High Falls - Rochester

Kodak tower peaks over the buildings of the High Falls district.

A few weeks ago the subject of this blog was the Rochester skyline taken from the river walk trail just south of the city.  This week I decided to get up early on Saturday morning and venture to the High Falls area of Rochester to view the same section of the city from the north.  The High Falls district of Rochester has a lot of history and a lot of unmet potential for the city.

Another view of Kodak tower behind old river side factories.

The old abandoned factories in this neighborhood would be perfect for repurposing and revitalizing this section of the city.  There have been some attempts in the past that were met with short lived success but it seems difficult to get anything to stick.  I did see signs of renewed efforts as new housing appears to be available and other signs of growth.  I hope it succeeds.

Genesee Brewing Co is also in this area.

I arrived in the area a little after 6:00 AM and found easy free parking in the High Falls garage that sits off State Street and directly across from Frontier Field, home of the Rochester Red Wings triple A baseball team.  This is also the neighborhood that houses the head quarters of Eastman Kodak Co., the once dominant employer of the Rochester area and the reason I live here.  Things certainly have changed in the 30+ years since I moved here and I'm sure the decline of Kodak's presence in this neighborhood has something to do with its current state.  

Foot bridge across the Genesee River is very nice.

The pedestrian only bridge that crosses the Genesee River just north of the falls is the perfect place to setup for this week's photo.   I was a bit disappointed in the flow of water over the falls indicating that water levels are down.  I was also hoping for more morning sun on the buildings but even though the sun was in my eyes as I drove here and also shining brightly after I left, it remained behind broken clouds for most of my time on site.  The cloud cover, however, does add some drama to the shots and I made do.

Old factory building in landscape.

What I assumed was an abandoned building with an exterior fire escape caught my eye as an interesting photo subject.  I proceeded to take a couple shots, making sure I got the whole building in my frame.  Upon returning home and reviewing the pictures, I realized that a tighter cropping on the building emphasizing the staircase against the side of the building was a much more interesting photo than one that contained the entire building.

Old factory building in portrait.

I'm sharing both a portrait oriented crop of one shot and a landscape cropping of another and ask for your opinion on which you prefer.