About Me

My photo
Spofford, New Hampshire, United States
Jeff Newcomer had been a physician practicing in New Hampshire and Vermont for over 30 years. Over that time, as a member of the Conservation Commission in his home of Chesterfield New Hampshire, he has used his photography to promote the protection and appreciation of the town's wild lands. In recent years he has been transitioning his focus from medicine to photography, writing and teaching. Jeff enjoys photographing throughout New England, but has concentrated on the Monadnock Region and southern Vermont and has had a long term artistic relationship with Mount Monadnock. He is a featured artist in a number of local galleries and his work is often seen in regional print, web publications and in business installations throughout the country. For years Jeff has published a calendar celebrating the beauty of The New England country-side in all seasons. All of the proceeds from his New England Reflections Calendar have gone to support the Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program at the Cheshire Medical Center. Jeff has a strong commitment to sharing his excitement about the special beauty of our region and publishes a blog about photography in New England.

Sunday, April 16, 2017

Chesterfield Village





Chesterfield is a lovely town in southwestern New Hampshire and has been my home for 37 years.  It is actually a collection of three villages, my village of Spofford around Spofford Lake, West Chesterfield and the main center of Chesterfield.  The town is a photographer’s delight with rolling hills, farms, classic buildings and dramatic waterfalls.



I have written articles illustrating many of the visual attractions of the town, but  I have tended to focus on my home village of Spofford.  It is time to spotlight some of the best features of Chesterfield Center.  




Heading west on Route 9, a left turn onto Route 63 South will quickly bring you to Chesterfield’s understated center.  The village has a classic stone town hall from 18--.  With modest population growth, the annual town meetings have moved to the more spacious environment of the adjacent school gymnasium, but the town hall is still the historic center of Chesterfield and a great subject for photography, in all seasons. 


In the 1960s, the building was used in the opening credits of the TV series Peyton Place, to represent the quintessential, although scandalous, New England town.  In recent years, the town have done a creditable job trying to design newer town building to fit the feel of a classic New England village center.  The impression is helped by the fact that there is no commercial development in the town center.  The Town Hall is flanked by a small structure which matches the stone construction and is now the home of our active town historical society.  On the other side is a lovely modern town library constructed in a similar style.  Across the street,  the small post office compliments the other structures.




 
To the south on Route 63 are the K – 8 school, the town offices and fire station.  The school’s sports field provide nice areas of open space with the feel of an expansive town green.








The visual highlight of the drive through Chesterfield Center is its location perched along a high ridge with long dramatic views to the west and the Vermont mountains.  From here Mt Snow is easily seen and the sunsets are frequently spectacular.  All along this stretch of road,  farms, pastures and grazing animals provide interesting foregrounds for the dramatically shifting colors.  Turning away from the sunsets, the warm light can transform  the village structures, especially the Town Hall and a position on top of this ridge can provide an excellent spot to catch the rainbows which form as storms pass to the east.



Chesterfield Center is just one of the opportunities for discovery in my town.  Nearby are a number of active farms, Madame Sherri’s Castle and forest, Indian Pond, and Mt Wantastiquet, but a good start is to take that left turn off of Route 9 and step into a classic small New England Village.



For more information and pictures of Chesterfield’s attractions check out these links and my Chesterfield Center Gallery.




Jeffrey Newcomer



2 comments:

  1. I have not seen such wonderful photos ,really awesome.

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  2. Simply amazing photography and good explanation. To take this kind of professional pictures, it is necessary to have a professional DSLR camera. Good job!

    ReplyDelete