2018 ends as every year ends with a hard drive full of images. The number is vast, and most will never see the light of day even if they manage to avoid the delete command. The end of the year is a natural time to review. Review what went wrong and also what went right. This post I will concern myself to images when things went right. Any post highlighting things that went wrong would be too numerous and lengthy. The goal here is to find my ten favorite images of Vermont in 2018. I stress, these are my favorites, picked by me.
On my general Landscape Photography website www.imagesbykevinarmstrong.com you can view my ten favorites from all my photos, not just Vermont.
A fresh layer early January of light snow creates a simple clean look to this farm field in Woodstock. As the early morning clouds clear a soft light is painted across the landscape. Two favorites about this shot – it was two minutes from home and it was not very cold.
Late Spring and the rivers begin to flow fast. The winter (and Spring) snows have all but disappeared. Vermont has numerous waterfalls and other water sites that are
Not all the action along the river banks is about the water. The trees, rocks, and low vegetation often make interesting subjects. It’s late May, and this tree is a vibrant green. To me, that is not its most striking aspect, it’s the play between the shapes and shadows. Removing color is the best way to bring that forward. Black & White allows the image’s shape, tone and texture take center stage.
Groton State Forest in central Vermont is my favorite photography location. The forest offers a very diverse and challenging collection of subjects. Deeply wooded forest with numerous bodies of water and peaks with majestic views attract photograhers. On this particular morning the mist was heavy, it took the sun some time to burn it off. This photo is taken as the last puff of mist leaves the hilltop in the background.
I stumbled onto this photo in route to my intended destination. I was on a pre-dawn trek to a lake in the Champlain Valley region just south of Burlington. As I turned the corner of the small dirt road I was traversing I was greeted with a mid-Summer full moon and this scene. I immediately stopped, gathered my gear and snapped a few quick shots. Once I had a few images in hand I packed up and continued onto my destination.
This view is a popular photographic location. Mentioned often on social media and in guide books. A sweeping vista of the Champlain Valley as seen from the top of Mount Philo. The Mountains in the distance are the Adorondock’s in upstate New York. I used a long lens (300mm) for the compression effect and the hazy of hot summer evening softens the
Did I mention that Groton State Forest in my favorite place in Vermont? This photo is another reason why. A small quite stream on a summer morning.
This spot is not in Groton, but it’s close. This pond is tucked away in the backwoods near the town of Marshfield. An area popular with loggers. This spot a gold mine for pre-dawn and sunrise photos.
Acting on a tip from a logger at the previous image location above, I ventured out. I was told that the view would be spectacular and it is. Not for the faint of heart, this ledge looks more like a diving board than a perch. Great location for a classic Vermont
Back to the secluded pond in Marshfield. Even on a cloudy day, you can take a trip around the pond to look for interesting compositions. Autumn is always the best time to wander the woods. There are many aspects of an image the can act as an anchor. One of the most overlooked is the use of color as a subject. In this photo, color is the subject and that’s all that is needed.