Catskills -- problems to avoid?

[DanPhoto]

Originally Posted by D&T

Yes, that was the area I was referring to.

PS....the hamlet of Palenville located at the bottom of 23A is a beautiful artist colony - with a ton of history behind it.

As new residents of Palenville, my wife and I can vouch for the stunning beauty and relaxed charm of Palenville. We arrived in the winter so we've yet to see the late summer and fall but it's unlikely that we'll be disappointed.

I've traveled a good bit and have lived on both sides of the country and this is one of the most magically inviting places you could ask for. It's not for those who want a multi-plex movie house five minutes away, but if quality of life and an environment that offers constant inspiration is your thing, this might be the place for you.

You can see a photo I made on Monday, just an 8-minute walk from our house, here:

http://www.danburkholder.com/palenville.jpg

Trust me, this is not atypical of the area. Good luck with your search!

Dan

[ss58yy]

Originally Posted by DanPhoto

As new residents of Palenville, my wife and I can vouch for the stunning beauty and relaxed charm of Palenville. We arrived in the winter so we've yet to see the late summer and fall but it's unlikely that we'll be disappointed.

I've traveled a good bit and have lived on both sides of the country and this is one of the most magically inviting places you could ask for. It's not for those who want a multi-plex movie house five minutes away, but if quality of life and an environment that offers constant inspiration is your thing, this might be the place for you.

You can see a photo I made on Monday, just an 8-minute walk from our house, here:

http://www.danburkholder.com/palenville.jpg

Trust me, this is not atypical of the area. Good luck with your search!

Dan

Thanks for the info on Palenville (and very nice pic, BTW).

I live in Rhinebeck, not all that far from Palenville. I'm really looking for a place up at a higher elevation in the Catskills, which ought to be cooler in the summer (but worse in the winter, of course).

[BovinaCowHateWindTurbines]

I'd poke around Delaware County - we have some of the highest elevations in the Catskills - and yes it can be cooler and very comfortable in the summer I could see my breath today at 8am - and also you get the extra chill factor in the winter.

[homeward bound]

BEAUTIFUL picture, DanPhoto!

It's got an almost other-wordly quality to it. Like it was made with an etching process or something, or an old glass-plate process. Has a real 3-D effect, too, but this feels just as old. Like looking through one of those ancient stereoscopes.

How'd you do this!? What time of year and day was it, too?

[DanPhoto]

Originally Posted by homeward bound

BEAUTIFUL picture, DanPhoto!

It's got an almost other-wordly quality to it. Like it was made with an etching process or something, or an old glass-plate process. Has a real 3-D effect, too, but this feels just as old. Like looking through one of those ancient stereoscopes.

How'd you do this!? What time of year and day was it, too?

Glad you like the photo. It was shot in the late afternoon (this past Monday) when the sun streams down through Kaaterskill Clove. Backlight like that always has a way of adding dimension to photographs. Plus (and I don't mean to get nerdy on you here), I used High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging techniques that add to the available tonal scale. This was shot with a handheld point-and-shoot (albeit a good one) with an automatically bracketed series of images that were then combined in Photoshop. I actually teach workshops on HDR and other photo techniques and processes.

I had drifted away from my landscape roots and am very excited to be living in a region with such a rich landscape heritage. Here's one from about two months ago. Kaaterskill falls is a four mile drive and 1/2 mile hike from Palenville:

http://danburkholder.com/kaaterskill_falls.jpg

My wife jokes that we should try to keep this place a secret. ;^)

Dan

[ss58yy]

Originally Posted by BovinaCowHateWindTurbines

I'd poke around Delaware County - we have some of the highest elevations in the Catskills - and yes it can be cooler and very comfortable in the summer I could see my breath today at 8am - and also you get the extra chill factor in the winter.

Yes -- I looked all over the Catskills the last few years, but for now, as I start looking for a buyer's agent, I'm going to concentrate on eastern Delaware county. This area would include Andes and the Pepacton Resevoir area, the Bovinas, Roxbury, and the Kortrights, along with other places. Are you by any chance in or near Bovina or Bovina Center?

[ss58yy]

Originally Posted by DanPhoto

Glad you like the photo. It was shot in the late afternoon (this past Monday) when the sun streams down through Kaaterskill Clove. Backlight like that always has a way of adding dimension to photographs. Plus (and I don't mean to get nerdy on you here), I used High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging techniques that add to the available tonal scale. This was shot with a handheld point-and-shoot (albeit a good one) with an automatically bracketed series of images that were then combined in Photoshop. I actually teach workshops on HDR and other photo techniques and processes.

I had drifted away from my landscape roots and am very excited to be living in a region with such a rich landscape heritage. Here's one from about two months ago. Kaaterskill falls is a four mile drive and 1/2 mile hike from Palenville:

http://danburkholder.com/kaaterskill_falls.jpg

My wife jokes that we should try to keep this place a secret. ;^)

Dan

HDR sounds interesting. I guess it's something like what we have to do in astrophotograhpy when shooting a target with a huge dynamic range (like M42, the Orion Nebula, for example).

Unfortunately, if you do astrophotography with a DSLR, the quantization error caused by the 12-bit A/D converter causes S/N problems, unless you use something like ISO800. But this reduces the dynamic range of the sensor by 8x or so, so you end up having to combine short and long subexposures to reasonably show both the faint and bright areas. For example, you might combine dozens of 10-minute subexposures which have burned out centers, with a few 15-second exposures, which show details in the center but are just black away from the center. These are first aligned and then combined in Photoshop, using an annoying procedure.

[homeward bound]

DanPhoto & ss58yy:

Now I know what my students feel like when I'm trying to explain literary terms.

Or what my dog feels like when I'm saying things not his name.

But thanks for trying--and thanks for the pictures! Give Upstate's many priceless places a big nod of appreciation for me. We may not even be able to vacation up there this summer. But knowing we WILL return there one day keeps us going....

[emlfigaro]

Originally Posted by ss58yy

Interesting -- I wonder if this problem is widespread throughout the Catskills? I suppose one strategy for coping with this problem would be to keep the place mostly empty, with nothing of value inside. When visiting, sort of "camp out", using paper plates, plastic utensils, just a few tables and cheap chairs, an old bed, etc. I suppose the vandals/robbers would eventually strip out all the appliances and fixtures, plumbing, etc., so you couldn't rely on having any way to cook things.

The same guy that told me about the breakins up at a 2nd home in Summit also mentioned that in some places the full-time residents would come by and shoot holes in the roof and walls, and shoot out windows (this was out West, somewhere). I've also heard of folks being bludgeoned to death in their vacation homes by intruders (maybe Columbia county and also near the Sacandaga Resevoir?, IIRC), although I hope this is rare. Of course, we're all aware of the recent incident in Margaretville/Arkville some weeks ago.

Does anybody have a feel for how often this stuff really goes on in the Catskills? (let's hope it's rare)

11/08 The problem in Margaretville was very rare - in fact I've never heard of it happening before.. hope it never happens again. It was not a local person that caused this but was someone just passing through