Late Autumn started with foliage and ended with snow. Sandwiched between were some very colorful sunrises and sunsets, valley fog, a Hunter’s Moon, the Turkey Trot in Norwich, an amazing exhibit of tiny creations at the SVAC, two visits by a barred owl, and night scenes in three towns. This blog covers October 22st to November 6th.
Late Foliage
In late October, Jann and I walked the Elm/Hopson loop in Norwich and found that some colorful foliage persisted, especially near Blood Brook.
Across the river near Occom Pond in Hanover, some leaves had nice color well into November.
I photographed the same scene on the old golf course October 22nd and November 10th.
Near home in Etna, in the tiny informal “Byrne Park”, I took this pair of photos to illustrate perspective. You can only change perspective — the size relationship of objects in photos — if you move your feet while changing the focal length of your lens. Note the size of the cairn in the background relative to the chairs. I had to move 10 yards or more closer to the chairs when taking the second photo.
Below are more foliage photos from Etna.
Three photos from Lebanon from late October, late November, and early December.
A trio from Enfield mid- to late-November in early morning light.
Finally two from Canaan late October with Mount Cardigan in the background across Canaan Street Lake in the first photo.
Night
This is a great time of year to experiment with night photography since night comes early and stays late.
Night photos of cities are best when there is still color in the sky. There is only a short window for the best time — between when the lights first come on and when the sky gets black. Or, at the other end of night, when some lights are still on but the sky is not yet too light.
Below are a dozen night photos from Lebanon. Three were taken in the early morning. I like the clever 03766 bike rack.
Hanover at night might be better now that the tree is up. But I went mid-November.
One from Enfield completes this set, although a few night photos are found in the “Creations” section below.
The Wee Worlds Of Salley Mavor
The Wee Worlds Of Salley Mavor is on display at the Southern Vermont Art Center through January 7. I don’t normally go the art exhibits, but I went with Jann and a friend to this one and thoroughly enjoyed it. Highly recommended. And Manchester, VT is an interesting place to visit.
Salley Mavor has spent four decades creating miniature worlds full of characters, props and scenery, with stitching, fabric, beads, wire, and found objects. I took photos with my phone and a larger camera. These were all with my phone since it has a great macro capability. The figures are 1-3 inches tall. Most of their caps are from acorn caps.
Here is one of the walls of her tiny people.
Turkey Trot
Jann and I spent many enjoyable minutes watching the trotters at the 15th Annual Norwich Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. Not really a race but a friendly social event to support the Upper Valley Haven.
I think action photos often show motion better when taken with a slow shutter speed to blur the motion rather than at a fast speed to freeze it. Here are a dozen blurry photos of the joggers.
Birds
No warblers this time. No real rarities, unless you count the Pine Siskin I found in Enfield feasting on wild grapes. In the first photo below, you can see the bird picked the fruit out of the grape leaving the skin behind. And, in the second photo, a trace of color on its beak.
The real joy was two visits by a Barred Owl.
The first time we saw this owl was December 2nd. I was on the deck at the BBQ grill in the dark with some yard lights on. I thought I saw something in the trees but couldn’t tell what it was. Perhaps it might be an owl, but I didn’t know until I grabbed a camera and took a photo. Digital cameras are great because they can amplify light that one can barely see.
The owl certainly knew I was there but seemed completely unbothered by my presence. It would occasionally look straight down. After more than 5 minutes it dropped down into the bushes below from where it was sitting. I then lost sight of it until I got a quick glimpse of it leaving the area. I hope it got something to eat.
The daylight version was lucky. Through a window I happened to see it fly into a nearby tree. It landed in a tangle of branches. I could barely see its face.
After a minute or two it flew a short distance to a spot where I could get a nice clear shot. It was obviously a well-behaved owl. It stayed there for a few minutes and then flew away.
Other birds I happened to photograph included…
White-throated Sparrow in Enfield.
Eastern Bluebirds in Etna and Lebanon.
Mockingbird in Norwich.
Cardinal in Lyme.
Song Sparrow, also in Lyme.
Mallards on Lake Mascoma.
Also on Lake Mascoma, but with terrible light, I found a group of somewhat uncommon Common Goldeneyes in mid-November. Earlier this year I photographed a pair of Common Goldeneyes mating, also in poor light.
Hooded Mergansers were nicely reflected in the Connecticut River along Kendal Station Road in Norwich.
We found a large flock of American Tree Sparrows in Norwich.
Dark-eyed Juncos in Enfield and Etna.
American Goldfinch in Etna.
White-breasted Nuthatch in Etna.
Black-capped Chickadees in Etna.
Tufted Titmice in Etna.
Sunrise, Sunset
It was a good two months for sunrises and sunsets. I missed some, waited in vain for others to develop, but also captured some nice ones. Since these events cannot be reliably predicted, I rarely drive far to try to capture them. Here are 28 photos from Lebanon, Grafton, Enfield, and Etna.
Leaves
It takes little skill to photograph a leaf laying on the road. But that does not detract from their late Autumn appeal. I have included in this collection a squashed pine cone and the impressions of leaves departed from a muddy road.
Fog
Fog and mist can be nice atmospherics in photos. Fog obscures details and lets the viewer concentrate on the shapes and patterns in the scene.
Along Goose Pond Road in Canaan, these two photos look both directions along the Goose Pond Brook near one entrance to the Bear Pond Nature Area.
Father north, this is the small boat launch for Little Goose Pond.
That same day I drove up Sawyer Hill to get a view of the early fog over Goose Pond.
In Lebanon along the Mascoma River, early mist was backlit.
Driving home along Trescott Road, I stopped to take a quick photo of the hills above Etna village with my phone.
Canada Geese glided by at dawn on Lake Mascoma with fog playing in the hills beyond.
Early fog on Lake Mascoma from the Shaker bridge.
Jann and I walked Kendal Station and Old Bridge Roads after picking up a quilt in Norwich. There was a bit of fog still on the Connecticut River. In the center of this photo you might be able to see a line of ducks.
The mallards surprisingly swam toward us, and I took a photo when they were closer.
The fog was nice over the Pompy.
It was a foggy morning when we walked around Occom Pond in Hanover.
Sun and Moon
The sun and moon make interesting subjects.
This sun pillar over Vermont got lost in the clouds below so its lower part ended abruptly.
Clouds can cause Crepuscular rays (also called sun rays and sunbeams). Here is a weak example of the rays with a strong example of sunset color from October 27.
When the sun peaks around an object, the lens aperture is small, and the focal length is on the wide end, nice sun stars can be created by diffraction — the bending of light as it passes the edges of the lens diaphragm.
At the Southern Vermont Art Center, I created a sun star behind this sculpture.
Some other examples are found in earlier parts of this blog, but here are two more from Canaan and Etna.
I photographed the Hunter’s Moon rising the evening of October 28. Here are three photos. The lake is Mascoma and the mountain is Cardigan.
Here is the moon at 4:00 AM that morning.
The bright “star” in the east early in the morning this time of year is Venus. In fact, a common name for this planet is the “Morning Star” although that name also applies to Sirius, a real star. Venus is bright because its thick clouds reflect most of the sunlight that reaches it and because it is the closest planet to Earth. Here is Venus above the moon just before 6 AM November 10.
Mountain Views from the Upper Valley
Moose, Cardigan, Ascutney, Killington, Ludlow, and Moosilauke are some of the peaks that can be seen from various places in the Upper Valley. It is fun finding new viewpoints. If you wish to learn about the location where I took any of these photos, just send me an email. Only three of these photos were taken from private property.
Mount Ascutney is one of the favorites to view from the UV. It is a monadnock — an isolated small mountain that rises abruptly from a surrounding plain. It is very recognizable with its triangular shape.
The photo above and the two below were taken from Etna.
This photo could have gone in the sections on the Moon or Sunsets, but it is here with the mountain views. This one from Etna.
The photo below was taken from the Adams Farm, an area soon to be conserved by the Hanover Conservancy.
Also from Etna, this sunset view of Mount Ascutney.
Finally, a view from Lebanon.
Mount Cardigan in Orange is a favorite “beginners” climb. Its summit is quite exposed so going on a very windy day is not recommended. Here are three views from Enfield.
Mount Cardigan can be seen from many spots in Canaan. Here is a slightly unusual viewpoint.
Mount Killington to the west is seen below from two spots in Etna. Both photos were taken November 15, one early morning and one late afternoon.
Moose Mountain is seen from Hanover and Norwich from the west and, as in the two photos below, from Canaan from the east.
Mount Moosilauke is seen from Thetford from a spot I discovered when walking with Jann in a new area early November.
Ludlow Mountain (Mount Okemo) is seen below from Etna and Lebanon.
Creations
Sometimes I just like to play — with a camera or on a computer. All of these started as a photo. Some were simply a movement of the camera or zooming of the lens during exposure. Some needed processing to go beyond the simple captured image. I hope you enjoy these creations.
Trees
A small collection of trees I photographed in late Autumn.
Snow
During this time period we got several snowfalls, but the major one was December 3. For several hours in the morning of December 4 the snow stayed on the trees before a warming trend took hold. I was not able to tour the area as early as I wished, but I did get some photos while the scenes were still pleasing.
Around the Upper Valley
Here are a few more photos I took as I wandered around our beautiful region. Even in the drab month of November I managed to find spots that interested me.
I do not spend time documenting all the straw figures that appear each fall, but a pair at Mascoma Lakeside Park caught my eye.
I felt is was a clever construction with a fisherman catching his lady friend.
On a different morning at the same spot, the early light was dramatic.
Elsewhere in Enfield, I found this old structure interesting.
In Hanover, a woman was walking a large group of dogs.
Also in Hanover I photographed reflections in a small pond, a dramatic white church with a dark sky behind, and an interesting cupola with a very blue sky.
I stopped at Wilson’s Landing looking for birds but only found one. It is at the top of the tree in the distance on the left.
It was an immature bald eagle. Here is a huge crop that is just about good enough for an ID.
Goose Pond is being lowered to repair the dam. I feel for the folks with cabins on the pond. Here is a photo looking across the partly-lowered pond with interesting reflections and one of the boat launch.
In Lyme, Grant Brook was beginning to freeze over. The 7:30 AM light was pleasing, accentuating the yellow-blue complimentary colors.
In Lebanon, looking west in the early morning, the sun was just reaching the background hills.
Across the river in Norwich, I found some Devil’s Darning Needles and an autumn scene in red and white.
Finally, a gray squirrel in our yard reaching the end of its travels along a thin branch.
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