Behind the Shot:  Classic New England Winter Scene

This is one of those photographs that has it all.  Snow, a great old red barn or more accurately, a maple syrup producing sugar shack and a great old red vintage tractor.

New England winter shots like these require a lot of planning.  Photographing winter in rural New Hampshire among the hills and dales, along the country lanes and over the forested mountains, can be a huge challenge in winter.

Most of the time there is no place to park.  Drainage ditches line the old country roads and snow plows are apt to come by at any moment to bury your car under a pile of slush and snow.

Best to plan ahead, keep track of points of interest that you wish to return to in winter, watch the weather reports and hope and pray that the farmer doesn’t move his old vintage tractor out of position.

These aren’t movie props ya know.  Farm equipment such as this great old red tractor are working essentials to the operation of these farms such as this one in Lyme, New Hampshire with its working maple syrup operation.

In winter farm equipment might used to move firewood or push snow out of the path to the barn. Although often an old tractor like this one, even if it is still working, is probably used mostly in the summer for hay cutting.

A few tips on photographing classic New England winter landscapes such as this:

• Plan out your shot before walking around the scene.  You don’t want to create a bunch of ugly footprints in the snow.
• Avoid bright sun.  Sunlight can be harsh in winter with glare reflecting off the snow.  Overcast days are great for reducing shadows and preventing highlights from creating overly contrasty scenes.
• Meter for snow.  Don’t let your snow turn gray because you didn’t use exposure compensation.  Add a stop of exposure to make sure your snow isn’t dull and gray.
• Keep certain locations in mind for future photo shoots in different seasons.  For example this old tractor and farm in Hopkinton, NH is on my list for a revisit once winter sets in.  I shot it in the fall, now for a winter version of this scene.

New England Winter Photographs by Edward M. Fielding

A horse and red barn in the middle of a snow storm in the Stowe and Waterbury area of Vermont.

The photogenic Jenne Farm in Vermont which as graced the cover of many a calendar.

Trapp Family Lodge, stone chapel in the woods in Stowe, Vermont.

A scene from the secret cross country area in Lyme,  New Hampshire.  A former scout summer camp, now a warming hut for cross country skiers.

Hanover green in winter.  A snow covered green scene with bench on the Dartmouth College campus in downtown Hanover, New Hampshire.

All images are available as fine art prints, framed prints, canvas, metal prints and more.  https://edward-fielding.pixels.com/art/winter