Guest post by my friend Butch Lombardi and his search for:

The Quest for the Iconic Fall Foliage shot

Every fall I make a trip up to Vermont. My sister, Judy, lives in White River Jct. She is also a photographer.
The search started about 15 years ago for the quest for iconic fall foliage shots. Over the years my equipment has changed (I was actually still shooting film when we started) but the passion to record this magical season in New England has not.

At first, it was centered around the Columbus Day weekend. That has changed since she retired and now we base it on what the foliage is doing. Each year for 4-5 days we rise well before the sun, pack our gear, and our trusty assistant, Eli (her golden retriever), and hit the road. (Eli has now passed)

Check the Foliage Forecast by following this link to my forecast and report page. Each year between January and August you will find my predictions as to what the coming fall will do and then in September, the reports about the fall foliage can be found there as well.

We pre-plan our route the night before but it is never cut in stone. Many times it’s been altered in mid-trip based on what we’re seeing. On this particular day, the plan was the iconic Rt. 100 in central VT. We had a couple of places in mind but we were also open to exploring as we always are.

We found Echo Lake on Rt. 100 and started looking for possible photo ops. We took a few pictures but nothing clicked. We found a road that wound around the backside of Echo Lake. We followed it until we came to Camp Plymouth SP. It looked promising so we got out. I could see the lake so I started walking down to the water. Judy was up in the field with Eli. I asked her if she was coming with me. “No”, she said. “I think I’ll take Eli back to the truck”.

I continued down to the water. There were canoes in racks, some buildings, and a little beach. I walked down to the beach just as the sun broke through the fog-revealing the scene in the accompanying picture. I found the curve in the beach which set up nicely with the house on the opposite shore. The lifting fog left a layer of clear air between 2 layers of fog revealing the color in the foliage behind the house. I planted the tripod, composed this, and tripped the shutter. The scene was fleeting and, as the air warmed, the fog started to rapidly disappear. I walked back to the truck and got in. “Did you get anything good down there”, Judy asked? I hit the review on the LCD and showed her this shot. Her reply? “Oh crap, I should have gone with you!”

Butch Lombardi
East Bay Images

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