Vermont - Red Barn (A bucket list moment)

(First off, I would like to preface that when viewing these (and all)  Patreon images, it is highly recommended that one views this photographs on a computer and not a cellphone. To get the high resolution view of the images in all their glory, it's recommended to view them as large as possible. Cellphones do not do these photographs justice. Even the compression within Patreon will not give you the full quality of these 50+MB images, but it will be better.)

________

      Often times as a child, one imagines a world outside the scope of our immediate reality. Instead, we find ourselves envisioning a world near perfection. Whatever that may actually be varies from person to person, but in the end, we all have this idea of a Utopia. A place that brings a feeling of nostalgia, similar to a place we once witnessed in our favorite film, or read in an attention grabbing book. In the year plus of traveling across the United States, nothing has come closer to this vision, for myself, than Vermont in Autumn. Not a land of rugged wilderness or vast coastlines, Vermont carries a quality many places previously visited had seemed to quite frankly lack; Charm.

       So, what is charm? Thats a fair question by any account. Upon first taking off on this journey, I imagined the images I would hope to find along the way. Crisp, rocky mountains, endless ocean edges peppered with serrated cliffs, but there was always one image in particular I had hoped to find on my path - a red barn. 

      Now the idea of photographing a red barn, or a beautiful farm landscape sounds like a simple task within itself, but I promise you it is not as simple as one would imagine. In a world full of power lines, modern vehicles, tractors and other distractions, finding a red barn isolated from the noise of irritating accessories is quite a task. Couple that with a nice perspective, a solid foreground and background, and a picturesque setting, I can assure you I have traveled a thousand, if not multiple thousands of miles on Americas backcountry searching for photographs with the elusive farm photo in the forefront of my mind. Sure, one could Google suggestions on where to find such photos, but what would be the point of that? Why would I want to take a photo 10,000 photographers already have if possible. I refused to follow that path, instead keeping the hope alive that one day, if I try hard enough, the location and I would eventually cross paths. And this month, on the edge of Canadian border in Vermont, the opportunity presented itself. I found my photo.

     After 4 days of rain, pinned down in the small lake town of Newport, VT, I decided to make my way west within the state. Not sure where I was heading exactly, a method I use most of the time, I traveled my way across route 105, the northern most road in the state. The plan was to eventually connect to route 108 south, heading towards Stowe and Smugglers Notch. As the morning light began to break through the seasonal fog, I found myself cutting through fruity pebble tree lines. Stopping on occasion to take photos, Vermont landscape is littered with power lines. Offensively so. Regardless of lackluster images, I was cutting through small farming communities straddling the edge of Canada when I came to the town of Richford. As I made my way to the outskirts of Richford, I came to the intersection where the 105 west met the 108 south. It would have been a natural assumption to take that left, but instead I did what I have done a thousand times before on this project, and turned the other way. Crossing over the bridge into old town Richford, I quickly came to a t-stop, forced to either head west or east. After turning towards the east, I wasn't feeling where the road was taking me, so I decided to follow my intuition and backtrack, pass the bridge and continue down the road east & into the farms. One thing led to another after a series of turns, and I eventually found myself at the edge of a road named Pleasent View Road. With a name like that, what photographer of sound mind wouldn't explore a little deeper and see where the dirt led? Never the less, I never got quite far on the road, because as I passed the farm about a half mile from the intersection and began climbing the hill into the next pass, I looked in my sideview mirror and saw it. My entire trip I had imagined this view in one regard or another. I found what I had been searching for, and now was honed in.

A red barn √

no power lines polluting the view √

no ugly modern vehicles in the way √

perfect conditions - not quite so

      I took a few photographs which were decent for the moment, but wanted better. Over the course of the next 2 mornings, I returned, an hour drive each way, to attempt to photograph what I was envisioning in my mind from the location. Finally, on the 3rd day. I got it. As I rushed my way from Newport, back to Richford, I was quickly watching my chances fade away. Road construction on my commute had slowed me down nearly another hour, and I was watching the morning fog begin to melt away due to the late sun. Racing through town, I shot my way up Pleasant View Road, and had just enough time to get off about 5 minutes of photographs before the morning fog had completely vanished. Luckily, catching the last moments was a blessing, as it highlighted the farm itself, instead of obstructing the view. I finally had my photo.

Bucket list achieved: