yielded some fall foliage photos.
This photo is a panorama stitched from four separate shots.
In early November, the 6th annual Photo Finish Juried Exhibition opened at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga. Two of my photos were selected for exhibition this year.
The first photo is one of the northern lights photos I took on May 10. This is one of my three favorite photos I’ve ever taken.
The second photo is of my dad racing Mr. Cowboy up the hill at Old Friends at Cabin Creek in 2022. Having one of my Cabin Creek photos make it into the museum was really special.
In honor of Veteran’s Day, the Prescott Foundation organized a flyover using World War II era warcraft over schools in the Saratoga-Adirondack area.
On Veteran’s Day weekend, the Oklahoma Track closed for the season, marking the end of another year of training and racing at the historic Saratoga Race Course. I took these photos from outside the gates to the main track. Until next year! We’ve got the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, 4th of July weekend, and the regular summer meet to look forward to in 2025!
I took this photo of Wellfleet, MA looking magical at night while I was on Cape Cod for Thanksgiving.
Mayo Beach in Wellfleet is a lovely place to catch a sunset.
A view of some homes from a distance on Mayo Beach.
The sun disappears behind the clouds on a cold late fall evening.
While the sun sets on the bay, Marconi Beach on Cape Cod National Seashore gives you a view of the Atlantic Ocean.
A gorgeous sunset over Albany tonight on the way home from Cape Cod to Saratoga.
To see more of my Saratoga area photography be sure to follow me on Instagram and Facebook. I also have Instagram and Facebook for my travel photography. All photos and videos in this post © Samantha Decker and may not be reused without permission.
Liked this post? Subscribe by email below to receive future posts!
Stunning!!