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The Color is Gone, But not Forgotten
Mine Ledge, Hinsdale, NH |
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| Hemlock Gateway, Colors at Home |
There
are still patches of brown foliage on the oaks and the persistent
yellow of the beach groves, but my New England autumn is winding down to
the last gasps. As always, I'm exhausted and ready for long quiet
hours with a cup of coffee at my desk working through the hundreds of
late September and October images. I say it every year, but it is worth
repeating, thank god for the dull colors of November!
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| Otter Brook, Roxbury, NH |
As
I work my way through the autumn splendor, this seems like a good time
to review the season and share some of this year's bounty. I'll let
Jeff Foliage provide the final official verdict, but overall I think it
was a good fall, not the best for weather or color but probably a bit
better than average. The color seemed to come early, but I suspect this
is a general manifestation of the warming climate. We had one major
wind and rain storm in early October which striped some of the brightest
color. The weather was often overcast, but that is not a tragedy for
the capture of the rich colors of the season and the rain managed to
keep the streams flowing. As always, the season was expanded by
small patches of early color in the damp areas and by the surprising
color in the occasional late bloomers.
Vermont's Route 100
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| Top of the Valley, Hnacock Vt |
Most
years I try to get a head start on the color by heading north. This
year I traveled up Route 100 along the central spine of Vermont. My
eventual goal was the dramatic Moss Glen Falls in Granville, Vermont.
The falls were great especially during the brief periods when the
bright sun slipped behind the clouds. There
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| Moss Glen Swirl, Granville, Vt |
was quite a crowd at this
road-side attraction, but I was still able to catch some nice fresh
angles on this old favorite. The trip was about 100 miles each way and
it gave me the opportunity to judge the progress of the fall change and
get an early sense of the quality of the color. On that day, in late September, the
foliage seemed to blossom around the Killington area.
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| Autumn Boil, Chester, VT |
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| Camden Harbor Sunrise |
A Maine Coast Escape
Just
as the colors were building at home Susan and I headed over to the
Camden area to spend a few days on the Maine Coast. It was a lovely
escape. The colors were a bit early along the shore, but I did get some
nice shots of the morning light on Camden and Lincolnville Harbors and a
lovely sunset at the always dramatic Marshal Point Light. I was
nervous about missing some of the best color at home, but it was while
we were away that the intense wind and rain storm hit the Monadnock
region.
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| Marshall Point Light, Port Clyde, Maine |
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| Hancock, NH |
The damage was not as bad as I had
feared but the storm did seem to accelerate the season. Of course
through all of this I spent every available moment looking for color
throughout the region. I roamed the back roads of both the Monadnock
Region and southern Vermont, simultaneously scanning for grand
landscapes and intimate color details. It was enough to make me dizzy,
but there was always the feeling that any time spent away would mean
risking the one spectacular image of the year. I was convinced that the
best weather was confined to the days that I was stuck in the office.
In other words, I was fully captured by Autumn Fever.
Follow the Color
As
usual, this year I tried to extend the season by following the
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| Pumpkin Festival Race, Keene, NH |
color
from north to south. It started with a drive up Route 100 to Moss
Glenn Falls, and our sea coast interlude. In the middle of the season, I
explored more locally including lovely farm land in Chesterfield,
Walpole, Hancock and southeastern Vermont. We had great weather for the
Keene Pumpkin Festival and when I wasn’t lighting candles I got nice
light both early in the morning and at night in the midst of the
celebration of Keene’s new World Record for lit Pumpkins (30,581). As
the colors began to fade locally I went south to shoot at Doane’s Falls
in Royalston Massachusetts.
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| Doanes Falls, Royalston, Ma. |
Embrace the Clouds
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Field of Asters, Walpole, NH
Limit the Sky |
Throughout
the season we had a mix of sunny and overcast / misty weather. In
general, I prefer the softer light which allows the autumn colors to shine
through the glare. The keys to shooting in overcast conditions are to
concentrate on more intimate colorful scenes rather than grand hillside
panoramas, and to limit or eliminate the dull gray skis. Problems with
flat uninteresting skies have been improved with the capability of
powerful editing software, such as Photoshop and Lightroom 5 to salvage
detail in the
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Color and Sky, Walpole, NH
Embrace the Sky |
highlights. Although zooming in on the color is still a
good solution, I find recently that I have been including more brooding
gray skies in my images. A polarizing filter is a must on bright days,
but it can also add depth to the color when the light is diffused. The
effect is often subtle but noticeable especially if the leaves are damp
and reflective. The combination of soft light and a polarizer is also
the best combination for capturing lacy waterfalls against the autumn
glow.
Tame the Brilliance
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| Hunts Pond, Hancock, NH |
We had a few classic
brilliantly sunny days this year. These are the days that most often
come to mind when we think of the “glorious colors” of fall, but they do
offer special challenges for photography. The high contrast and
reflections tend to mute the colors, but here again a polarizing filter
can make a
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| Reflected Sunset, Chesterfield, NH |
significant difference. Sunny days are best for broader
autumn landscapes, but on these days I most often think about looking
into the sun. The trans-illuminating light works to ignite the foliage.
The effect is especially striking when the electric yellows and reds
are contrasted against a deep blue sky. Of course we need sunlight to
capture beautiful sunrises and sunsets, but the the most dramatic
results come from a mixture of light and clouds. The warm light of the
golden hours can only be fully appreciated by capturing what it
illuminates, and, when there are no clouds, we often need to step back
and celebrate the glow on the foreground elements.
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| Trans-illumination, College Bridge, Henniker, NH |
Well
I have to get back to work. I love settling back and scanning my
images from the season. Each time I find new perspectives and I can't
wait to discover the beauty which is held within those little piles of
pixels. Stay tuned.
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| Bald Mountain, Camden Maine |
