Fall Art Tour in NH

The fall art tour is a great event which happens in southern NH each Columbus Day weekend. Art-lovers from all over the area can enjoy the fall colors while visiting artists' studios and viewing their work. The event has grown over the years and had over 40 artists participate this year. My mom and I go each year to see all kinds of art - oil paintings, fiber arts, woodwork, glassware, and photographs, of course. I took these photos as we were travelling around the area.

A photography exhibit awaited us in this refurbished mill in Harrisville, NH

Beautiful paint colors in one of the artists's studio.

Flower pedals led the way to one exhibit as the afternoon sun beamed through the window.

The center of town in Harrisville, NH has nearly half a dozen studios. It is a great small town to be an artist. They have also managed to maintain its historic character.

I took this particular photo in Harrisville as well. My nephew said he liked the way that yellow birch leaves shine against the blue sky in the fall so I took this photo for him. 

Outside of Fiddlehead's Cafe in Hancock, NH a nice pumpkin scene was waiting for us. I love how all the little branches lead back to the pumpkin in the center.

This is a series of photographs blended together to make a panorama of a wetland in Stoddard, NH along Route 9. You can click to make it larger, too!

Family Portraits

Last weekend I had the fortune to visit my family up in New Hampshire. I was lucky they were willing to let me take their photographs too!

On the Road: Mount Monadnock

Along our drive this weekend I was also able to stop and take some photos of Mount Monadnock. I have passed both of these locations dozens of times and have been meaning to stop and take photographs there. I was pleased that the weather was being cooperative this weekend.

Taken off Route 12 in Fitzwilliam, NH

Taken from Mountain View Cemetery in Troy, NH

On the Road: Cheshire Rail Trail

On the way up to NH, we also stopped at an old stone bridge that is now part of the Cheshire Rail Trail. This particular location is off of Route 12 in Marlborough, NH.

I tried some of these in black and white but realized that the photos are more about this particular location an dhow it looks in the fall. Particularly this one of Mike was much better in color.

On the Road: Route 140 in the Fall

I went up to New Hampshire to visit my family this past weekend and was able to take some fall photos along the drive. These photos are mostly unedited. I basically just adjusted the shadows and highlights before saving.

I was pleasantly surprised by how this one came out. I like the sense of movement, the fall colors and it's always nice to get a photo of yourself.

I also liked this one for the fall colors. I don't normally dabble in abstract photos but there's a lot of time to spend in the car experimenting with new things!

Mike and I stopped at Redemption Rock along Rt 140 to take some photos. The colors were nice and bright because it had just rained. It took me quite a while to figure out the self-timer on my camera but luckily Mike was willing to be patient.

I am not totally thrilled with this one but I liked the pine needles contrasting with the background.

Belchertown State School

I was very busy photographing this weekend. Between the Dismas Fall Festival and this excursion to Belchertown State School, there was quite a variety in the scenes I was photographing this weekend. This was my first time using my new Canon 60D with 18-135mm lens and it was such a treat! I am very excited to be able to work with this camera in the future!

Belchertown State School for the Feeble Minded was not really a school but more of a place to separate those with mental disabilities from the rest of society. Known for its horrific treatment of the residents, the school was finally closed in 1992. The buildings have deteriorated quickly and are quite spooky, making it a great place for new photographers!

By far my favorite photo from the shoot! I love this one for the multiple layers in foreground, middle ground and back ground. The top third of the photo with the rows of chairs really makes the photograph.

This is the hallway next to the auditorium. This photo gives me the sense that the school was left in a hurry with the doors left open and the ladder in the hall. Trash and furniture litter the buildings at Belchertown and really add to the feeling of abandonment. I originally printed this photo in color but it was much much more successful in B&W. 

I didn't feel that this one came out well enough to print for class but I felt it was worth posting here. Water was dripping through the ceiling and onto my lens. I tried to edit it out for this photo with only limited success. I love the windows that look out on nothing and the plant growth inside of the room. I would like to try this photo in black and white but I suppose then you would lose the plants taking back the room.

Originally underexposed, I did my best to make this photo come back to life. I shot without a tripod and so had to use short shutter speeds. Luckily this building had many holes in the roof so some light was available for shooting. The colors are my favorite part about this photo. The room  and floor itself are so dreary but the graffiti, plant growth and moss bring the photo to life by adding so much color.

This photo was taken in the same room facing away from the stage. Through the center door is how most people enter this building. We actually found our way in through another way and happened upon the auditorium which really added to our sense of wonder as we explored the rooms. The graffiti really gives Belchertown its character.

Part of the power plant building. I love the eye bearing witness to the abandonment and neglect of Belchertown. This history of the school is so eerie and it is as if this eye bears witness to it all. 

We weren't sure but I think these are the residential buildings. The school once house about 750 people and was extremely overcrowded. I can't imagine how many people they tried to fit in these small buildings. Like closed eyes the two windows look over the school grounds, while getting swallowed up in the overgrowth of time.

We believed this to be the laundry building. A pile of trash and discarded objects lies in front of this building. Paper face masks litter the path in front of this building as people exit surrounding buildings filled with asbestos, dust and mold. 

A small greenhouse was also on the grounds. Completely overgrown you cannot tell what they once grew there.

Although this is not such a great photograph, I was impressed with what my new camera could accomplish. This gymnasium is in the basement of the building with no light entering the room at all. The flash alone on my camera was able to light up the other side of the basketball court and revealed to us this graffiti.

Dismas Fall Festival

This weekend I went back to the farm where I had been working this summer. Our class was assigned taking some fall photographs so I thought the Dismas Fall Festival would be a great opportunity to do so! I didn't edit these photos very much but thought I would get them posted on the blog anyway.

This is the hay field at the farm in Oakham, MA. The leaves are just starting to turn up there. The grass was so green and the sky so blue!

I took a couple photos of this family enjoying the fall festival but this is the best one because you can see the woman's face. Many families come with their children to enjoy the fall festival.

A haunted greenhouse! I didn't edit this photo but I loved all the Halloween decorations that they used to transform the greenhouse for tomatoes and basil into a fall scene.

The farm is really getting ready for fall. The turkeys are growing up big in time for Thanksgiving.