October Therapy : Autumn Glory, Part 1

Forest Pillars Chesterfield, NH

November Excitement

  

It is mid November and without any snow in sight I am in the middle of my usual November malaise. I know that, photographically, November provides the opportunity to focus on the intricate bare patterns and textures of the season. It is a great challenge to find things to shoot in the grip of this unrelenting gray "stick" time of year, but It is nevertheless all too easy to sink into despair.  When I finally run out of creative ways to make dead leaves and other lawn liter appear artistic, there is a blessed source of relief from this malady, October Therapy.







October Therapy

Madame Sherri's Arches, Chesterfield, NH

There is no greater contrast in the moods of our seasonal journey than that from October to November. We reveal in the brief riotous colors of the peak October foliage and then, almost overnight, the trampled earth jealously reaches up to claim the leaves. November is upon us, but we can still call forth the glory of October's brilliance.

Autumn Shadows, Westmoreland, NH

October is always a frantic time, trying to get out to capture the autumn colors at there best. With luck, the result is a pile of RAW images begging to be processed to there full warmth and brilliance. In November I warm the cold damp weather with a fire in the stove and with the opportunity to immerse myself in the images of fall's spectacle.

Two in Pasture, Walpole, NH

A Very Good Season
 

Wind Vane, Chesterfield, NH

This year's foliage seemed more brilliant and long lasting than during many recent seasons. After the fact, It is seems easy to explain the character of each fall season.  Perhaps the richness of this year's color was related to the warm dry summer.  This autumn's longevity was likely related to the lack of major rain and wind driven storms.  For me each fall is a mysterious surprise and my goal is always the same, to get out to shoot as often as I can, in as many conditions of light and weather as possible. 








This year the range of my explorations were more limited than usual. I found myself tied to home by a list of projects and demands including my digital photography class at Keene Community Education, the Columbus weekend Fall Foliage Studio Art Tour and a couple of lovely trips to New England's southern coast. Happily there was plenty of color nearby in my local region and, as the last leaves gave up their struggle, I was left with my usual pile of images begging for attention.

Roadside Ferns, Chesterfield, NH

Dealing with the Pile

Holding On, Guilford, Vt

As I process this year's color, I have tried to be more organized than usual. It is always tempting to jump around my collection of images, latching on to whichever picture grabs my attention, but I am trying to work through the images in a more chronological order. Lightroom is a great help, allowing me to identify and label each set of images and then flag the most promising for closer attention.  

Feathery Retreat, Weathersfield, Vt

 In this weeks article/album I concentrate on images from the first half of October. In the Monadnock Region peak color tends to occur in the middle of October, around the Columbus Day weekend and a division of the month down the middle results in a fair distribution of the color.  There are limits to how many images I can show in one or two blog articles and I am dealing with that frustration by placing more pictures from the season in an Autumn 2016 Gallery on my web site.

 



 


Explorations

Downers Bridge, Weathersfield, Vt

 

 

 

Perkinsville Green

In early October I headed north to look for the best color, before it descended closer to home. One of my favorite route is up Route 106 from Springfield Vermont wandering through Perkinsville, Weathersfield and Reading. In a short distance is found the Perkinsville Community Church with it compact green, the Downer Covered Bridge over the Black River and of course the Jenne Farm.  Reading is famous for the classic and over popular Jenne Farm but the town

Jenne Farm, Reading Vt

has many other attractions which do not require a fight with fifty other photographers to find a place for your tripod. On the opposite side of 106 up Caper Hill Road is the Springbrook Farm. Along the road are lovely pastures, one of my favorite birch groves and a classic sugar shack. On the top is a view to Mount Ascutney.  If you find it absolutely necessary, some of the pastures open to a vista across the valley back to the over photographed Jenne Farm. Route 106 continues north through beautiful countryside to Woodstock, but on this day I had to head home and responsibilities.

Black River cascade, Weathersfield, Vt

Close to Home

Chesterfield, NH

The countryside around our home in the southwest New Hampshire is resplendent in classic rural New England charm. No towering mountains or large masses of water, but soft rolling hills, snuggly settled farms and calm restful lakes that perfectly accent the warm tones of our New England autumn. Even our isolated Mount Monadnock has a settled inviting feel that compliments the surrounding, rather than dominating the bucolic settings.

Fencing the Color, Dublin, NH

Leading up to the Columbus Day weekend the color was building and I was able to find plenty of early and mid-season foliage within easy range of home. I hit many of my favorite locations Chesterfield, Westmoreland and Keene, including the Roads End and Hubner Farms, the Madame Sherri Forest, Spofford Lake, and the Poocham Road.

Roads End Bend, Chesterfield, NH

Class Work

Flight Risk Keene, NH

By the middle of the month I was finishing up my Basics of Digital
Photography Class. One the best parts of the course was the chance to bring the students out for a couple of shoots. The first was at Ashuelot River Park in Keene NH and the second was around Keene's classic Central Square. The conditions were challenging in the center of Keene, but that provided some important teaching opportunities. My friend and great photographer, Steve Hooper was kind enough to help out on my field trips. At the same time, Steve was teaching his own advanced landscape photography course at Keene State College's Cheshire Academy for Lifelong Learning, and I had the chance to reciprocate by joining one of his shoots in a wetland area around the Ashuelot River.

Ashuelot Floaters, Keene, NH

More Color to Come

Eden Run Autumn, Dublin, N\H

By mid and late October we saw more beautiful color, especially around the Monadnock Region and southern Vermont. I'm still working my way through many of those images and will save them for the second part of my October Gallery posting. In the meantime I will be uploading many more images to the Autumn 2016 Gallery on my web site.   Now get back to work on your Autumn images and if you get tired you can always go outside and take some more pictures of dead leaves and twigs!

Barn at the Bend, Keene, NH

Southern and Central Vermont Color Preview

Autumn Ranks, Reading, Vermont

Alaska Will have to Wait

Mill Brook Shack
Pomfret, Vt

This week I had every intention to add another article about our fantastic tour in Alaska. The next episode was to be about our time in Seward and our SUNNY cruise along the Kenai Fjords. That's right we actually had gloriously sunny weather for our day-long exploration, and the rocky shoreline, the glaciers and the remarkable wildlife could not have been more dramatic. I've got some wonderful photographs to share, but that blog will have to wait. I'm back in New England, and if there is one hard and fast rule of New England photography, it is that autumn color rules. My Alaska images will still be there to brighten the November gloom, but for now I must talk about the color.


 


I've been out for a couple of serious shoots in the last few days, each heading north to gauge the progression of the color. First, over

Coming Color
Jenne Farm, Reading Vt

last weekend, I cruised around the Newfane and Townsend areas of Vermont and then, on Monday, further North from Springfield, up Route 106 past Woodstock into Pomfret and Hartland.  Autumn color in New England is always spotty depending more on the altitude, orientation to the sun, and the dampness of the soil than to a specific date on the calendar. My general impression is that, as of Monday the color was fairly thin in Southern Vermont, but as I traveled North of Woodstock things improved significantly. Leaving Woodstock I climbed the justly famous Cloudland Dr and saw more consistent color as I gained altitude. My thoroughly fallible opinion is that things will be at, or approaching, peak in this area by this coming weekend, which is why I'm publishing early this week.


 

What follows are some of my images from the last few days. Obviously, I chose to shoot scenes with nicer color and this may give a false impression of the overall hillside drama, but it may be a reasonable reflection of how the color will have bloomed by this coming weekend.

Newfane and Townsend

Smith Brook, Newfane, Vt

Sunday was a bizarrely warm and sunny day for late September. I only had a few hours and limited my explorations to nearby towns
in Vermont. I cruised up Route 30 to Newfane where I was saddened to discover that the nice folks at the Newfane Country Store are permanently closing shop. I hate to see them go, but I appreciate how difficult and exhausting it is to run a country store in a small New England village. I wish them luck, but I was happy to have found a new venue in town for my New England Reflections Calendars. Check them out at the Newfane Market . Color here was scant, but I found some nice patches up nearby Cemetery Road. Heading north toward Townsend I got distracted exploring a road along the West River. The color was generally better along the damp banks and it was pleasant to explore an unfamiliar road in the warm September weather.

Sunny West River, Townsend, Vt

Route 106 to Woodstock and Beyond

Harvest Bales, Reading, Vt

Route 106 is one of my favorite paths through Central Vermont. On
Monday, I got out early and, as usual, I shot up US Route 91picking up the road in Springfield, Vermont. The Route north includes lovely green valleys nestled in the mountains and at this time of year the bales of drying hay provide interesting patterns. The weather was mostly overcast but I generally prefer softer light for fall colors. Even with a polarizer, the reflections from bright light dulls the rich colors.  This day was all about the color, but I had to stop when I spied a Zebra pacing in a pen above the road. It's Vermont, so why not a Zebra! Of course, traveling up 106, I had to

Jenne Farm, Reading, Vt

check out the famous Jenne Farm. Being a bit early in the season and on a Monday there was, remarkably, only one other photographer roaming the familiar hill. Unfortunately, every year the shrubs grow a bit higher in front of the red farm house, but I prefer the view from down the hill where the meandering fence provides a nice line to the buildings and the house is less obscured. I predict richer color and bus loads of photographers for this coming weekend. Be sure to buy some maple syrup, or slip a buck or two into the donation box on the hill.  The sugar shack at nearby the Spring Brook Farm was unimpressive, but the birch groves are always interesting and I came across some adorably friendly calves grazing on an upper pasture.

Spring Brook Farm, Reading, Vt

Who says Black & White
Doesn't Work in Autumn?
Reading, Vt

Through Birches, Reading, Vt

Cloudland Road

Cloudland Beckons, Pomfret, Vt

"Perfect" Barn
Sleepy Hollow Farm, Pomfret, Vt

My Ride into Woodstock included a stop at the South Woodstock General Store. This is a classic New England store with a
wonderful collection of traditional necessities, including my two favorites, good coffee and a clean bathroom. Happily now the store is also stocked with a supply of my calendars, so stop by. Woodstock is a lovely town, but way too touristy for me, even on a Monday. As I often do, I shot through the village and north up Cloudland Road. This road is justly famous for its collection of lovely farms and highland pastures. Of course the road is most known for Sleep Hollow, a carefully coifed "farm" which although arranged perfectly for photographers, bares no obvious

Pasture Flame, Pomfret, Vt

resemblance to an actual New England farm. Sleepy Hollow was once owned by Aerosmith's guitarist Joe Perry, and I do feel sorry for the current owners. Imagine having hordes of strangers with long telephoto lens photographing your house on a daily basis. Feeling sympathy, I respectfully took my 30 or 40 pictures and then moved on. Happily Cloudland is home to a number far more authentic farming establishments and by the time the road joins Pomfret Road your can count on being thoroughly saturated with rural New England color.

 

Climbers
Cloudland Road, Pomfret, Vt

Enveloped, Pomfret, Vt

I worked my way a bit further north then across to Hartford Vermont and eventually back home on Route 91. The fall color was definitely filling in as I traveled north above Woodstock and, again, I think it will be lovely by this coming weekend. Back home I am seeing the reds and golds build almost hourly. It is a great time to live in New England and Alaska will just have to wait.






Jeffrey Newcomer
Partridgebrookreflections.com