It was a glorious nine days in October, 2021. Great foliage seemed to coincide with wonderful weather — unusually warm days, mostly sunny, some very nice fog to add atmospherics to photos, and, at times, dramatic clouds against a blue sky. What more could a photographer wish for.
Well, it could have snowed on Mount Washington during peak foliage as it did in the photo below taken October 5, 2019.
Here are nine days of October, 2021, in chronological order 🙂 .
October 7
Welch-Dickey Loop
Three of us drove in the dark through heavy fog and started our climb up Mount Welch in Thornton, NH shortly before 7 AM. Light was low, but by the time we reached the first lookout a bit before 8 AM, the sun was shining brightly.
The foliage was glorious. I could not resist using brilliant red leaves to frame Mount Kearsarge and Ragged Mountain in the distance. From the Upper Valley area we see Ragged to the left of Kearsarge. From Welch it is to the right.
Heading up Mount Welch, we looked to the southwest at the fantastic shoulder of Dickey that we would transverse in around 90 minutes. The mountain at the top right of this photo is Moosilauke, the 4000 footer nearest the Upper Valley.
We reached the summit of Welch. As we headed down into the valley separating Welch from Dickey, the view below to the NE into Waterville Valley opened up for us.
Near the summit of Mount Dickey we got a rare view of the peaks in Franconia Notch: Cannon on the left and Mount Liberty and Mount Lafayette on the right. To the left of Cannon is the first of the Cannon Balls, the Northeast Cannon Ball.
Heading down I took a pair of photos to illustrate something that is very hard to do with a phone camera — use a polarizing filter. The first photo below was taken without a polarizer (actually with it in the “off” position), while the second was taken with the polarizer rotated to the maximum effect. The polarizer darkens the sky, lightens the foreground, and saturates the colors.
Descending the dramatic SW shoulder of Dickey, I took this photo.
October 8
Hanover, Canaan, and Dorchester
The day started out foggy in the valley below our house. So I stayed high, hoping to keep just above the fog. Below is a now-abandoned beaver lodge on Moose Mountain. The pond was barely above the fog.
Moose Mountain can be seen in the background of the photo below from Etna.
Driving home the day before, we saw great foliage along Route 118 in Dorchester and Canaan. But I was the only serious photographer in the car, so it did not seem right to stop. So the next morning I headed back to Canaan and Dorchester. Here are two photos of Canaan Street Lake taken from almost the same spot.
Also from Canaan I got a photo of Firescrew (L) and Cardigan (R), both of which are in Orange, NH.
I met the very friendly owner of the Merrill Brook Farm in Dorchester and took these three photos of his “front yard”.
I remembered a favorite photo I took of a wonderful hillside in bright colors back in the slide film days. It was still a beautiful spot but the trees had grown and somewhat shielded the hillside.
A final photo from a back road in Dorchester helps to show what a nice day it was.
October 9
Hanover
Perhaps tired from two busy days, I stayed near home this day. Here are three photos I took during a walk with Jann in Etna.
October 10
Sugar Hill, Franconia, Landaff, and Lebanon
I headed to Sugar Hill early and stopped at one of my favorite spots for views of the White Mountains. The photo below shows (left to right) the Presidentials, Lafayette and Lincoln, and Cannon Mountain.
From just on the other side of the stone wall I took this photo of Lafayette and Lincoln on the left and Cannon Mountain on the right. The summit of Cannon is in the clouds. Franconia Notch is in the valley in the center of the photo.
Turning 90 degrees left and zooming in gives this view of the Presidentials from the same spot. Left-to-right the peaks are Adams (behind the bare tree branches), Jefferson, Clay, Washington, and Monroe (at the edge of the photo). All are over 5,000 feet.
Well before 9 AM, Polly’s Pancake Parlor was packed. This was Sunday morning, but I suspect it is quite busy the whole of the foliage season. If you have never eaten there, it is highly recommended. And the view from Polly’s is fantastic.
The photo on the right was taken from just across Route 117 from Polly’s. It shows Lafayette and Cannon.
Below are two more from Polly’s.
I drove through a piece of Franconia to get to a favorite pond that is actually in Sugar Hill. Here are three photo of it. The first has three Canada Geese swimming in the reflections.
From other spots in Sugar Hill I took the photos below.
There is a very old Stone Iron Furnace in Franconia, right on Main Street. Here is a view of it across the Gale River.
Heading down Route 116, I stopped at the Franconia Airport and made an eleven-photo panorama with Cannon Mountain in the center. The bottom edge of the photo is the airport runway. No TSA there.
A glorious tree near a red barn caught my eye.
Along a road I discovered a few years ago while retuning from a hike in the Whites, I took two photos from spots very near each other.
Drifting home I found this spot on Chandler Pond in Landaff. Driving through Landaff can be very confusing.
That afternoon Jann and I hiked the rail trail in Lebanon. The photo below shows a young woman sitting by the Mascoma River.
October 11
Hanover and Lyme
When I teach basic photography I suggest photos can often benefit from a focal point where the eye goes quickly. And it is normally best to keep it out of the dead center of the photo. Here are examples from Etna and Lyme.
Another photo concept that tends to help produce pleasing photos is the use of lines. Curved lines, especially S-curves can be very powerful. Here are two examples from Lyme.
Below is an example from Lyme of using the foreground to frame the background.
Even if the foreground does not frame the subject, having a foreground, middle ground, and background in a photo helps the sense of depth. It makes a two-dimensional photo seem more three dimensional.
October 12
Hanover, NH and Norwich, Sharon, Pomfret, Woodstock, Reading, and West Windsor, VT
The first two hours of this day I mostly photographed the fog rather than the foliage. Here are some of the photos with the town in the titles.
From Pomfret, I took this photo of fog in the valley below.
Also in Pomfret, this cow was very interested in me. So much so it climbed over the fence and wandered down the road. I watched the farmer and his wife herd it back and later regretted I had not taken photos of the operation.
I found four vehicles and many people parked in front of the Sleepy Hollow Farm. However, it could not be seen due to the fog. I think they had a long wait.
In Woodstock the leaves on the ground formed a nice foreground for a line of trees.
As I did during most of these nine days, I was wandering without a plan.
Since I was in the neighborhood, I stopped at the Jenne Farm. The parking area was almost full. I think I had the only in-state license plate, and even that was a fudge since mine is NH.
I did not plan to take photos from the hillside to the south of the road. Good thing. The hillside was fenced off and “Keep Off The Grass” signs had been added since my last visit some years ago.
Often when visiting “icons” I like to take the photos that other people do not take. In fact I published a Blog on “Icons Next Door”.
I did take an almost-normal photo of the Jenne Farm but included a photographer in it.
Below are two photos from the Jenne parking area that I suspect few others took.
I headed to a favorite area in Reading not far from the Jenne Farm. From there I took a distant photo of Mount Ascutney framed by trees.
I found a small pond to photograph in Reading.
Heading toward West Windsor, I took two more photos from Reading with Mount Ascutney in the background.
A final photo from Reading of a very nice spot.
In West Windsor I used tree branches to frame a now-abandoned farm.
Here is the “dooryard” of that farm.
October 13
Enfield, Grafton, Danbury, and New London
Early fog this day. I wandered around to some favorite spots while trying to find new scenes. First stop was Crystal Lake in Enfield.
Then two views of George Pond.
The swamp maples had lost their red leaves of early autumn, but that color was replaced by the intense red of winterberries and the early light on the hills of the Enfield Wildlife Management Area.
There was still some fog around.
In Grafton I again photographed Kilton Pond, as I had previous years.
But I was more excited to find a nice spot along the Smith River that I had never visited before.
Danbury Bog always seems to be a nice spot and a great paddle with a kayak. This day I left my kayak at home.
I took a distant view of the Herrick’s Cove Lighthouse on Lake Sunapee in New London framed by some bright red leaves.
Still wandering in New London, I photographed Saint Andrew’s Church before heading home for lunch.
October 14
Enfield, Grantham, Newport, Lempster, Marlow, Stoddard, Antrim, Newbury, and Hanover
Enfield goes out if its way to help flatlander tourists find the foliage. Here is one example.
In Enfield I photographed an old house backlit in the very early morning fog. Not sure why it was built on a rock.
My quasi-plan for the day was to head south along Route 10 and, at some point, loop east or west before heading back north toward home.
In Grantham I took these three photos.
In Newport, the Corbin Bridge is a favorite.
But I liked the carpet of colorful leaves below a runway of the Parlin Airport. No TSA there either.
A “nothing” wetland in Lempster was interesting because of how the shadow mirrored the tree tops.
I had never photographed Stone Pond in Marlow before, but I found it quite nice.
The white buildings of Marlow across Village Pond are classics, almost icons. I was fortunate the clouds were dramatic. I even found a new, to me, spot to photograph from.
From Marlow I had to decide to head either east or west on Route 132. I chose east and was glad I did.
The mostly privately-owned Cold Spring Pond in Stoddard was very nice.
Highland Lake in Stoddard had some very colorful trees.
From there I knew I would reach Route 9 and then the Double Stone Arch Bridge.
But when I got there I discovered a beautiful area downstream that I had never visited before. I suspect most miss this area, as I had in the past, focusing instead on the bridge.
Three photos of this area across Route 9 are shown below. This is the North Branch of the Contoocook River, also known simply as the North Branch River.
Below are two views of the Double Stone Arch Bridge.
I stopped briefly in Antrin to photograph some rapids in the North Branch River.
I headed home, late for lunch. But when I passed through Newbury and saw color in the wetlands, I had to stop briefly. Here are two of the photos I took. The first is actually an eleven-photo panorama.
That afternoon, Jann and I hiked in Etna, and I took a few photos, of course.
October 15
Enfield, Wilmot, Andover, and Hanover
On the last of these nine beautiful days, before a cold front would arrive, I decided to head southeast. But for some reason I first visited Crystal Lake again. There I took these two photos.
When I stopped at a favorite spot in Wilmot, a chipmunk visited me. I actually saw three or four along the stone wall, or maybe it was the same one teasing me.
The morning light to the right of Bog Mountain was dramatic.
The folks with the great views seen below had put white pumpkins along their stone wall.
The photo below is a nice example of leading lines in photographs. The white fence, the pumpkins on the stone wall, and the road all lead the viewer’s eyes to the barn in the back.
Here are two more photos from this spot.
Heading north in Wilmot I photographed this wetland.
Nearby were some colorful leaves. The photo might have been better is I moved the stray leaf at the lower left away, but I chose not to. These are poison ivy leaves.
Wandering around, I photographed a stream below Piper Pond.
And a piece of White Pond.
And a pair of horses in a very open field.
Below are four more photos from North Wilmot.
In Andover I visited Bradley Lake, Hopkins Pond, and Highland Lake. Here are photos from Andover.
Near home in Etna I photographed Moose Mountain below some beautiful clouds.
I finished an amazing nine days of beautiful weather and colorful foliage with a walk with Jann in Etna, where else. Here are four of the photos I took as we walked.
If you missed my “First Two Weeks of Autumn” Blog, you can see it if you CLICK HERE.