Found the Best New England Fall Foliage in my Own Backyard Part 1

I know what you’re saying, so let me define “my backyard”. I’ll start off by introducing myself, I’m Jeff Foliage and I’m a photographer in Salem Massachusetts. I also have this passion for photographing the greatest show on earth which is New England fall foliage.

Now back to my original statement, I won’t call all of New England my backyard but I will say two distinct areas come to mind. Both Eastern Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire are very close to me in driving terms. So to me, these are my backyard and these areas are what we’re exploring in this series of articles.

Exploring your own backyard

Maybe you live in Arizona where there isn’t much fall color 🙂 or maybe you have palm trees instead of maples. I still find these areas of the country are beautiful in their own right. The wide-open spaces are so very different from the forest and mountains of New England. These are all areas to be explored. So whether you explore my backyard here in New England or your own, you just need to get out there. Also, the current state of the world (COVID-19) has me thinking I may be spending a lot more time in Massachusetts.

Exploring One Day in October near Salem

That day is 26 Oct in 2010. For me, each fall foliage season has its successes and failures, but can I really say they were a failure? I mean if I get out and visit lots of beautiful New England scenery, but I don’t capture any prize-winning photos, is it a failure or an opportunity to just be there “In the moment”?

I will let you judge, and tell me if I hit the mark on this one day in October 2010. You can also visit Part 2 which will talk a bit about the Saugus Ironworks and in Part 3 you will visit Salem and Middleton Massachusetts.

The day started out overcast and this can be both good or bad depending on what you are shooting. A grey sky means you leave it (the sky) out of your pictures because it will be blown out, but it lights up your work like a giant soft lightbox which can be good.

Forest Street in Peabody MA

I started out for a spot three miles from my house and, to be honest, I had never been on this road before. I found out that It’s marked as a Scenic Byway, and usually, this means it has good views or something, but it’s just off the highway and I was dubious. My wife took Forest Street as a shortcut to work, and she recommended it to me. (Lucky me!)

I drove there at 7:26 AM and I started down this rather short road (1.2 miles), and as happens from time to time, my jaw hit the steering wheel. This hurts, but it also serves to remind me not to have my tongue sticking out. 🙂

Another thing to note is that this road runs down the middle of the Salem Country Club Golf Course. At various points, you can see down the fairway and you do have to be careful to watch for golf carts crossing the road. Also, there are really no spots to pull off the road to take a shot, and a lot of other people besides my wife use this as a shortcut. I’ve learned over the years to drive it once to see what it looks like and then find someplace to park the car and walk the route.

The color was breathtaking and the road just snaked its way through the forest. In my original shot, you can see the green signs that I actually like, but I decided to remove them with Photoshop.

I did manage to pull off and I could see through the trees that the sun was breaking through the clouds. This happened to light up the fairway that I was next to, and also illuminate a big old maple on a rocky outcropping at the edge of the golf course. I walked out to it trying different angles. (seen at top)

Forest Street connects to Route 1 North. Route 1 is a divided highway at this point, so turn around before coming to the end of the road if you are NOT headed north. There are a couple of office-type buildings where you can do so safely.

On to Saugus Ironworks

Well from here I decided to go find the Saugus Iron Works which is a National Historic Site. My dad had told me about it, but neither of us had made it over there. Follow this link to explore the Iron Works and Birch Pond in Lynn Massachusetts.

Jeff Foliage Folger

Autumn is a state of mind more than a time of year – Jeff Foliage

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