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National Roofing Partners is a proud sponsor of "View Finders."

- [Announcer 2] Sigma is proud to support photographers and filmmakers around the world and we believe creativity, and sustainability, go hand in hand.

- Every explorer- (waves crashing) Seeks their own path and the promise of what's to come.

(light music) The truth lies West.

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(birds chirping) (light bluegrass music) (light bluegrass music continues) (light bluegrass music continues) (light bluegrass music continues) - 80% of the landscape is covered by forests.

- The leading producer, of maple syrup, in the United States.

- There are 100 covered bridges throughout the state.

- This is Vermont, I'm Paul.

- I'm Chris.

- [Together] And we're the "View Finders."

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) ♪ Sittin' under the cypress tree ♪ ♪ I saw a miracle flying high ♪ ♪ I tuned into the song that she was singing ♪ - Vermont's special to everyone for a different reason.

This time of year it is certainly the most romantic, and yeah, crisp, autumn is very special in Vermont.

♪ It must be nice, it must feel good ♪ ♪ To just be heard ♪ - You know, this is the type of place- (water sloshing) Where you can get up in the morning, you can go fly fishing on a river before work.

You can take a hike probably right out the front door of your office at lunchtime, you can go to a swimming hole after dinner.

I mean, there's just like so much opportunity to get in nature kind of all the time and just integrate it into your life, and it's something so many of us do.

♪ I'd sing along with the birds ♪ as they fall.

- Yeah, yeah.

- They'r - It sure is.

- Fall colors.

- Kinda a little relief, you know.

- Literally, yeah, it's cool, it is very literally cool.

To me like Vermont, New England, fall colors, you're looking for covered bridges, you're looking for barns, you're looking, of course, for the mountains, maybe it's the maple syrup.

- Ah, yes.

- You know.

This is a nice way to start.

- [Paul] Definitely is, I like the architecture here.

- Yeah.

- The triangle shape, I don't think I've seen a barn shaped like this before, to be honest with you.

- I have never seen a barn shaped like this and I'm actually kinda walking around figuring out how I wanna photograph it, if I wanna go straight on, from the side, but.

- Yeah, some nice colors in the back there with the trees, the foliage, so.

- Yeah, absolutely.

- Kinda wanna include that.

- Yeah.

- [Paul] We need a little bit more light though, but I don't think that's gonna happen- - Yeah.

- 'Cause it's sunset- - Yeah, a little light on it would be nice, but- - Would've been perfect.

- It's pretty flat right now, it's pretty even, so we're gonna make it work, I think.

- Yeah.

- Well we got about 30 minutes or so till sunset so we're gonna maybe work the composition here, make it happen, and then see where we go next.

- Let's go.

- All right, let's make it.

♪ Staring into the wishing well ♪ ♪ Has got you feeling a particular way ♪ ♪ You can't stand to see your own reflection ♪ - So everything you're looking at behind us, this whole hillside, is pretty much all conserved.

That's all C.C.

Putnam State Forest and so that's conserved by the state of Vermont.

On the other side of the valley is all Mansfield State Forest, and the town of Stowe is kinda right in the middle of those two mountain ranges.

So much of Stowe is about our scenic beauty, but it's all about kinda the cultural history of this place.

So you have places here like Grandview Barn, that are just absolutely stunning, beautiful mountain range behind them, and people wanna come here, and as you can see, you know, it's a busy tourist weekend, people are here photographing, it's one of the things that draws people to town.

- Okay, so I'm sticking with something pretty basic on this one.

I already got my shot that I took for the barn itself, which was a little bit more exposed than what you see here now, and what I'm looking for right now is just some color and texture in the sky.

- I've settled on this spot and it looks like I'm just emerging from the earth here (chuckling), doesn't matter because I'm gonna shoot this a little differently than I normally do a scene.

For this shot, in this particular setting, I'm kind of liking a very big aperture, so I'm shooting at 2.8, so that the barn here is much more pronounced and I'm getting a bit of a blur to all of the trees and the colors in the background.

- I already got my camera set to about three stops under what it would normally be, and I'll capture the sky with that.

And like I always say, I always shoot for the sky, I expose for the sky.

- I think it kinda works, I don't need sharp leaves, I want the eyes to go to the barn and just the rest of the color adds to the scene.

We're really trying to preserve some of that history of Vermont that really makes Vermont what it is.

You know that picture postcard that you see, that beautiful photograph that you see of an old barn with beautiful foliage behind it, and that's one part of Vermont, but it's only one part of many.

(camera shutter clicking) ♪ I'd sing along with the birds ♪ (camera shutter clicking) ♪ I'd sing along ♪ ♪ If I only knew the words ♪ ♪ I'd sing along with the birds ♪ ♪ If I only knew the words ♪ (water sloshing) - I've multiple different compositions I can get.

The one I like the best is the shot from the bottom.

- [Chris] What are you seeing Paul?

- [Paul] I see a couple of compositions.

I like this waterfall.

- Yeah.

- I wanna try to include some of this and lead all the way up to the top.

So I just switched out my lens.

- Okay.

- [Paul] I'm gonna try to go to a 24 millimeter.

- You know, I just so happen to have a 24 millimeter on my camera as well.

- I got a 14 to 24, but I don't have a filter that can go on that one.

- What do they say about great minds?

- They think alike.

(camera shutter clicking) (upbeat bluegrass music) (camera shutter clicking) (upbeat bluegrass music continues) - So in photography, light is everything.

And what illustrates that on this trip is we were at this barn, extremely historic barn outside of Stowe, we came here last night for the sunset and it just never really popped.

It never really came alive, the barn was in shadows the entire time because of the mountain behind us.

And so the light is pretty good today, it's very colorful, brilliant blue sky, puffy white clouds, great light on the mountain, so Paul and I are like, let's go back, let's check it again and see what it looks like and it looks great.

(camera shutter clicking) ♪ And there's autumn down where the leaves can fall ♪ ♪ On either side of the garden wall ♪ (camera shutter clicking) ♪ We were up all night to style="basic" tts:origin="29.38% 79.33%" tts:extent="37.5% 5.33%">The only places that - It sure is.

- Fall colors.

- Kinda a little relief, you know.

- Literally, yeah, it's cool, it is very literally cool.

To me like Vermont, New England, fall colors, you're looking for covered bridges, you're looking for barns, you're looking, of course, for the mountains, maybe it's the maple syrup.

- Ah, yes.

- You know.

This is a nice way to start.

- [Paul] Definitely is, I like the architecture here.

- Yeah.

- The triangle shape, I don't think I've seen a barn shaped like this before, to be honest with you.

- I have never seen a barn shaped like this and I'm actually kinda walking around figuring out how I wanna photograph it, if I wanna go straight on, from the side, but.

- Yeah, some nice colors in the back there with the trees, the foliage, so.

- Yeah, absolutely.

- Kinda wanna include that.

- Yeah.

- [Paul] We need a little bit more light though, but I don't think that's gonna happen- - Yeah.

- 'Cause it's sunset- - Yeah, a little light on it would be nice, but- - Would've been perfect.

- It's pretty flat right now, it's pretty even, so we're gonna make it work, I think.

- Yeah.

- Well we got about 30 minutes or so till sunset so we're gonna maybe work the composition here, make it happen, and then see where we go next.

- Let's go.

- All right, let's make it.

♪ Staring into the wishing well ♪ ♪ Has got you feeling a particular way ♪ ♪ You can't stand to see your own reflection ♪ - So everything you're looking at behind us, this whole hillside, is pretty much all conserved.

That's all C.C.

Putnam State Forest and so that's conserved by the state of Vermont.

On the other side of the valley is all Mansfield State Forest, and the town of Stowe is kinda right in the middle of those two mountain ranges.

So much of Stowe is about our scenic beauty, but it's all about kinda the cultural history of this place.

So you have places here like Grandview Barn, that are just absolutely stunning, beautiful mountain range behind them, and people wanna come here, and as you can see, you know, it's a busy tourist weekend, people are here photographing, it's one of the things that draws people to town.

- Okay, so I'm sticking with something pretty basic on this one.

I already got my shot that I took for the barn itself, which was a little bit more exposed than what you see here now, and what I'm looking for right now is just some color and texture in the sky.

- I've settled on this spot and it looks like I'm just emerging from the earth here (chuckling), doesn't matter because I'm gonna shoot this a little differently than I normally do a scene.

For this shot, in this particular setting, I'm kind of liking a very big aperture, so I'm shooting at 2.8, so that the barn here is much more pronounced and I'm getting a bit of a blur to all of the trees and the colors in the background.

- I already got my camera set to about three stops under what it would normally be, and I'll capture the sky with that.

And like I always say, I always shoot for the sky, I expose for the sky.

- I think it kinda works, I don't need sharp leaves, I want the eyes to go to the barn and just the rest of the color adds to the scene.

We're really trying to preserve some of that history of Vermont that really makes Vermont what it is.

You know that picture postcard that you see, that beautiful photograph that you see of an old barn with beautiful foliage behind it, and that's one part of Vermont, but it's only one part of many.

(camera shutter clicking) ♪ I'd sing along with the birds ♪ (camera shutter clicking) ♪ I'd sing along ♪ ♪ If I only knew the words ♪ ♪ I'd sing along with the birds ♪ ♪ If I only knew the words ♪ (water sloshing) - I've multiple different compositions I can get.

The one I like the best is the shot from the bottom.

- [Chris] What are you seeing Paul?

- [Paul] I see a couple of compositions.

I like this waterfall.

- Yeah.

- I wanna try to include some of this and lead all the way up to the top.

So I just switched out my lens.

- Okay.

- [Paul] I'm gonna try to go to a 24 millimeter.

- You know, I just so happen to have a 24 millimeter on my camera as well.

- I got a 14 to 24, but I don't have a filter that can go on that one.

- What do they say about great minds?

- They think alike.

(camera shutter clicking) (upbeat bluegrass music) (camera shutter clicking) (upbeat bluegrass music continues) - So in photography, light is everything.

And what illustrates that on this trip is we were at this barn, extremely historic barn outside of Stowe, we came here last night for the sunset and it just never really popped.

It never really came alive, the barn was in shadows the entire time because of the mountain behind us.

And so the light is pretty good today, it's very colorful, brilliant blue sky, puffy white clouds, great light on the mountain, so Paul and I are like, let's go back, let's check it again and see what it looks like and it looks great.

(camera shutter clicking) ♪ And there's autumn down where the leaves can fall ♪ ♪ On either side of the garden wall ♪ (camera shutter clicking) ♪ We were up all night to produce a little bit more is our neighbors to t"27.5% 84.67%" tts:extent="45% 5.33%">from their moving cars ♪ ♪ Stacking stones round their broken hearts ♪ ♪ Waving down any wind that might come blowin' ♪ - This is quintessential New England.

I think I've used that word a few times already and we've only been here for two days.

- But it describes it properly, you know.

- It does.

It is this beautiful quiet country road, these old trees, gorgeous gold colors.

It's peaceful, there's a little breeze, it's cool out, I mean like what else, what else do we need right now for fall in New England?

The only problem is so I can get some decent depth of field my shutter speed is like, it's a little slow for capturing them as they fall.

- Yeah, yeah.

- They're kinda streaks.

- Same with me, but I think you make up for it with the nice color you're gonna get down the street.

- Oh, completely.

Sometimes it's really nice to have like a zoom lens, or at least think about using a telephoto, 'cause you can compress a scene, and let me show you what I'm talking about right here.

So this has quickly become my favorite lens, it's a 60 to 600.

At 60 millimeters this is a pretty scene, but the problem is we're getting some elements of sky in that, those bright areas, and those are a little bit distracting.

So by zooming in to about 140 millimeters, I've now eliminated that sky.

I've compressed all of these different trees here, along the side, and I think you get a tighter, stronger composition.

(camera shutter clicking) ♪ That's all holy smoke and the flame dies fast ♪ ♪ We hold our hats while the days fly past ♪ (camera shutter clicking) ♪ Cold wind comes and we wait but it keeps going ♪ (wind rustling) (birds chirping) (trees rustling) (light bluegrass music) (light bluegrass music continues) ♪ I saw it written and I saw it say ♪ (rooster crowing) ♪ A pink moon is on its way ♪ ♪ And none of you stand so tall ♪ ♪ A pink moon and I get letters ♪ ♪ Do you ever think of me ♪ very historic, one of a kind.

There's I guess hardly any like this left in the country and we're getting pretty dramatic skies this morning with a little bit of color as the sun's coming up, but it's very cloudy and so I'm trying to add a drama, a certain kind of dimension to it that has a mood.

- Okay, so what I'm looking at here is these two benches that are here in front of the church giving me a good foreground object.

(dog barking) And there's also a little cutout in the trees here where you can see the steeple right in-between, you know, the trees sort of make a puzzle piece around the steeple, kinda like that.

- And so I'm doing a really long exposure, I'm going 30 seconds, ultra wide at the base of it so that it's kind of towering up into the sky so that it has presence.

So this image, I want presence, but I also want the movement of the clouds to create drama.

It's a very different sunrise shoot.

We're usually looking for big, beautiful vistas, this is kinda atypical for us, but I kinda like that.

- The one thing I don't particularly like about this one setup that I have here, is I like symmetry, and one bench is kinda moved a little further to the left, leaving the other bench kinda in an odd position, so it's not really perfectly aligned, but we'll have to make it work.

(camera shutter clicking) ♪ Pink, pink, pink, pink ♪ ♪ Pink moon ♪ (camera shutter clicking) ♪ Pink, pink, pink, pink- ♪ - I think one thing I love about landscape photography, it's almost like a game of chess, and you're playing, maybe not against Mother Nature, but you're playing a game of chess, or you're playing a puzzle, you're trying to solve it, and so I'm trying to solve it right now.

The conditions are changing, I finally think found a composition, but it gets my brain going because I wanna walk away with the best possible photo from the way things looked in that moment that I was here.

And so it's taken me the better part of 45 minutes to arrive with this spot, and now I'm waiting on clouds and I can see 'em coming, and so to me that's just fun.

It's a fun creative process and if you walk away with something that you really like, and you feel like you solved the puzzle that day, it's just a good feeling.

(camera shutter clicking) ♪ Pink moon gonna get ye all ♪ ♪ It's a pink moon ♪ (camera shutter clicking) ♪ Yeah, it's a pink moon ♪ - I knew this was gonna be different, this isn't our typical sunrise shoot.

We got here it's cloudy, and then it just, the magic happened.

- It opened up.

- The magic happened.

- It got to the point where not only did we have, well, at least for me we had, there were different compositions out here to be had.

- Yeah.

- [Paul] But different times of the morning, because- - Right.

- [Paul] At first we got out here, it was gray and dreary, and it was like, eh, you know, maybe something moody.

- Yeah.

- [Paul] But then the sky opened up with the clouds, the sun coming up, turned the gray sky into blue, and white, and pink.

- There were some challenges.

There's a little bit of kinda distracting elements in the foreground, but- - Power lines, yeah.

- I think we worked around it, I'm happy with it.

And then I went over and read the sign, this thing was built in like early, early 1800s, it's a national historic landmark so it just gives it an extra bit of gravitas.

- Yeah, exactly.

- [Chris] And man, what a great morning in Vermont.

- I usually tell people the best time to shoot, I mean if you're looking for a good sky, is either before or after some rains come through.

- Yeah.

- And we had some rain last night, so yeah.

- The magic happened, it was awesome.

Well man, I'm a little chilly and I'm hungry, so you ready to eat?

- We're in the land of maple syrup let's get some pancakes to put 'em on, man.

- Let's do it man.

(upbeat bluegrass music) (upbeat bluegrass music continues) (upbeat bluegrass music continues) So Vermont produces more maple syrup than anywhere else in the United States, and almost anywhere else in the world.

The only places that produce a little bit more is our neighbors to the north, up in Quebec.

Maple syrup production is actually a significant portion of the economy here in the state, especially the farming economy.

You know people always think of farming in Vermont, you think of cows, and Ben & Jerry's, and milk products, and that's a big portion, but maple products are a big portion of our agriculture economy as well.

In order to get the maple syrup, you have to tap the trees, the sap flows out of the tap and into buckets, or in sometimes tubes, you collect that, and in the springtime you boil it down.

So you know it's maple sugaring season in Vermont when every sugar shack you pass is billowing steam out the top.

♪ Now don't forget me little darling ♪ ♪ When I'm growing old and gray ♪ ♪ Just a little thought before I'm going far away ♪ - I got two separate filters on my lens right now.

One is a circular polarizer, which I'm using to kinda cut the glare from the water to the lens.

(water sloshing) Then what I'm doing, again, also is to use a 6-stop ND filter, which is gonna allow me to slow my shutter speed down to capture a lot of the movement in the clouds in the sky.

- It's funny, I think I said this before, great minds think alike- (both chuckling) Because I too am using two filters.

(camera shutter clicking) ♪ 'Cause I'll be waiting on the hillside ♪ ♪ For the day you will call ♪ ♪ On the sunny side of the mountain ♪ ♪ Where the rippling waters fall ♪ - Many people often inquire so when is peak foliage, what's the best time of year to come to Vermont to see the peak colors, when are they most vibrant?

And the question is hard to answer.

The leaves change, of course, in response to decreased temperature and reduced daylight.

The trees begin to replace the chlorophyll, that makes the leaves green, with the now visible pigments of red, yellow, even purple sometimes, as the trees begin to prepare for winter.

♪ Now darling, tell me in your letters ♪ ♪ Do you ever think of me ♪ ♪ Ah, tell me little darling ♪ ♪ Tell me where you can be ♪ ♪ 'Cause I'll be waiting on the hillside for the day ♪ ♪ When you will call ♪ ♪ On the sunny side of the mountain ♪ ♪ Where the rippling waters fall ♪ (camera shutter clicking) (upbeat bluegrass music) (camera shutter clicking) (upbeat bluegrass music continues) - So the reason we're called, the Green Mountain State, is because of our forests, so we're about 80% forested here in the state.

A lot of that because of our rich soils, our trees just like this, this sugar maple tree right here.

- Where we stand now, we have behind us the Green Mountains, and in this direction we're at the foot of the Worcester Mountains, so the leaf colors are really on vibrant display on both sides of you as a curtain.

So this part of Vermont, aside from being largely undeveloped and mostly forested, does have excellent views.

♪ Before going I'm going far away ♪ ♪ 'Cause I'll be waiting on the hillside ♪ ♪ For the day you will call ♪ ♪ On the sunny side of the mountain ♪ ♪ Where the rippling waters fall ♪ - The reason a lot of people are drawn to Vermont is simply its proximity.

We get a great many of visitors from the megalopolis of Boston, Washington, New York, even Montreal, which is actually, as we stand here, the closest city.

- Many people come here because of the scenic beauty, because of the potential for outdoor recreation, and we're really at the cornerstone of all of that.

We're the ones protecting the land that people mountain bike on, that they hike on, that they go birding, and we're also there protecting the lands and waters that wildlife need to thrive.

- The conservation efforts in Vermont are widespread.

I work for the State Forest Parks and Recreation, our foresters who work very closely with private landowners to encourage proper harvesting of timber and which types of trees need to be encouraged to encourage everything from wildlife to prevention of soil erosion.

- Having connectivity is one of the big things.

So wildlife are gonna be migrating from one area to the next, they're especially gonna be migrating in response to climate change, so they say that wildlife migrate about 11 miles north and about 30 feet higher in elevation every decade.

(upbeat bluegrass music continues) (vehicle motor whirring) (upbeat bluegrass music continues) ♪ Hey stranger, there's danger down the line ♪ ♪ You'll find heartache and trouble ♪ ♪ In all your good timin' rowdy ways ♪ (water gurgling) ♪ I tell you no lie ♪ ♪ There's no burden greater in life ♪ - This is a special place.

(water sloshing) We just got here, there's several covered bridges, I don't even know where to start.

It's right at daybreak- (water sloshing) I've got this kind of waterfall that's flowing here in the foreground.

I've got a pretty calm still pool of water that's reflecting this extremely old, still functional covered bridge, in New England, in fall, like what else do I need?

Maybe a moose sipping some water over there would be nice, but you know what, I'm not gonna get that picky.

- To be honest with you right now there are about three or four different compositions I'm looking at, but I'm also trying to make sure I don't end up in the ER, these rocks are kinda slippery.

So I got one here that has me with two streams of water coming down, a little waterfall there, and the bridge in the background, but I also wanna move up to get that mini fall right there.

(water sloshing continues) But the reflection of the bridge, and the foliage around it.

- What I'm working right now is my shutter speed.

And so I think with waterfall-style photography, your shutter speed's important.

If you go way too long, it just becomes this undefined mist.

But I don't have a lot of light, I got a polarizer on to enhance the colors, and so I'm kind of having to work my shutter speed, my aperture, and perhaps a little bit of focus stacking, because if I go F/16, I'm gonna go too long with my shutter speed.

With all of that technical stuff aside, this is just beautiful and if you had a phone, you had an old like 2005 camera, or you have a pro set up, you're gonna get a good picture here.

(camera shutter clicking) ♪ As soon as you pick yourself up just to say ♪ ♪ Hey, to your loved ones ♪ (camera shutter clicking) ♪ They'll all turn away ♪ ♪ Don't go living with trouble in mind ♪ ♪ There's no burden greater in life ♪ - When we were coming in I didn't see many leaves left on the trees.

I was nervous- - That's kinda scary.

- I was nervous we had missed peak 'cause when when we plan these it's way in advance.

- I was impressed by the amount of color that we still did see here.

I was impressed by the weather cooperating with us sometimes, but at the same time, I kinda gained some appreciation for the wait-game that we have to do in this photography game sometimes.

You get to a spot and you may have to wait for the light to be where you want it to be to get that perfect shot, so.

- Yeah, we did that.

- Yeah, oh yeah.

- Several times.

- Yeah.

- I think this is a little bit of a different one for us too.

I mean, normally we're trying to get big open views of the landscape, and that's wonderful, but here it was a little kinda more close up, more personal.

(water sloshing continues) We were doing structures, we did some waterfalls, it just had a New England feel.

How many times have I said quintessential and New England together?

- Exactly.

- This is quintessential New England.

Literally what says quintessential New England.

Had this quintessential New England vibe to it- (Paul laughing) In a lot of ways.

Paul, that was absolutely phenomenal.

- Loved it.

- I mean.

- Loved it.

- I mean, amazing, amazing.

You know what that was?

- What?

- That was quintessential New England.

So many times.

- You know we're in New England, we gotta do that.

♪ Sweet Caroline ♪ ♪ Bom, bom, bom ♪ (Chris laughing) - They don't wanna, the audience does not wanna hear me sing.

Are we gonna harmonize?

- Nah.

- Can we do it.

- All you have to do is say, ♪ Sweet Caroline ♪ - And then everybody else is going- ♪ Bom, bom, bom ♪ - You don't even have to say it, the audience will say it.

- We toss that to the audience.

So Vermont did not disappoint.

- No, not at all.

(water sloshing) In fact I think it may have raised the bar for wherever we go next, so.

- Absolutely.

- Yeah.

- And speaking of which, I dunno about you, but I think there's more views out there, let's go find 'em.

- You got it.

- Let's do it.

♪ Hollows in the woods call out ♪ ♪ Trails up mountains climb ♪ ♪ Waves and sand keep beat and time ♪ ♪ Mossy blankets, swirling stream ♪ ♪ Over rocks and dirt ♪ ♪ Run at pace with all the earth ♪ ♪ Could we capture nature's wonder ♪ ♪ Find our way to getting lost ♪ ♪ Freeze a frame to save forever ♪ ♪ Adventure worth the cost ♪ ♪ Bees and dandelion grain ♪ ♪ Dance in sun-soaked fields ♪ ♪ Wind and gleam together yield ♪ ♪ Pocket worries fade to dim ♪ ♪ Wait on focus new ♪ ♪ Wild is coming into view ♪ - [Announcer] National Roofing Partners deliver single source commercial roofing solutions in all 50 states, through over 260 contractors nationwide.

National Roofing Partners is a proud sponsor of "View Finders."

- [Announcer 2] Sigma is proud to support photographers and filmmakers around the world.

And we believe creativity and sustainability go hand in hand.

- Every explorer- (waves crashing) Seeks their own path and the promise of what's to come.

The truth lies West.

- [Announcer 3] Georgia College and State University provides over 40 graduate program offerings, including doctorates in nursing and education.

Learn more at gcsu.edu.

- [Announcer 4] Troncalli Subaru is a proud sponsor of "View Finders."