It Never Hurts To Cheat The Rain

Foul weather might sink a faint hearted photographer, but it can be the intrepid shooters best friend. Today's image is an example of being Winnie the Pooh like and saying "tut, tut, looks like rain". Chances were that we'd be sitting in the car, looking at Roaring Brook, wishing we weren't there in the middle of a downpour. As luck would have it, the rain held off until we were safely in a diner having breakfast. You can talk to fellow photographers and they'll tell, in loose terms, where a particular shot was taken. It might be because the best they can remember is the general location or there may be a more sinister motive. It's sort of like buried treasure or the location of the end of the rainbow. Some photographers want to keep their "sure fire", great places to shoot to themselves. That's not really in the spirit of being a good person, a nice guy, a pillar of the community, or possibly an author of travel guide books. If you're interested in finding out more about the location of this shot or where to find information about great places to put your tripod in the northeast, hit the "read more".

Today's image is a small tributary of a small stream called Roaring Brook in Arlington, Vermont. You get to the brook by driving down Kelly Stand Road. I typically go east to west, but there certainly isn't anything stopping anyone from going west to east. On either end you leave the paved portion of the road and head up across a ridge on a well maintained (other than in winter) dirt road. There's no need for a four wheel vehicle or other similar, tank like, conveyance. The family sedan will do nicely. There has to be thirty places to stop and get a dynamite shot. There's ponds, dirt roads, paths, and the star of the ride, Roaring Brook. It's not like you have to search for this gem. If you pull more than fifteen feet off the road you're libel to be parking the car in the middle of the stream. That could mess up the aesthetic quality of the shot, but, hey, shoot what you like. I'd guess, in peak fall foliage, Kelly Stand Road could be like a five mile long parking lot, but it's typically a nice, casual ride with little traffic.
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It certainly wouldn't be fair to give the impression that we discovered this font of photographic opportunities. That title would have to go to David Middleton (link). At least as far as popularizing it for photography. Dave has several books in print, but the two that would be most important to anyone thinking of shooting in New England would be his guides to the Maine coast and Vermont. Both are excellent sources of detailed information that would take someone exploring on their own years to find. Combining his books with a GPS and you aren't wasting an ounce of gas finding the shots you're looking for.
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If you read this blog with any regularity you know I'm a big believer in going to where you know the shots are. We got skunked again this past weekend. We went to "The Gunks" (link) on Sunday to see if we could find any rock climbers. Something went a little wide of the mark. We were either too late and all the climbers had already gone, or we were in the wrong spot. Further investigation is in order. I'm sure there are good opportunities there. Just have to find the key.