But the weather wasn’t cooperating after all the sun, such as it was, was weak.

Since Storm King rises up from the west shore of the Hudson, this is definitely a great morning shot with the sweet light on the mountainside. Having read a forecast that called for sun early in the day, I had my mind specifically fixated on photographing Storm King Mountain from the riverfront park in Cold Spring. Yasinsac, who have meticulously chronicled the history and current status of a vast number of threatened or already demolished structures from Westchester County up to Albany. Perched high above the Hudson, Castle Rock, the former estate of railroad magnate William Henry Osborn, is written up in detail in Hudson Valley Ruins, a very fine book by Thomas E. Cross the Bear Mountain Bridge, drive up Route 9D, walk around Cold Spring and photograph, then back south to the Boscobel House and Gardens to buy some goodies at the Cold Spring Farm Market and scout a vantage point from which to photograph a ruined mansion called Castle Rock. With Labor Day weekend upon us, the weather forecast looking none too good (I would rather have a foot of snow than hazy hot and humid)–including the possibility of thunderstorms all over the Hudson Valley and Catskills–and knowing that I had to get out with the camera gear at least once to avoid a severe attack of cabin fever, I decided to stay fairly local.

Historic Hudson Valley by Nancy De Flon