Image of the Week: Fall colors and ivy-covered wall, Middlebury College, Vermont

This is one of those images that shouldn't have happened.

One day during the last gasp of vibrant fall color in Vermont, I was strolling around Middlebury College looking for some general campus scenics. I had just shot a few sheets at the main library, but I was dissatisfied with the light. It was late in the day, but not late enough to create that magic glow that accompanies sunset and twilight. So, I packed up my gear and resigned to hunker down in the local coffee shop and work on my email backlog until the light improved.

That's when I saw this striking combination of complementary colors.

By itself, the yellow Maple tree is a garden-variety subject in Vermont. They're everywhere. Surrounded by yellow trees, you learn to ignore them after a while...that is, until you have to rake up their leaves. But take that tree and throw in a deep-blue background, like that offered by the ivy-covered, sun-shaded wall of Painter Hall, and you've got something.

I unpacked my view camera and shot a few more sheets of this scene, cropping tight on the right side of the tree to emphasize the interplay of tree limbs and ivy fronds. I'm glad I did, as this image was the big win of the afternoon.

Have questions, comments? Let me know what you think.

Technical Data

Fall colors and ivy-covered wall, Middlebury College, Vermont was captured with a Tachihara 4x5 Field Camera and a Schneider 210mm ƒ/5.6 Symmar-S lens on Fuji Provia 100F. The exposure was 1/15 sec at ƒ/22.

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