Northeast Kingdom of Vermont Fall Foliage 2021 Day 2

 Day 2 was more of the same as day one weather wise. We started our day and headed out around 6:45 AM. We knew there would not be a sunrise shoot, as it was forecasted for clouds, fog, and showers.

Our first stop of the morning was to check out the foliage conditions at Bald Hill Pond in Newark. This whole morning was more or less a scouting trip because of the weather conditions. As expected, Bald Hill Pond was socked in with fog, there were very little reflections in the water, but the good news was the rain briefly stopped for the time we were there.

You couldn't even see the top of the mountain, but I used my telephoto lens and shot this scene of the hillside. I liked the way the fog was dancing around.

From here, we went up the road to Job's Pond, but there was so much fog we couldn't even see across the pond, and by this time it was raining again, so we never got out of the car and just kept going. We revisited this pond another day and photos from here will be shared on another post.

Our next stop was to Island Pond. I wanted to scout a road that I saw on the map to try to photograph the three steepled churches and the village. I think this road might be good spot to shoot from on a nice day with no winds. I believe there could be a decent reflection shot from this location. This is all I got on this day using the telephoto lens,  but will return to this spot on my next trip up North,

From here, we headed towards Morgan on Rte 114. We stopped at the railroad trestle in Island Pond which runs over the Pherrins River. We got lucky as the rain let up for this stop as well as our next stop.

There are some wetland/swampy areas along Rte 114 that I knew would be beautiful with the peak fall colors. I tried to keep my sky out of the shots, as it had no detail.

If you use your imagination, you may see what I saw in the shape of the water here. It reminded me of a heart. I took that as a good sign. :-)

Beautiful peak fall colors on the hillsides. It doesn't get much better than this!

And then it began to rain again. This time the rain was heavier and steadier. We decided to head back to the house for the rest of the day. We relaxed and enjoyed good company with good friends.

Day 3 will be featured next. And by now, you may not be surprised by the way it started. :-)

Fall Foliage Northeast Kingdom of VT 2021 Day 1

 Oh, where to begin? I have spent 9 total days photographing the Fall Foliage in Vermont. Seven days last week, and did two weekday daytrips this week and have loved every minute of it.

I guess I'll begin my blog posts in chronological order and start with day one. So here we go.......

First day of the seven day trip was on Saturday October 2nd. When we arrived up in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont it was overcast, some fog, light rain and drizzle. Speaking of fog, you will note through upcoming blog posts that fog was a theme several days this week.

We drove up from MA and got off Rte 91 in Lyndon. I wanted to explore some of the backroads that go into the highlands in this area. Here is what we found on that day:

The entire area was peak/near peak and the colors looked good. Really really good! We knew we were in for a treat for the rest of the week. More blog posts will be coming each day from this trip so stay tuned.

Happy Fall 2021/Words For Wednesday

 I'm so glad that I live in a world where there are Octobers."

----------------- LM Montgomery

Happy Fall to all of you. It's difficult for me to pick a favorite Fall photo that I have taken. There are probably over 1,000 of them. It's like asking to pick a favorite child. It's just impossible to do.

This photo that I chose to post today, on the Autumnal Equinox, was taken in 2016. I have only witnessed such vibrant reds on one or two other years. I was brought to tears by the beauty of the colors on this particular day, and no, I'm not the least bit ashamed to admit that fact. 

I've had a lot of adversity that I've faced this past year. Some I've shared on the blog, others I haven't. 

I'm fully vaccinated for Covid 19. Despite that, I have had a breakthrough case and have gotten very sick. I have not had to be hospitalized......only because I am fully vaccinated. It would be a totally different story if I were not and I thank God every day for leading our brilliant Scientists to help us fight this deadly virus. 

I'm not fully recovered but I feel so much better. A follow up chest x ray has revealed I now have Walking Pneumonia. I'll take it. I'm taking my meds. I will recover. I will not let it stop me from going to Vermont. It's "walking" pneumonia. I will not run, I will not hike, I will not exert myself, but I am damn well going to photograph the beauty of Fall in Vermont. Oh, and I still have more time to recover before I go :-)

Words For Wednesday 9/15/2021

 

"Yeah we all shine one. Like the moon and the stars and the sun."

-------- John Lennon

Macro Flowers Fun With Dhalias

 I've recently been taking some macro shots with the Tamron 90 mm macro lens. I've had this lens for a few years and have never really gotten the shots that I've been wanting. I recently had a tutorial visit with my good friend and very talented photographer Rosemary, and she has really helped me to improve my macro work using a variety of beautifully fresh picked Dahlias.

I learned that the secret was to manually focus the shots. 

Here's the first macro water shot that I nailed. I'm not ashamed to say I think I actually squealed out loud when I saw it on the back of my camera. :-) I love the reflection in the water drop.

A few more shots:

Boston Harbor Fireworks Labor Day Weekend 2021

 Hi all. Sorry for my absence here on the blog. Things are well and I hope all is well with you. I have some posts to catch up on writing. Today's post highlights a few pictures I took on Friday night of the Labor Day Weekend fireworks display over Boston Harbor. It was a glorious evening weather wise. We chose to photograph from the walkway behind the Hyatt Regency Hotel. It wasn't the best location to shoot from as the barge which loaded the fireworks was "parked" a little further down the harbor as usual. If it had been docked further to the left of our location it would have provided a better view of the Boston skyline. Not complaining though!

I hope you have been enjoying your Summer as Fall is slowly approaching. I'm starting to get my Fall photography mojo going and am having a fun time planning a 6 day Fall photography trip to VT and also making a mental note of some possible New England foliage day trips. It's always exciting during these early days of September, as we anticipate what kind of a show Mother Nature will provide this year, and also when will it happen! Should be starting way up North in the next three to four weeks.

Words For Wednesday 8/18/21

 

Sunflowers always end up facing the sun, but they go through a lot of dirt to find their way there."

-------JR Rim