vermont
september twenty-third
ahh, now to the meat of the "best" pictures. i took a trip to vermont in june of this year, expecting a gorgeous countryside packed with perfect photo opportunities; i was not disappointed in any manner! i think vermont is easily the most beautiful place on earth. i really like some hilly areas of the midwest (such as the knapp hills), but vermont is better because it is just as lush as wisconsin and...there are mountains! not the rockies, but 3000 foot mount mansfield is a dominating figure. also, they get 200 inches of snow in some places, which is reason enough to love it.
1) i'm almost certain that the first picture is the best picture i have ever taken. i was wandering around smuggler's notch when i noticed this stream going up from the roadside. i started following it away from the road, seeing these gorgeous pictures. i felt like the stream was a trail of breadcrumbs, but i think instead of being eaten by a witch i was more likely to be mauled by a bear. in any case, i had to stop halfway because my family was waiting. amazingly, i took this picture without a tripod.
2) the next picture is one of my favorites. i climbed to the top of one of the boulders in the notch (see below) and found this mossy scene. i needed a focal point to make a picture, though, and this little fledgling tree gave me the perfect chance. by the way, there are huge trees growing on top of these boulders, their roots running down into the dirt 15 feet below.
3) the third picture was one of the only sunsets that has made me run for my camera. i saw it outside our condo, but had to wait for a slow elevator to get up to my camera on the fourth floor. by the time i took the picture, the sunset was past its peak, but it's still a beautiful shot.
4) the resort we stayed at happened to be right at the base of mount madonna, the second tallest mountain in vermont. between madonna and mansfield lays sterling, and between sterling and mansfield is smuggler's notch. i climbed madonna and took this picture. as i've said before, i hate these pictures because the view was so amazing and huge, yet this photo can only show part of it.
5) the next photo kind of demonstrates the lushness of vermont. i took this picture at smuggler's notch, a one lane road between stowe and...the other side of the mountain. they close it in the winter because of how much snow gets dumped on it and how tight the curves are. what's funny about the curves is that what defines them are huge boulders (some about twenty feet tall) that are about three inches from the blacktop.
6) i fought and fought to get this picture. i went out hiking on a partly cloudy day (perfect for long shutter speeds of water) but when i found a creek the sun came out. i waited and waited for it to go behind a cloud so i wouldn't over-expose this shot. if you have a good eye you'll notice it isn't that long of a shutter speed as it is, but this was as slow as i could go.
7) this was on top of another boulder. i actually took off my lens and turned it around to get a makeshift macro lens. i put just the tip of the front most leaf in focus.
8) another water photo. this was from that never-ending stream going up mount mansfield.
