The leaves begin to change.

The sun sinks lower in the sky.

Fall makes its annual visit to New England.

And millions of foliage viewers (affectionately know as leaf peepers) make their visits also.

Planning a trip to be there for the “peak” is difficult. A dry Summer, a late Fall, or a passing tropical storm, and the best made plan is suddenly all for naught. But that’s when I get to take a little ‘artistic license’ and use my imagination to create an image the way I see it in my mind’s eye, even if Mother Nature wasn’t in a cooperative mood when I stopped by to admire the view. The scenes in this collection are from settings in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

I sometimes wonder if the idea of a “peak” is a marketing gimmick, to entice us to come back again: “You’re a little too early, come back again next week”; “You should have been here last week, you’ll have to try again next year.”

The thumbnail version of some of these images may look identical, but clicking through on each one will reveal the differences. Sometimes, after making several different renderings of a scene, I ‘ll end up blending them together into a single image. Other times, I just can’t make up my mind which one I like best. When that happens, I include them all and let you be the judge.

Also, I hope you don’t mind, but I included a few still life images within this collection. Bales of hay, pumpkins, and mums to go along with the Fall theme. I can’t take any credit for making these arrangements, I can only thank the creative hands that did.