Vermont. Guest Article

A big thanks to Arnab Banerjee for writing this article and supplying us with some wonderful images. I highly recommend a visit to his website which is inspirational.

Biograhy of writer

Arnab Banerjee is a photographer, mountaineer and writer. Many of his images, travelogues and mountain adventure reports have been published in various publications. He also runs photographic workshops and offers fine art prints of his images through his website. He regularly visits remote corners of the world to capture unique and emotionally evocative images with his signature style comprising of bold composition and vibrant color. Please visit his website or email him at arnabbaner@gmail.com to know more about this work

Location

Vermont is one of the quintessential and charming New England states in the North Eastern region of USA. It is a relatively small state stretched 159 miles from North (Canadian border) to South (border of Massachusetts) and only 89 miles wide from east-to-west at its broadest section at the northernmost part. Vermont's size makes it easy to cover all the interesting areas within a comfortable time period, but there is so much to see and photograph in all the seasons that it can be daunting task to cover Vermont in just one visit. In other words, if you come to Vermont once, you will want to come back again and again and never be finished with photographic opportunities.

How to get there

Vermont borders are around 3-4 hours of drive from either New York City or Boston. Vermont also has 2 medium size airports in Burlington and Rutland with decent connections.

About the location

Vermont is one of the most beautiful states in USA with pretty mountains, deep forests, rolling hills and farmlands, rushing pretty streams and rivers. It is also famous as ski destination in winter. But autumn is probably the busiest season when the whole state transforms into a fantasyland of brilliant fall colors ranging from bright yellow to vibrant red and all the shades in between.

The Green Mountain range runs pretty much all the way from north to south down the middle of the state with many numerous peaks and passes. The highest point, Mt. Mansfield is in the northern part of the state. Camel's Hump, Killington, etc. are other notable high points on the range. A 270 miles long foot path, Long Trail, travels all the way along the spine of the Green Mountain climbing rugged peaks and passing by pristine ponds, alpine bogs, hardwood forests and rocky rushing streams. The Appalachian trails also goes through Vermont and share the same route with Long Trail in the southern section. These two trails, along with hundreds of side trails, offer the best way to explore the wild side of Vermont. There are backcountry mountain huts along these trails where you can spend the night and watch beautiful sunrise and sunsets from pristine locations.

Beyond Green Mountain, Vermont offers many more travel and photographic attractions - beautiful countryside and quaint villages, historic towns and churches, wildlife, festivals and country fairs, etc. So, to fully enjoy Vermont, one needs to slow down a little bit, breathe the fresh air of the wilderness, soak in the pastoral views of countryside and just go with the flow.

Why go

The combination of the New England charm and a sense of untamed wilderness is what makes Vermont unique. Autumn is probably is the most popular time to visit, but surely not the only best time. In spring, the morning fog and blooming wildflowers along with rushing streams from winter snow melts make it a prime photo destination (though you have to watch out for mud season in spring when many hiking trails are closed).

Summer makes the ideal time to take long day hikes into the wild or just wind down along the shores of it many lakes and ponds. In winter, you can either ski in many of its world class ski resorts, but for photography, either snowshoeing or cross-country skiing or even hiring a snowmobile give you ample opportunity to capture the nature in full glory.

As a photographer, you have never-ending subjects to shoot here - from big scenics of mountains, lakes and waterfalls to intimate nature scenes, birds and wildlife and charming countryside views.

Highlights and lowlights

Walking up to Camel's Hump or Mount Mansfield and watch the sunset from the alpine summits can be an event of a lifetime. For an easier adventure, you can take a walk to many of the wilderness ponds like Stratton pond or drive many backcountry roads all around the state to explore the beauty of the state.

Worst thing that can happen to you is get stuck in a traffic on Rt 100 on a peak autumn weekend when hundreds of tourists and leaf peepers are all trying to soak up the season's colors. So avoid weekends during peak foliage or hike a trail if you happen to be there during such a rush weekend.

When

All seasons offer something for photography. Avoid the mud-season in spring for hiking and when a huge nor'easter (winter storm) dumping 20+ inches of snow in winter (though the days just after a major snow storm are probably the most elegant time to shoot winter scenes). Autumn is the most colorful season - it's my favorite time to shoot nature scenes too.

Where

For nature scenes, Long trail or Appalachian trail and numerous side trails offer many possibilities in the Green Mountain Forests area. Lake Willoughby in the Northeast Kingdom area is another iconic location. To shoot charming New England small town or village scenes, visit Grafton, Jamaica, Newfane, Woodstock or Weston. If you like waterfall, don't miss Lye Brook falls near Manchester and Moss glen falls in Stowe and Granville (2 different falls of the same name) area. Try Mt. Philo for an easily accessible sunset location.

Equipment

Both wide angle and long lenses are necessary. Bring a sturdy tripod in autumn for river and waterfall scenes. Using polarizer to cut reflection and add color saturation is always a good idea, and you will also need some graduated ND filters to shoot those dramatic sunrises and sunsets. If you want to hit backcountry trails in winter, travel lightweight and watch the weather.

Research

Vermont's official tourism site

Guidebook: Vermont: An Explorer's Guide

When the light is good

Early morning and late afternoon are usually good. But overcast and rainy days are my favorite times to shoot inside the forests and river/waterfall scenes.

When the light is bad

Avoid harsh light during mid-day to shoot nature. But you can always drive to a nearby village or small town and shoot those charming New England country scenes. But, please be polite and show courtesy to local people - Vermonters are generally very friendly and wonderful people.

Reading

Vermont photographer David Middleton has wrote an excellent guidebook
The Photographer's Guide to Vermont: Where to Find Perfect Shots and How to Take Them

Green Mountain club has several guide books and maps
Books
Maps