Autumn Revisited

The Color is Gone, But not Forgotten
Mine Ledge, Hinsdale, NH

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!

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

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

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.

 

Autumn Boil, Chester, VT

 

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.  

 

Marshall Point Light, Port Clyde, Maine

  



 

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

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.

 

Doanes Falls, Royalston, Ma.

Embrace the Clouds

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

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

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

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.

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.

Bald Mountain, Camden Maine

Photographing all of the New England Autumn

Keene Pumpkin Festival 2012, Disappearing Crowd, Long Exposure

 Don't Let the Leaves Get in the Way

Beginning in mid September through the early portions of November the New England climate goes through its most rapid transformation. It is our brief Mardi Gras before the long dark Lent of winter hibernation. The air becomes cool and crisp with cold nights often contrasting with surprising warm and sunny days still clinging to summer. The whole effect is to make us more aware and appreciative of our changing environment. New Englanders get

Forest Harvest

uncomfortable if the weather stays perfect for too long. It is the contrasts that keep us bright and energized. We are always excited about the first chilly nights that gives us an excuse to fire up the wood stove in the kitchen. For photographers, autumn in New England is a time of breathless pursuit of the spectacular colors that burn across our hills and valleys. It all goes so quickly that I find myself feeling guilty if I miss a moment of the amazing show, but the New England Autumn is about much more than the crazy brilliance of our trees. Visitors and natives alike miss most of the best features of the New England autumn by focusing only on the foliage. The season is also defined by the activities that are unique to our harvest time, the sounds and smells as well as the sites of this dramatic, fleeting time of climatic transition. Most of all, the fall is a time to enjoy the people of New England. We are often a quiet, guarded lot, but something about the nip in the air, and the impending winter, can bring out personal interactions that are, almost, cordial.

As photographers, it is our challenge to somehow capture all of this remarkable season into our visual medium. Let me suggest a few places to look for the a broader sense of the New England Autumn. 

Take a Hike

New Trail from Chesterfield to Keene, NH

First get out of your car and experience the trees on a personal level. You can even hung a Sugar Maple, if no one is looking. As the morning frosts sweep the pesky summer insects from the air, hikes in the forest become much more relaxed and enjoyable. It is the best time of the year to explore and photograph our trails. From within the forest the photographic perspective is much more about individual trees or small clusters, a viewpoint that I find much more interesting than when the color is smeared across broad hillsides. Also, the leaf covered trails provide strong compositional elements to draw the eye into the scenes. It is easy to find trail information and maps on the Internet or you can ask for suggestions at the ubiquitous local General Stores. If you are in my town of Chesterfield, New Hampshire, you can come to our Conservation Commission web site to the discover the mile of trails that we struggle to maintain. When you have finished your hike you will be ready for the next attraction, food. 

 Eat

Petes Stand, Walpole, NH

Autumn is also harvest time in New England and the many festivals, farmer's markets and road-side farm stands provide great photographic opportunities as well as wonderful produce. I often take advantage of overcast days to capture the varied colors and patterns found in the markets of our area. Soft diffused illumination allows the colors of the fruits and vegetables to shine through, without being washed away by bright reflected light. I look for interesting arrangements of produce to place in the foreground while guarding against distracting background elements. My fast macro lens is especially helpful to keep the background muted in a soft bokeh, while focusing in on the interesting detail. The attraction of farmer's markets is as much about the people as the produce. These folks are justifiably proud of what they have drawn from the earth and it shows in their faces. Some of my favorite market photographs are those that highlight the character and strength of local farmers. 




Maple Death

Nila's Pride

Dozens of Chutney Flavors

Harvest Festivals

Morning Glow, No People!

Of all the regional harvest festivals, none can compare to the Annual Pumpkin Festival in Keene, New Hampshire. The attraction of the Festival is not just the incredible number of lit pumpkins (29,381 last weekend), but it is all those Pumpkins in a perfectly classic New England setting. The combination makes our festival a uniquely wonderful
 harvest celebration. The crowds can be daunting, but there is nothing to compare with an entire New England Main Street smelling like Pumpkin Pie. To avoid the mobs I always go downtown early in

Scaffold at Dusk

 the morning. There is almost no one there between seven and eight AM and, although the candles are not lit, the Pumpkins are often illuminated by the warm morning sun. The best time to capture the massive
Central Square Pumpkin Scaffold is at dusk when there is still a hint of light to provide a deep blue background to the complimentary orange and gold. The trick is to avoid the crowd by getting your camera as high as it will go on the tripod, while monitoring the distracted multitude as they attempt to stumble over the tripod legs. The scaffold is impressive, but don't miss shots of individual Pumpkins or small groups. Given the mass of people in the evening, you could wait for hours to get a clear shot at an attractive composition, but the crowd can be reduced by taking long exposures making passersby magically disappear. 

As October draws to a close and the last leaves surrender to the inevitable, we photographers get to extend the season as we work our way through the piles of autumn images waiting to be processed. The color was good this year, but I find that it is the other attractions of harvest time in New England, the soft light, the rich smells and the wonderful people, that linger to warm the long dark winter.