Forest Floor Swirl Experiments

I like do this every year. Spin the camera over the fallen leaves on the forest floor during a 1 second exposure.

Past Peak.

Well, the final report with regard to fall foliage conditions in Maine came out today: the entire state is past peak (for the most part). Which is why I haven't posted anything for the past two weeks: to me, it seemed as though much of the state was already past peak several days ago.

The 2011 fall foliage season here in Maine reminded me of just how fortunate we were in 2010, which was a glorious color season by comparison. 2011 saw many windy days and periods of rain followed by a sudden frost which assured a heavy leaf drop within a fairly short period of time.

I compared a few favorite photo sites this year to some photos I took at the same places last year. 2011 didn't even come close to matching the vibrancy of 2010, both in terms of colors and tree health.

I know it sounds like I'm grumbling, but I'm not, really. It's a very beautiful time of the year and I'm fortunate to call this place my home. And it's a relative thing. What might seem like a "blah" color season to me might completely blow away the minds of people who have never experienced autumn in New England. No complaints here; it's all good.

There are some terrific pockets of color here and there. And I'm not putting down the camera just yet. There are still coastal areas to explore, several hikes to take, and more than a few blueberry barrens to visit (they turn a bright crimson in autumn). I'm happy.

I will post a few more autumn photos in the days ahead of Halloween, but this will close out the blogging portion of the 2011 color season. Hey, there's always next year.

Leafpile #9: October 5th, 2011

(Sorry, no photos to share with this post. I've been busy with too many other things these past five days.)

The big news is that we now have peak colors in the northernmost sections of Maine and New Hampshire and Vermont this week! Now is the time to be there.

The White Mountains of NH are said to be "mixed but getting there soon". Last week I mentioned that I would be visiting northern Maine but I decided to hold off on that series of road trips until this week. I've rented a camera to augment my existing camera bag and will report more after the weekend.

The bad weather we've had lately in Maine - it was very windy today - doesn't seem to have affected the leaf drop in any significant way, which is good.

10/5/11 - to the memory of Steve Jobs.

Leafpile #8: September 28th, 2011

I can't tell if things are a tad slow this year in terms of fall colors or if this is normal. Seems slow this year.

In any case, there is "moderate" color change in the northernmost counties of Maine (Aroostook, Piscataquis). That means up to 50% change with low leaf drop. And with this latest round of cooler weather, things are going to change rapidly!

Read more about Maine's foliage here.

I'm heading for my first fall foliage road trips of the season this weekend in New Hampshire and here in Maine. More on that later!

New Hampshire:
Reports indicate "dazzling colors" in the northernmost section of the state, with some changes at the higher elevations in the White Mountain region. Give this area another week, they say, and it will be amazing. Read more...

Vermont:
Pretty much the same story as NH. The Northeast Kingdom (the northernmost region in Vermont along the Canadian border) is reporting color change in higher elevations with more changes expected next week. Read more...

2011: A New Season

It's that time of the year again! Well, almost.

In Maine, we've experienced some unseasonably warm temperatures for several days. Indian Summer. But that's about to change.

Cooler temps this week should translate into quick color changes over the next 7-10 days. I'll update this blog with the first meaningful foliage updates for New England later this week.

My feeling about the 2011 color season is that we're in for a good show! The leaves are mostly healthy (despite some maples falling earlier than usual to a fungal infection...we had a very wet spring and summer).

Leaf drop is low. Even Hurricane Irene couldn't rattle the leaves off the trees last month, so everything looks hale and hearty. That's a VERY good sign for all of you leaf peepers going into autumn. As a photographer, I'm really excited!

Stay tuned...

World Of Swirl

What to do on a gloomy, rainy autumn day? Why, experiment with slow shutter speeds, of course!

Blaze

So many beautiful trees! And so little time as the days are much shorter. I'm doing my office work during the evening so that I can be out the door early in the morning. I get home around dinner time and download my photos. Rinse and repeat.

Initially it was thought that we would have an early foliage season in New England this year. That hasn't turned out to be the case. Colors are lasting longer than I expected, especially up in north-central Maine.

Rather than drive several hours to a remote part of the state (as I have been doing for two weeks now) I figured I'd stick closer to home for today. This tree was photographed in my neighborhood just now.