As far as photography goes this has been a pretty lousy winter in Massachusetts so far. Having the need to scratch the itch I have been scouting other areas in New England where there may be some snow opportunities. Bingo! Last week there was a snowstorm forecast in Vermont so, with visions of fairytale winter landscapes dancing in my mind, I made some last minute reservations and headed up to Waitsfield. I left at 6.30am to try to avoid the early storm but I ended up getting caught in it sooner than expected and then had a much slower drive. I still arrived around 10.30 so I made my way to Northfield, famous for its red covered bridges.
The scenery was breathtaking, with the trees coated in snow, farms and barns looking like something from a magazine, mountainsides a winter wonderland. A landscape photographer’s dream! I was eager to get out and shoot even though the snow was falling, although it did so periodically. The next day it snowed almost all day but there was no-one around so I could explore freely. It is such a great feeling, being in a snowstorm, so quiet, the crunch underfoot and beautiful scenery surrounding me. I found on this trip (as with others in the past) that it is quite difficult to capture what your eye sees with a 16mm lens even though the temptation is to use this to convey the grand landscape. I found myself more often than not using the 24-70 and the 70-200mm to gain more detail and provide a tighter composition. One of my favorite farms, which I stopped at 3 times in different light and weather conditions was between Waitsfield and Northfield. On this occasion the snow was coming down and the horse showed up in its jacket.
