Charlotte VT

During my trip to VT last month, we spent one day over in Western VT. I typically spend most of my time in The Northeast and Central areas of the State. In fact, I have only been out West in the Champlain Valley on one other occasion.

I met up with my good friend BM (who lives in that area) and her adorable son. After a wonderful lunch, BM took us around to show us some of her favorite places in the area.

This is a beautiful barn that we stopped to photograph that is located on Pringle Road in Charlotte. I loved the Spring "feel" to this.

Here is The Seguin Bridge, also located in the town of Charlotte.

The best part of this bridge to me, is that there is a working mailbox in the bridge, where somebody actually gets their daily mail delivered. I LOVE the whole simple country life feel of this little mailbox. To me, it's like a step back in time to simpler days........and one of the many reasons that I love Vermont so much.

We stopped to photograph this gorgeous field of Spring flowering trees.

And some horses.

We then made our way over to The Charlotte Town Beach. This is a simple covered bridge on the road where the beach begins.

BM and her son checking out the view at the beach. The mountains across the water (which is Lake Champlain by the way) are the Adirondack Mountains in New York State......better known as

"The Dacks" by the locals.

A Panorama image I made stitching 10 single images together of the beach.

It was such a fun day, and I'm planning on spending more time exploring the Champlain Valley during future visits to VT.

Wordless Wednesday

Northfield VT and Shadow Pond Woodbury VT

Today's blog post is back to the Vermont photos. After we photographed the church in Northfield, we headed up to Turkey Hill Road. There was a thunderstorm forming off in the distance, and I was lucky enough to find a dramatic sky to photograph at the top of the road looking West.

We heard the rumbling of thunder and decided to head back home to Barton. We were fortunate to just miss a severe thunderstorm that went through the area where we were heading. The storm had passed and the sun was coming out and there was fog forming in the low lying areas. We pulled into Shadow Pond in Woodbury, with the hope that there would be some fog across the water. 

There was.

I love when Mother Nature does her thing and I am there to capture it with my camera. Makes me happy!

Motif Number one Day, Rockport MA

Rockport MA is a beautiful seaside town located 40 miles Northeast of Boston. There is a lot of history in this town, and today it is known for it's beautiful rocky coastline and beaches, and for it's lobster fishing and local artists.

Mr S and I recently spent a wonderful day in Rockport at the Motif # 1 festival. Mr S has a cousin who resides in Rockport with his family, and we had a fantastic day with extended family visiting this quaint seaside town.

The main attraction here is Motif number one, which is the replica of a former fishing shack that was destroyed during the blizzard of '78. The shack has become a favorite subject for artists and photographers due to the lighting of it's location and it's symbol of New England maritime life. 

The artist colony was recognized on this day with a display of some of the local artist's work.

Another attraction of the downtown area is Bearskin Neck, which is a quaint area of old fisherman and lobstermen shacks that have been turned into shops, galleries, and restaurants.

We were treated with a visit of this Mama Mallard with her babies.

Later in the day, we stopped to have drinks and a bite to eat at Roy Moore's Fish Shack

The sun set while we were having dinner, and I was excited to go back out and revisit the area in the beautiful twilight.

It was a perfect day!

United Church of Northfield VT and shout out to John Knox

Aahhhhh.....Spring in Vermont is such a a beautiful time of the year. I have always been attracted to the white steepled churches of New England. During my recent trip to Northfield VT, I stopped to photograph the beautiful flowering trees at the United Church, which is located on S Main Street . I would like to mention that a fellow photographer named John Knox. https://www.facebook.com/Vermont-Four-Seasons-Photography-831963433531459/who I got to know through a mutual friend (Andy Richards) http://www.lightcentricphotography.com/ and I also got to know him through a mutual web page that we both post on.......http://www.capturemyvermont.com/dash/top-photos ........I hope you are still with me here with all of these links.......but my point that I'm trying to make here (don't know if I'm succeeding)  is that John Knox lives in the Northfield VT area and he has inspired me in so many ways with his photography. He has shot this church in almost every season and his work has inspired me to make my own images here! Thank you to John.

The Covered Bridges of Northfield Vermont

I have photographed the covered bridges in Northfield VT during the Fall, and recently visited this area to do some Spring Photography. There are 5 covered bridges in this area, and it's a wonderful place to explore with your camera.

The Station Covered Bridge:

The Lower Bridge. I was happy to be able to include the horses in these photos which I think adds such a wonderful "Vermont" feel to the images.

The Upper Bridge. In the past I have composed my shots of this bridge by shooting through the bridge towards the red house. This time I composed my shots differently and am happy with the results.

Just around the corner from these three bridges you can find the Slaughterhouse Bridge. I focused on the lilac bush up the hill from the bridge to add a Spring feel to the image.

More photos from the Northfield area will be featured in future blog posts.

Big Falls, Troy VT

Big Falls is a large falls located in a wooded area in Troy VT. It is located off River Road. There is a large turnout along the side of the road where you can park your vehicle. We first headed to the lower part of the falls. I don't have photos to show from this area because I would have been shooting directly into the bright mid day sun. We then scrambled up some rocks and I positioned myself to get this view

We knew there had to be a higher perspective, so we headed back up to the parking area and went up the hill where we landed on a large granite slab with an 80 foot drop. Not sure if I ever mentioned it here on the blog, but I have a big fear of heights.

And this was high.

But for the sake of my photography, I sucked it up, positioned my tripod as close to the edge as my fear would allow, took a few shots, and said "I'm outa here."

Now, my friend Wayne who was accompanying me got better shots than I because he was closer to the edge on the right of the granite that we were standing on. In his shots you can actually see the water landing after it cascades through this gorge.

Wayne is braver than me........

But that's ok!!! I conquered my fear.

Briefly. :-)

Jobs Pond Westmore VT

A different take on Jobs Pond. Through the years, I have written several different blog posts featuring Jobs Pond. Those posts all featured images of Jobs Pond in the Fall. This is the first post......as well as the first time that I have ever visited this gem of a pond......in the Spring.

We arrived late afternoon about an hour before sunset.

Such a pretty little spot, no matter what the season.

Jeudevine Falls, Hardwick VT

On my recent visit to the NEK of VT, my friends and I stopped to photograph Jeudevine Falls in Hardwick. This is a privately owned waterfall that is easily accessible. There is a five dollar fee to visit the property. Just put your money in the box that is located in the little covered bridge after parking. This location is also available to rent for weddings or private functions, and can accommodate up to 200 people.

It's a beautiful waterfall....

A side view with some ferns and fiddle heads growing in the forefront.

Three Fiddle heads

A branch of green leaves growing alongside the falls

The grounds are meticulously maintained with many flowering shrubs and flowers.

We had a nice conversation with the owner who told us this October he is going to be closing the Property to visitors and putting it up for sale. He has put his heart and soul into maintaining the property and it's getting to be too much for him to handle. He tried to get the State of Vermont to purchase this magnificent waterfall, and the land and trails that go with it, to be preserved.....but the State will not purchase it. Such a shame, as this is one of the best waterfalls in the State of Vermont.