Luke Dow Photography

Luke Dow Photography I do landscape photography around Lake George and anywhere else my travels take me. Click my photo gallery on here or visit www.lukedowphotography.com

I am a landscape photographer who also dabbles in commercial photography. My cross country travels have taken me to all the corners of the United States including:

-Lake George And the High Peaks Regions in the Adirondack Mountains

-Vermont and New England

-Oregon and Washington

-Montana

-Utah

-Colorado

-Hawaii

-Louisiana

-Northern Arizona

-California and the Lake Tahoe/Nevada Area

To v

iew my photos that I took in these locations check out my various galleries on my website. I dont have all of my photos in these galleries, so if you would like to see the rest of my collection or order a custom print or request a more specific job, then please feel free to contact me!

Here is a shot I snapped of a hill (685') behind Gull Bay, with Gull Bay in distance and the north end with Friends Poin...
09/04/2026

Here is a shot I snapped of a hill (685') behind Gull Bay, with Gull Bay in distance and the north end with Friends Point, Hague, and Anthonys Nose in the far distance.

Gull Bay is only one of three settlements along the east side of Lake George north of Pilot K**b. Glenburnie and Huletts Landing being the other two. Unfortunately unlike Huletts, the history of when Gull Bay and Glenburnie were first settled is not quite easy to find.

But it seems that Gull Bay got it's name from the small rocky shoal/island that sits out just beyond the mouth of the bay in the lake. Im assuming that the naming of this bay was because steamboat captains or British Soldiers cruising past the little island noticed a lot of seagulls sitting on the little island, and so they just named it Gull Island. Then they would see the bay right behind the island, so they just simply called it Gull Bay.

The same thing could possibly be said for Skerrey Point (where Blythewood Estate Mansion is located). Sometimes locals call it Skerry Point. A Skerry (sometimes spelled Skerray) is a small rocky island that is usually too small for people to live on, which would make sense since this is the point that is closest to the small-rocky Gull Island. Maybe the spelling of the point was kinda skewed by whoever was spelling the name given to them and it just stuck.

Either way, it kinda looks like the island's name came first and then everything behind it along the shore came from it's proximity.

Hope everyone has themselves a happy Labor Day Weekend!

Gull Bay on Lake George
Putnam, NY.

August 4, 2026

Earlier this year I snapped a shot of the summit of the Pinnacle Hike in Bolton Landing, but with the morning sun, most ...
09/03/2026

Earlier this year I snapped a shot of the summit of the Pinnacle Hike in Bolton Landing, but with the morning sun, most of the features and the views east were cloaked in shadows, so I returned one afternoon and snapped another photo of the viewpoint of this iconic hike and there was even someone on the lower viewpoint!

Here you can see the top of the hike, while looking east-northeast towards the Narrows, Black Mountain (2,646'), and all the way down to the northern half of Bolton Landing/Green Island.
Funny thing is the way the viewpoint is on the top of the mountain, this view in the photo is not the view you see from the viewpoint! That view a 270° view where you see the southern half of Bolton Landing looking south towards the southern end of the lake and over towards Trout Lake.

Each year thousands of people climb this short/east 0.8 mile hike to this viewpoint, making it one of the most hiked trails in the region! The other ones? Prospect Mountain and the Pilot K**b Gazebo. And it's easy to see why.

This destination has been an instant classic ever since the 73 acre parcel of land was acquired by the Lake George Land Conservancy in 2015 for $525,000, which they then sold to the Town of Bolton for $150,000.
The LGLC did this because in 2010 developer, Ernest Oberer, first proposed building houses on the ridgeline. So the LGLC exercised it's option to purchase the land and after 5 years of intense negotiations (2 days before it's option expired!), it finally was able to acquire it and make it forever wild!

Anytime anyone comes to Lake George from other states, they are amazed by the lack of development around the lake and on the mountains (when compared to other lakes in their states), this is solely thanks to the efforts that created the Adirondack Park and the Lake George Forest in the early/mid 1900s and the Lake George Land Conservancy since then!

The Pinnacle Viewpoint
Bolton, NY.

August 18, 2026

On Monday I snapped a photo of the fog as it rolled over Top of the World Golf Resort, well here is another shot looking...
09/02/2026

On Monday I snapped a photo of the fog as it rolled over Top of the World Golf Resort, well here is another shot looking east as the rising sun's rays streaked through the pines and the fog on the north end of French Mountain while looking at the fog as it filled the valley between French Mountain and the far mountain ridgeline.

Love these foggy mornings in the valleys, one of the benefits of the approaching fall.
This fog actually has a name, it's called radiation fog! lol

Autumn air often holds dampness from recent rain, wet soil, or water ev***rating from rivers and lakes. So after sunset, the ground radiates that heat back out into space. Then the air touching the ground gets colder by conduction and as the temperature drops it hits the dew point, which is the exact temperature where the air becomes fully saturated and can no longer hold all its moisture.
When this happens, the excess water v***r condenses into microscopic water droplets suspended in the air, creating a visible layer of fog.

Nothing quite like fog swirling around colorful leaves and mountains in the morning sun.
I hate to say goodbye to summer, but Im looking forward to these types of shots!

French Mountain
Lake George, NY.

Aug. 31, 2026

Today Im going to share a photo of the Island House Estate on Brant Lake (799' elevation) while looking up the lake towa...
09/01/2026

Today Im going to share a photo of the Island House Estate on Brant Lake (799' elevation) while looking up the lake towards Sand Beach Mountain (1,392') along the far shore on the left, the 3 brothers in the distance (1,692' and 1,859' and 2,004'), and Stevens Mountain (2,167') in the far distance.

Now back to the Island House Estate.
This house sits on 4 of the 5 islands on Brant Lake. It is apart of a much larger estate located on the shore.
The islands of this property were the first parts to be purchased in the 1870s by Walter H. Wickes for only $75. Years later his nephew, William H. Wickes, would go on to build the house on this island in 1886.

Unfortunately William died suddenly and his property was sold to Albany Cigar Manufacturer, George VanSlyke, in 1892 and he renamed it "Seven Pines".

But then the Schultz Family purchased the property in 1942/1943 and in the past 80 years they have expanded the property. In 1970 they purchased 180 acres near the road and then in 2007 they built the main house on the property.

Today, the Island House Estate comprises 212 acres with a total of 20 bedrooms between the truss and timber-framed Main House, historic 1886 Island House , a Lakeside House, a Caretaker’s House, two garages with apartments, equestrian facilities with barns, acres of riding trails, and a Har-Tru tennis court.

All of this together definitely makes it one of the premier properties in the Adirondacks.
Well now this property is on the market for the first time in 84 years!

Yup, listed only a couple of months ago, the Island House Estate could be yours for the low low price of $14,900,000!
Well, that prices me out of the running! lol
Hope that the new owners respect the history and the buildings and keep this beautiful historic house around for years to come.

Island House Estate on Brant Lake
Brant Lake, NY.

July 23, 2026

Here is a shot I snapped this morning of the fog slowly creeping over the slopes of French Mountain as the higher peaks ...
08/31/2026

Here is a shot I snapped this morning of the fog slowly creeping over the slopes of French Mountain as the higher peaks are holding it back from dropping down onto the lake.

Yesterday was my father's memorial golf tournament at Top of the World Golf Resort. It was the 4th time we've had this tournament, which is kinda crazy since this September will be 4 years since he left us. The math doesnt sound like it maths, but it does lol.

Either way, I just want to thank everyone who participated in this tournament. From everyone at Top of the World, from the cooks to the staff and the grounds crew, the course was in incredible shape! Also I want to thank all the volunteers from the Steamboat Company, The Mountainside Free-Library, and Nancy Nichols. And of course thank you to all 22 teams who signed up for the event, and all those who made donations and took out hole sponsorship signs.
Last year we raised $9,500 for this little donations-only library and this year we should have raised a lot more!
We will see what the final numbers are in the next couple of weeks.

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone. It was really touching to see everyone up there and having fun, and telling me afterwards how much fun they had, regardless of skill level.
That was what my father was all about, being competitive, but most important to him was being out there with everyone and having fun and laughing.

Now why this little library?
My dad loved it, he loved it so much that when they didnt have enough money to build new steps or replace the floor, he stepped up and paid for both in full.
It feels good to provide people with a fun time and also support a small local library that was super near and dear to my father's heart.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much.

French Mountain
Lake George, NY.

August 31, 2026

I had another shot prepped for today, but I wanted to return to these docks of the Algonquin Restaurant on Huddle Bay.I ...
08/28/2026

I had another shot prepped for today, but I wanted to return to these docks of the Algonquin Restaurant on Huddle Bay.
I loved these lily pads and wanted to capture them again with my good camera, not just a phone photo lol.
What was great about this day was there was a beautiful water lily that was just starting to open up in the beautiful morning sun!

The Algonquin Restaurant sits on Huddle Bay, which was named after the Hamlet of Huddle back in the day.
Back in the early 1800s there were numerous pockets of settlements spread throughout the hills around Bolton, but it was Huddle that became the first hamlet in Bolton. How did it do this? By establishing the first Post Office in Bolton in 1816.
This hamlet became known as The Huddle because the Post Office, general store, tannery, blacksmith shop, gristmill and residences were all “huddled” here close together.

Now after the steamboat travel started in 1817, the main population/official hamlet of the town shifted north to Bolton Landing due to the deeper water of Bolton Bay and the landing dispute that occurred.
And we all know that location is key to business, so when the boats moved north, the businesses followed.

But still the beauty of Huddle Bay, with it's numerous islands and sheltered shores, is undeniable! That is why I love this Bay so much!

Hope that everyone has themselves a great weekend!

Algonquin Restaurant on Huddle Bay, Lake George.
Bolton, NY.

August 26, 2026.

Here is a shot of Peggys Point and the sandbar at the mouth of Hague Brook with downtown Hague in the background. You ca...
08/27/2026

Here is a shot of Peggys Point and the sandbar at the mouth of Hague Brook with downtown Hague in the background. You can also see Round Mountain (1,943') to the left and Thomas (1,546') and Trumbull (1,863') Mountains to the right.

Hague is a cute little town on the west side of Lake George towards the northern end of the lake.
Originally settled in 1796, the town was apart of the Town of Bolton at the time until it officially became it's own town in 1807, but it was originally called the Town of Rochester!
That said, according to Goggle's AI, the NYS Legislature renamed the town to the Town of Hague on April 6, 1808. It said that several towns around this time were renamed by the legislature to avoid duplications, often changing towns to be named after European cities (in this case The Hague in Holland) to hopefully spark regional interest or tourism.
In March 1813, Hague and other towns in the northern part of Washington County were set off to form a new county known as Warren, in honor of Revolutionary War General Joseph Warren.

Graphite was discovered in mountains behind Hague in 1887 and a mining boom town was born. During this time Hague boomed as a town and the population swelled to over 1,000, but once the mines shutdown in 1921 the town's population dropped down to roughly 700 and is now at 634 as of the 2020 census.
Now adays the town is a small vacation destination and it's population swells to 2,500 people who come up to their 2nd homes in the summer.

Quick aside, Peggys Point is named after Margaret "Peggy" A. Darrin. She donated this property to the Lake George Land Conservancy in 2005 and this lovely little park was made along the point at the mouth of Hague Brook.

Apparently my father loved it when we would drive through the town when I was a little kid because I would get excited going through the town of "Huge".
Just a fun little story lol.

Hague
New York

August 18, 2026

Last week I was able to take some photos while driving up to Ticonderoga, here is a shot looking south on Lake George wh...
08/26/2026

Last week I was able to take some photos while driving up to Ticonderoga, here is a shot looking south on Lake George while looking towards Vicars Island, The Harbor Islands, with the Mother Bunch Island Group and Black Mountain (2,646') in the distance. You can also see this shoal that sits just to the north of Vicars Island.

Truth be told, I didnt know this shoal existed and I am unsure if it is properly marked the way it should be because this shoal is pretty shallow and not marked on the LGPC's boaters map.
So just be aware of this if you have a larger boat on the lake, or if the lake levels dip at all like they did last year.

As far as Vicars Island is concerned, according to Frank Leonbruno's book 'Lake George Reflections' this island was named after a man who had lived on the island. Now he mentions that there is no information on when the guy lived on the island or if Vicar was his first or last name. If I had to guess, this man lived on the islands in the early to mid 1700s since another man lived on the island in the late 1700s.
But if anyone knows more then please let me know!

Vicars Island
Near Huletts Landing, NY.

Aug. 18, 2026

This past weekend I was in Colchester, Vermont, specifically Malletts Bay.The weather this past weekend was incredible a...
08/25/2026

This past weekend I was in Colchester, Vermont, specifically Malletts Bay.
The weather this past weekend was incredible and the sunsets were spectacular almost every night!
Well one thing that I couldnt get over was a couple of loons that kept swimming past our lake house the whole weekend.
The last night I was there I noticed that one of them kept pruning and washing itself and I just had to get out there and snap a pic!

The majority of New York’s loon population lives in the Adirondacks during spring and summer before migrating to the Atlantic coast in the fall. But the past couple of years Ive been personally seeing more and more loons on the lake than almost any of the other years!
A census was done last year in which the number of counted loons topped 1,000 for the first time in 24 years. So it appears that the population seems to rebounding after being so negatively affected by the now banned Insecticide with DDT along with lead fishing weights that were in the fish they'd consume.

That said, there are some real concerns about their future because of climate change and boating traffic increase on lakes.
Because loons like to nest in low-lying areas along lake shores, they are susceptible to having their nests washed out by boat wakes and torrential rainstorms.
More rain, especially during the month of June, when adult loons sit on eggs to keep them warm, can flood nests, causing the eggs to float away. Or cold water fills the nest, causing the temperature of the egg to drop, which spells the end of the developing chick inside.
The volunteers who participated in the census also noted that they were seeing more and more nest flooding.
It seems that the loons are having trouble adapting fast enough to keep up with the changing weather patterns.

Let's hope that this iconic bird can start to weather the storms a little better and their numbers can continue to rebound!

Malletts Bay on Lake Champlain
Colchester, Vermont

Aug. 22, 2026

So I was initially going to post a photo I snapped up on Lake Champlain this week during my time with my old college roo...
08/24/2026

So I was initially going to post a photo I snapped up on Lake Champlain this week during my time with my old college roommates on Malletts Bay, but then these storms rolled through last night and I just couldnt help but post this today.

These two big Thunderstorms moved through yesterday while there was literally blue sky in between the bands.
In this photo you can see in the distance how thick that sheet of water was that was coming down from these storms. So much heavy rain!

But because of the fact that it was a thin band of rain with sun behind it, we got some incredible rainbows out of it!

Now did you know that rainbows are not just arched, but they are a full circle?!
Yup!
Rainbows are curved because sunlight reflects off raindrops at a strict angle of 40 to 42 degrees relative to your eyes. This fixed angle creates a circular cone of light with you at the center. The ground blocks the bottom half, so we see an arc.
But you can see a full circle rainbow from high altitudes like airplanes (often around 30,000 feet), tall buildings, or high mountain peaks, as long as water drops are below you and the sun is high behind you!
Google it! It's really cool looking!

I think that in this shot you are not seeing a reflection, but rather some of that full circle curve!
I say this because the image of the rainbow doesnt sharply bend right where I saw the rainbow hitting the water, plus the water disturbance in the closest rainbow is the same as the second rainbow, yet there is no real reflection whatsoever in the second rainbow.
But what do you think?

Lake George
New York

August 24, 2026.

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