Fall Foliage in Northern Vermont: A Photographer’s Dream
September 16, 2020 by DAVID LONG
As a professional photographer for more than 10 years and a New England resident for more than 35, I am blessed with many different options for nearby landscapes to shoot—from mountains and farmland, to coastal and cityscape. All of these venues have great choices for photography backdrops, especially when the trees start to change color. But there’s nothing like shooting New England’s world-famous fall foliage in the mountains. And of all places in New England, northern Vermont is my first choice to shoot landscapes.
There are a variety of deciduous trees dominated by sugar maples, American beech and red oak, and many produce a pigment known as Anthocyanin that results in brilliant reds and purples. The right temperature, rainfall zone and altitude changes produce the most brilliant colors. There’s ample amount of forested land and plenty of natural beauty to blend in with the fall foliage including mountain passes, waterfalls, ponds and lakes. The Green Mountains provide scenic overlooks into farms, villages, lakes and ponds that are just the right height to make for great landscape shots. You’ll find perfect complementary elements including red barns, white churches, covered bridges and iconic farms.
For these reasons, and more, my favorite place in northern Vermont is the town of Stowe, which has a variety of elevation changes for superior views as well as other natural landscape features such as mountains, lakes, ponds and streams. Along with excellent accommodations and restaurant choices in the area, Stowe, Vermont is also a great springboard for shooting other locations in northeastern and central Vermont, including nearby Waterbury and the Mad River Valley, that you can tour for the day and capture a large variety of locations in one fell swoop.
If photography is a passion or you simply want to capture the perfect photos of your trip, check out my blog on Tips for Shooting Fall Foliage in Stowe, Vermont. If you’re really into photographing across New England, find the full guide to the region on my website, www.davelongphoto.com.
About the author:
David Long lives in Shrewsbury, MA and speaks at camera clubs throughout New England on different subjects in landscape photography. He has taught landscape photography throughout New England for the last ten years, and has published eight e-books (available on his website) for self-guided tours of New England. Follow him on Instagram at @davidlong3653.