Stowe is a pretty town in northern Vermont (USA) overlooked by Mount Mansfield — the highest mountain in the State of Vermont with a summit that peaks at 4,393 feet (1,339 m) above sea level. The ski town is bustling in autumn as it hosts tourists from all over the world eager to witness peak fall foliage colors along the Green Mountains.
I make a point of visiting northern Vermont each year as it is well known for its fabulous foliage colors. In autumn 2023, I returned with several good friends from Europe and the USA who had not been to this part of Vermont. Although 2023 was not generally considered a banner year for foliage in New England, we found excellent colors in northern Vermont.
We had scouted this iconic barn one evening before sunset, so I suggested we return on a different day to photograph the barn, which would be backlit by the rising sun. The forecast called for mostly cloudy the morning we chose to return, with a possible clearing to the east. We arrived a full hour before sunrise, and the color was already beginning to show.
It turned out to be a spectacular sunrise with vibrant color that lasted well over an hour. I took this photo some 20 minutes before sunrise. I included the gravel road as a single leading line to the mountains, taking a short exposure for the bright sky and a longer exposure to bring out the foreground. The two frames were then blended in post-processing to yield a more balanced exposure.
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Dimitri Vasileiou • Editor