Last week's focus on New England left out the Green Mountain State of Vermont. Today will will finish our trip through the region by visiting a farm located in the heart of Vermont's beautiful Northeast Kingdom. The Northeast Kingdom has received numerous awards including "Best of New England"by Yankee Magazine and, looking at this scene, you can understand why. The fall season had begun with the leaves displaying wonderful orange color. Contrasting with the foliage was the beautiful green lawn which still retailed its color. The scene was so inviting that you could envision yourself sitting in the lawn chairs for hours absorbing in the beauty of the fall.
Before Dinner Snack
A quick post and run today. This image of a grazing horse was taken at the Inn at Mountain View Farm in Vermont. It is a 440-acre historic farm on top a mountain with picturesque views of the surrounding Vermont countryside. The Inn is a wonderful place to visit and stay. During the fall months, the colors of the foliage area outstanding.
Got Milk?
Today's image is from a small farm in Sutton, Vermont. After shooting the Vermont countryside from the farm, I was walking back to my car and I spotted this milk sign on a weathered side of a barn. I was taken with it's color against the weathered wall with it's bright red color. For whatever reason, I immediately thought of the Got Milk? advertising campaign which is probably better than the "Drink Milk" sign.
Flow
This image was taken a couple of years ago somewhere on Route 9 in southern Vermont. I had decided to take the day to drive to Vermont to catch some foliage shots. Unfortunately, I had missed the peak of the foliage season in Vermont and, although I shot a number of images, I simply wasn't feeling it. I thought I saw an opening from the road where there was a decent shot, but as I climbed down, I realized that the scene was not what I had thought. While climbing down the ravine, this stream and it's rocks had some great light shining on it which greatly enhanced it's color. Sometimes you just get lucky finding a subject you weren't expecting.
Ready to Ride?
Hope everyone had a great weekend. Just a quick post and run today. This is a fall Vermont scene highlighting these three horses looking for a place to run. Either that or trying to figure out why the 20 or so photographers are taking their pictures.
White Mountain Crossing
Today we re-visit the the Albany Covered Bridge located off of New Hampshire's famed Kancamagus Highway. Some of you may remember a past post of the of the bridge with a view from the inside (which can be seen here). The Kancamagus Highway (also known as the "Kanc") is a 34 mile scenic drive that is known as one of the best fall foliage viewing areas in New England. The Kanc in October is the destination of choice for thousands of "leaf peepers" from all over the country. There were quite a number of photographers and visitors there and I had to be careful to keep them out of the scene. It helped that we visited the bridge right after Columbus Day otherwise I would have been editing this forever.
Rustic
Once again, we visit the Inn at Mountain View Farm in East Burke, VT. The inn is located on a 440-acre historic farm on top of a mountain with picturesque views of the surrounding Vermont countryside. We were given the run of the place for three hours and this image was taken in one of the barns on the property. The rustic look of the barrels and the walls contrasted very nicely with the red building and green leaves seen through the window. The light from the side window gave the barrels a very nice glow. The Inn at Mountain View Farm is a wonderful place to stay as well as a photographer's paradise.
The Chapel on the Hill
This will be my last post before the Christmas holidays. I will try to post a couple of images next week while visiting family, but if I don't, I would like to wish everyone a wonderful holiday season and a fantastic new year. I would be remiss if I didn't thank everyone who has visited my site or left a comment of encouragement. I have made many new photography friends this past year and am deeply grateful to the on-line photography community that share my passion for photography. In this image, I bring you an interior shot of The Chapel of the Holy Family. The chapel is located on Darling Hill Road in Lyndonville, Vermont. It is situated at the edge of a beautiful wooded area on a knoll that overlooks the beautiful Vermont countryside.
Sunlit Cupola
In this earlier post, I introduced the Inn at Mountain View Farm in East Burke, VT. The size of the Inn's property is huge and I wandered from building to building. I ultimately found this building that was dark, empty and deserted. Even though it was quite dark, there was some light coming from above through the cupola on the roof. As I looked for subjects to shoot, it occurred to me to shoot the great wooden cupola from below. I shot 9 brackets as the dynamic range was pretty extreme and I think the texture and tones of the wood came through.
Golden Morning
One of the of the goals we had on our photo workshop was to try to shoot the sunrise of the New England countryside with fog on the ground. As we gathered in the dark parking lot, we were praying that the crispness in the air would deliver the fog. The plan was to drive about 20 minutes from the hotel to Pudding Hill Road in Lyndonville Vermont. Usually when planning for a specific weather condition, it rarely works out as planned. On this morning, we were blessed. As we set up for the shoot, the fog was there and it was looking good. As the sun began to peak over the mountain, it became apparent the photography gods were delivering a great morning. I usually shoot a 7 bracketed series of images when shooting directly into the sun to capture a decent exposure without blowing out too many highlights. I am pretty happy with the results.
Branching Out
Of all of the seasons of the year, my favorite one is the fall. Maybe it is the need to escape the heat of a long summer or the promise of hiking through the woods with a sweater on. For most, it is the wonderful colors of the foliage which dominate the landscape. The anticipation for me begins when there is a crispness in the air. New England is a prime destination for the foliage season. Thousands of "leaf peepers" try to guess when the peak of the foliage season will occur and make travel plans. Every year, the timing of the peak is determined by temperatures and moisture, which are very difficult to predict. I've seen the peak as early as the first week of October and as late as Thanksgiving. Maybe part of the attraction of the fall is playing this foliage "lottery", the winner of which gets to experience the peak. For those of us living here in New England, the lottery is pretty much rigged in our favor as we don't have to travel far when it does indeed peak.
This image is of a tree at a church in Sutton, Vermont. The sunlight was falling just right on the leaves which contrasted nicely with the bark of the tree.
Barn Light
One of the coolest places that I visited during my recent photo workshop was the Inn at Mountain View Farm in East Burke, VT. The inn is located on a 440-acre historic farm on top of a mountain with picturesque views of the surrounding Vermont countryside. One of our workshop leaders had arranged for the Inn and all of the surrounding farm buildings on the property to be available to be photographed. In one of the old stables, I found what I believe is a storage basket that probably holds hay. The way it was shaped led me to believe that, when full, the horses could reach up and eat the hay. The light coming through the window was wonderful and lit the weathered wood, giving it a golden glow.
All in all, we spent several hours at the Inn shooting images. We could have spent at least a week there. I hope to revisit with my wife sometime in the near future to get the full experience. Click here to find out more about the Inn.
Weathered
Today's image is from Sutton, Vermont. We had arrived in full force to a local farm that was nice enough to let us shoot the Sutton Church steeple in the distance. After shooting the church, we were walking back to the cars and I spotted this barn. I was taken with it's color and weathered look and was hoping to capture the scene in a way that conveyed what I was seeing. I am very pleased with the result but how I got there was a real learning experience. I had taken this photography workshop for many reasons and one of those was to get an assessment of my composition skills. My original image is below and gives a full look at the barn's wall. During the review of this photo, it was pointed out that while it was an excellent image, the real gem was the window with the weathered wall that is featured in this post.
I heard this type of comment numerous times during the week and I realized that I had a "wide angle" tendency when composing my images. I was encouraged to continue to shoot wide angle but also to analyze the scene to see if there were any stronger compositions that could be extracted from it. As the week progressed, I found myself finding strong subjects that might have been missed in the wide view.