NE Photo Guide - Vermont

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Vermont  In 1973, Arnold J. Kaplan produced a booklet, How To Find The Photo Scenics In Vermont. Here are some some of the places he recommended: 

Here are some additional hints and tips which Arnold graciously sent us (August 1999).

Ridge Road

A lot of the scenics are found on this road so it's imporant to be able to find it. From Woodstock center, take Route 12 North. After about one-half mile, look for River Road to Quechee and turn right onto it. Look for a cemetery and barn. This will be near a left turn and the beginning of Ridge Road. The next few scenic recommendations are along this road.

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Lee Farm

About .7 miles from the beginning of Ridge Road, there's a dirt road on the left. At the end of that dirt road there's a large barn, high on a hill (to the left if you're coming from Woodstock). Morning sun lights the trees and the front of the barn. Afternoon sun backlights them. Photograph in the spring when the apple blossoms are in full bloom. Of course, autumn and winter are good too.

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Gray Farm

At 1.5 miles from the start of Ridge Road are two small barns at the end of a dirt road leading down to the Gray Farm. The best shooting time is early morning because the afternoon sun puts the barns and trees in shadows. For an alternate viewpoint, look for trees on Ridge Road located just after the Elm Grove Farm. A good strategy is to shoot the Jenne farm very early, and then come here at about 8:30 AM.

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Pomfret Highland Farm

This is a dairy farm, so put some cows into your picture. Look for the large red barn and farm house with its fence along the Ridge Road, about two miles from its begining. You'll have plenty of trees for compositional elements. Fall and winter are best bets. Shoot anytime in the morning so that the sun can light up the road.

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Cloudland Farm

This is a dairy farm in a valley. Late morning or early afternoon sun light works best because, if you're too early or too late, you'll get shadows from the hills. If you drive two tenths of a mile beyond the farm house, up a hill, you can park off of the road. Climb over a barbed wire fence and walk into a pasture looking down the valley. This is a good place
to go after you've shot the Gray farm because the lighting here is best late-morning.

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The Grandma Moses scene in Hewettville

You can get to this cluster of houses, barns, trees, and pastures eading from South Pomfret to West Harford. It's at the end of Ridge Road. The scene is pretty wide open and photography is good all day long.

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The Sherbourne Farm

At this farm, there are barns with a reflecting pool in back of the main house. A good time to photograph is the spring when the apple blossoms are out. If you're coming from the Grandma Moses Scenic, go about a half mile and look for a sign that says "Sharon, So. Royalston." Turn left and go for about .3 miles. Look for a dirt road with a sign that says "Barnard." Take this dirt road for another .3 miles and you'll be near the farm house and barns. Photography, here, is best in the early afternoon. Later than that and you'll get deep shadows in your foreground. If you shoot in the morning the fronts of the barns will be in shadows. From this locale, you can move on to the "End Of The Road" scenic.

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In East Barnard - The "End Of The Road" scene

This place is on a road to East Barnard from the Sherbourne Farm. Go for about 3.7 miles and keep your eyes open for a barn that appears down the road way off in in the distance. This is a fall foliage scenic that works best with brilliant sunlight.

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In Quechee - The Quechee Barns

Here, in the hills of Quechee, there's a group of barns and a reflecting pool. Look for the covered bridge in Quechee Village, turn onto Main Street and go a half mile to a fork. The sign, there, says "Taftsville." Turn left there. Go another half mile to where the road make a sharp left. Stop there and look for a dirt road to the right. Take the dirt road and look for the barns on the left.

After shooting these barns, you can return to the village center. On your way, when you get to the fork where you had turned left, now take the right fork. Go for a mile and look for the barns on a hill on the left. There are several vantage points to shoot these barns.

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Reading - The Jenne Farm

This is one of the most photographed places in New England. It's a simple grouping of a farm house and barns in a valley. The scene usually includes the road with trees doing the framing. It's told that there are worn-in tripod holes in the road bed from the most desireable vantage point. Photographers line up to shoot this place in the fall. To get there, go to Woodstock and find the intersection of Routes 4 and 106. Take 106 south for a little over eight miles. (OK, so it's 8.2 miles on most odometers.) Look for a dirt road on the right with a small house on the corner. Go up this road for about a tenth of a mile. At the top of the hill, you'll look down on the Jenne Farm.

Plan to shoot in the early morning - best at sunrise. If you're there before 7 AM you'll be OK, although good shots can be gotten even later. If you have a stepladder, bring it along. You'll get a better vantage point.

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East Corinth

Here we have a small village, about eight miles to the west of Bradford. The best known pictures are taken from atop the hill looking down into the village. You've see it's high steepled church surrounded by white houses. Get to the top of the hill by 8 AM. Park in the school;yard on the main street, walk to the back of the school, and look for the path going to the top. By the way, make sure you're in East Corinth and not Corinth Center or South Corinth.

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East Topsham

This is another village in a valley. It's on the same road as East Corinth so you shouldn't have trouble finding it. Look for the colorful rooftops (is sometimes called the "Howard Johnson" scene, for those who remember what Howard Johson's was). There's a road to the top of the hill from which you get good views of the village. One side photographs better than the other in the morning. The opposite is true for the afternoon.

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Waits River

Along Route 25, twelve miles west of Bradford, is another of the popular Vermont scenics. Look for Waits River Church, then, just opposite this, go along the downhill road. Park at the bottom and look back along the roadway.

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East Orange

About two miles west of Waits River on Route 25 you'll find a dirt road on the left. Look for the "East Orange" sign. Drive 1.5 miles and you'll see a church there. Opposite it is a road to the top of a hill and it's there that you'll get a good view of the village. The afternoon sun works well, here.

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Placey Farm

In Newbury, you can find some red barns near the Connecticut River. Positioned properly, and at the right time of day, you'll get some nice reflections in it. The barns are one to two miles from Newbury on Route 5. Drive past the Placey farmhouse and when the road runs parallel to the river, look for the barns. The best light is during late afternoon, about an hour before sunset.

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Weathersfield Birches

Look for a stand of birch trees with a white shack by taking Route 106 out of Woodstock. Travel past the cut off road to the Jenne Farm to a left onto Route 131. Go about four miles and then turn right onto Weathersfield Road to the center. Ask someone there for Skyline drive.
Note: there's a stand of birch trees in Maine in the median of Route 95 near Bangor. Access, because of the highway, is limited. The Vermont birches may be your best bet. 
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Hillside Acres Farm

There's a red barn and white farm house on the road from Barnet to West Barnet. Take Route 5 north from Bradford toward Wells River. Look for the Wells River Motel and then drive 11.5 miles north on Route 5 to Barnet. Look for a road on the left with a sign that says "W. Barnet & Peacham." Travel 2.4 miles west and look for a road on the right. Take it and look for a small white church. Go past it and look for the farm on the hillside. Look for a large white birch tree in a pasture. Good pictures can be made in the afternoon and at sunset.

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Peacham

Here, you'll find a church and farm with an open pasture when take from a high vantage point. If you've driven to the Hillside Acres Farm, keep going to West Barnet to Peacham. Stop in the center of Peacham Village, at the general store. Look for the road to the right of the store. It takes you up into a residential area. Go up and look for the churce scene below. You'll need to shoot from some private property, so ask permission first.

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Burke Hollow

This is a small village in a valley with a white church (so what else is new - hey it is Vermont!). You want the road that goes through the village. To get there, go from Bradford north on Route 5. Drive toward St. Johnsbury, through the city of Lyndonville. From there, go about a mile and turn right onto Route 114 to East Burke. At the center, turn left and drive about one-tenth mile. At the fork, there, bear left. Burke Hollow is about 2.5 miles after that.This is a fairly open valley and good pictures can be taken any time of the day.

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How To Find Photo Scenics In Vermont

How To Find Photo Scenics In Vermont by Arnold J. Kaplan (Quincy MA) is copyrighted material (Library of Congress Registration Number 441227) and can be ordered via the Internet. In the interests of area photographers, we have excerpted highlights from his booklet which contains more descriptions, better directions, maps, and photo hints. It is worth the effort to acquire!

Last modified on Monday, August 09, 1999.
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