Leaf Peeping, the Kancamagus and Franconia Notch

Foliage against the Dark Sky

I have done a little research online on the New Hampshire tourist page and it seems that the foliage is still decent.  Despite being after Columbus Day.  So yesterday morning, the kids and I left our house at 4 AM so that we could be able to photograph the sunrise on the Kancamagus highway.  We have made it with time to spare, and the colors were gorgeous prior to to the sunrise.

Sunrise on the Kancamagus

Because of the thickness of the clouds once the sun rose, the sky had dark clouds and when you photographed so the foreground was exposed right, the sky was blown out.  To compensate for this, I took two photographs.  One to correctly exposed for the sky and the other ducks correctly exposing for the foreground.  In Lightroom I utilized the photo merge-HDR key and created a DNG image and then I adjusted the image to my taste.

There Is Even Color on the Ground

Color from an Overlook

At the very highest levels on the Kancamagus the the color peak of the leaves had passed, however, at the lower levels they were at peak or even just coming into peak.  We traveled the Kancamagus at stopped at scenic areas and at the number of waterfalls to photograph the beauty of the area.

Rocky Gorge

Sabbaday Falls

Sabbaday Falls

Falls Pond

Swift River Lower Falls

After we photographed the Albany covered bridge, the plan originally was to travel to Jackson New Hampshire and photograph the covered bridge and waterfall in that area.

Albany Covered Bridge

Looking up the Swift River from inside the Albany Covered Bridge

The Kids Photographing the Swift River

 But, Conway stopped us.  Why!  The traffic was backed up due to construction and was moving extremely slow.  We turned around and went back to the Kancamagus and went partly onto the Bear Notch Road, where we stopped.  Had lunch did some more photography, including zooms of the birches and foliage.

Foliage and Birch Zoom Blur

We traveled back down to the Kancamagus and returned back to I 93 and traveled up and to Franconia Notch State Park.  We were not able to visit the flume since the road was closed due to being repaired.  We stopped at the Basin and photographed in the area.

The Basin

Pemigewasset River

The Basin Viewed from the Handicap Area

Pemigewasset River Flowing down to the Basin

Sunburst Through the Foliage

There was still some good color.  Finishing up.  We then turned our attention back to home and as we were coming down.  I 93.  The lower we got New Hampshire, the better the color.  If you have an been up to photograph oft he foliage you still have a chance to do it.

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White Mountains and the "MMT" Photo Tour

Foliage with Reflections at Lilly Pond

I have just returned from the White Mountains and the "MMT" photo tour.  First you gone to ask what is "MMT"?  This is the name the group gave to the tour, it means Missing Moose Tour.  Why, despite all our efforts in looking at many moose wallows from early morning to late in the evening, on the tour, we did not see any moose.  We however saw a number of signs of moose.

Anyway, I joined John Slonina http://www.sphotography.com and five other people as we traveled all over the white mountain area photographing the beautiful autumn foliage and other scenics of the area.  What was interesting was the big variation in the foliage.  A number of areas were passed peak and other areas even close by, and not even started to change.  He would see this in the space of a few miles, but just changes in the elevation.  We had a number of places off the usual sites that most people do not go to plus a good number of the usual sites.  We woke up early, to Chase The Light and finished up after sunset.  Sometimes, we got great light, and other times we struck out.  Mother nature and the weather always plays a factor.  Late morning, was our brunch break and supper was after we finished photographing in the evening.  At that time was back to the hotel, download pictures, quickly look at him, I selected one to post on Facebook and then went to sleep since I had a be up ready to leave at 5:15 AM.  John has been photographing in the white mountains for 20 to 30 years and knows all the back roads so that we could miss the traffic jams around North Conway on Route 16.  In fact, I came up early on the first day to photograph along the Kancamangus Highway, since we did not have to meet at the hotel to 3 o'clock, and when I got to the end of the Kancamangus where it intersects with Route 16, the traffic was backed up, way down Route 16.  So, I did a U-turn and went back up the Kancamangus and crossed over the Bear Notch Road, so I can get around the traffic and get to the hotel.

If you are thinking to go up toward the White Mountain Area, this coming week to photograph the foliage, keep your plans loose and even think of photographing further South around the Lake area, or even up Sunapee New Hampshire.

One of the nice things, about John's tour/workshop was his ability to get us to think out of the box.  He had us changing lenses, positions, wide views, close-ups and other ways to improve our pictures.

Our group was great and we had a good time and it was sad leaving the beautiful area of the White Mountains.

The first set of pictures will be those that I took on the Kancamangus Highway in the White Mountains National Forest, on my way up to the tour.

Sugar Hill Overlook

 

 

Sabbaday Brook

Sabbaday Falls

Flowers along the Trail to Sabbaday Falls

Foliage at Rocky Gorge

Foliage along Bear Notch Road

Foliage along the Trail at Sabbaday Falls