Timeless New England Fall Foliage from 2023
New Work from the Fall Season in Vermont and New Hampshire
I joked to my friends that I might lose more followers than I gained if I kept sharing fall foliage images from last year. Why? Because people expect photography to be reportage, ESPECIALLY when it comes to fall foliage conditions in New England.
Although we’re just 3 weeks out from when these images were made, it already feels long gone. That’s alright. Hopefully they are more meaningful than just reportage. Hopefully they are more timeless than timely.
I kicked things off co-leading a photography workshop focused on Vermont fall foliage with Kurt Budliger. For the next 4 days, us and 10 attendees traveled to some well-known, but mostly lesser-known locations, where we witnessed the beauty and timelessness of the New England fall season. The very first stop on the first night of the workshop was a series of cascades along a stream near Kurt’s house. After working with students along different sections of cascades, I stumbled on this blue swirling pattern in the granite and decided I had to pull out my camera to make a photo.
The next morning we went, as we do each and every year, to this beautiful pond. Cool temperatures allowed mist to form over the water, and when the first rays of sunlight illuminated the mist along with the tops of the trees, it was pretty much photo nirvana.
Another pond we visited the next morning was beautiful from ground-level, but an aerial perspective, made possible by the use of a drone, opened up a whole new world of potential. I loved seeing the valley fog in the distance, and backlit foliage, as usual, was incredibly eye-catching.
Later that day, we couldn’t pass up making an image of this classic, though oft-photographed, scene from Peacham, Vermont, as the sun set behind us and the Band of Venus, or changing spectrum of light on the horizon from earth’s shadow, advanced over the horizon. We heard that the farmers left the cornfield for the photographers. Thank you!
We then took the group to a location that was new to me, the Chittenden Reservoir near Killington, Vermont. I thought it was great, and although I was hoping for more mist coming off the water, a fisherman obliged and paddled out right as the sun started hitting the distant peaks. I was grateful to have something extra to make the image special.
From there we made our way up to Stowe, and instead of trying to photograph barns or churches, we went straight into Smuggler’s Notch to try to capture the magic of the incredible mountain forest there. This type of photography is HARD. I think there is great joy in making sense of the chaos, but make no mistake, it’s not easy. I came away with these two images that focus on the design that’s possible when you think of the tree branches and colors in a graphic sense.
The graphic tree theme continued the next morning in a foggy valley in Cabot, Vermont. I loved the gesture of this branch reaching outwards, and made the image about that.
From there we made the trek westward for another workshop, this time in New Hampshire. These two images come from Jackson Falls, just off of Route 16 south of Pinkham Notch, New Hampshire. Our students loved capturing these falls! Many thanks to my good friend Michael Blanchette for showing me this location when we collaborated on workshops a few years ago. I thought of you fondly, Mike!
Traveling further into the notch, we found this set of cascades below the much more famous Crystal Cascade off of the Tuckerman’s Ravine Trail. Luckily, the branches growing in front of the waterfall and bridge had lost their leaves, and the fallen leaves on the rocks were actually my favorite part of the image!
I've never been a huge fan of ICM (intentional or internal camera movement), also known as swipes or blurs, in photography. That might have changed while photographing this stand of white birches in Pinkham Notch. The movement gave it feeling and energy that simply wasn't there in a perfectly focused, still frame. I took about 200 images here, and this one where I hung still for a second, and then moved, gave a stronger impression than the rest. I’ll do a post at a later date explaining how to do these yourself, if you’re interested.
Finally, after teaching and photographing with the workshop group all week, I had to go and check out this well-known white birch path near Lincoln, NH on my own time after the workshop wrapped up. It was beautiful, and instead of photographing the exact same image everyone else has, I was able to get a nice reflection due to recent heavy rains.
I wish I could show you the images that students made on these trips. Maybe I’ll try and put together something like that at some point next year with everyone’s permission. I was super inspired by what I saw and, as always, came away so grateful for the fact that everyone has a different vision of the world. That’s what makes it special, the personal vision we all bring to things, and the times when we share that vision with each other. If you’d like to join us photographing fall foliage in the best places in the world to see it, here’s the link to our workshops next year: 2024 Workshops. Just scroll down to the bottom of the page for autumn.
Can God have better eyes? I'm rubbing mine making sure this is real. Truly spectacular.
Simply Beautiful !