Happy Halloween and "Morning with the Maples" Photo Spotlight

Ghoulish greetings my friends! 🧛🏻‍♂️(Said in a classic Dracula voice)… I’m so sorry, wait actually no - I can’t help myself, I’m an unapologetic fun-loving nerd, lol! We are still having some rather spooky weather here in the Northeast - gray skies, spits of rain, and winds whipping all around! Hopefully anyone going out Trick or Treating tonight with their kids or just embracing the joy of being a kid themselves stays safe and has a wonderful time!

I know I say this approximately 9 times a year (albeit all for very specific reasons!), but I love this time of year! I grew up with a healthy love of the horror genre and fully embrace that to this day. I could right a whole book here on the various films, books, and video games that have brought me joy and helped shape who I am, but I’ll digress, and try to keep things more relevant, haha!

Halloween, now in middle-age adulthood, has come to represent to me the culmination of the month of October. It’s like taking everything I love about the Autumn season - the trees changing leaves, the crisp air, the delicious smells, the harvest, the horrors - and stirring it all into a Witches Cauldron for one big Monster Mash of a celebration!🧙‍♀️🍁🍄🌰🍂🧌🌕🐺🧟‍♂️🎃👻

And so, I just felt compelled to treat you all to a little piece of Autumn eye candy to enjoy throughout the All-Hallowtide Weekend we have upon us. Be sure to delve deep down to the bottom of this bag (aka this post) to enjoy a short, sweet treat…

“Morning with the Maples” - Shenandoah National Park, VA

“Shenandoah, my first National Park. And my first National Park backpacking experience way back in October of 2012, a couple years before I made my first pilgrimage to Vermont for the Fall Foliage. This Park holds a special place in my heart, and is arguably my favorite east of the Mississippi. Once I experienced Autumn in New England, and began coinciding Art Festivals along with being up there for the first part of October, it has become increasingly difficult to make it Shenandoah then in the latter part of the month after returning home. But on occasional years, I can pull it all off in one Monster of a month, if you will!

This was one such year, and although I don’t have this date handy off the top of my head, I’m going to say it is either 2014 or 2015 because I know it’s back from my Mamiya RB67 medium-format film days. I had actually hiked this trail (Meadow School Trail in the Central District) first in the Spring and realized the forest here is predominantly Sugar Maple, need I say more!!!

Up here in the Central District of Shenandoah, you are accessing trails from much higher elevation than many further Northern and Southern District Trails. And I have learned that means peak foliage up to a week or two earlier on average, occurring more in mid-October than late October. This particular year, I was fortunate enough to nail it! I’m talking about an “All Out Glowing Orange Color Assault On Your Senses!!!” I mean, and as you can see, basically EVERY leaf was screaming “CHECK ME OUT” all the way down to the forest floor!

It was simply magical! And oh the smell!!! Such glorious conditions abounded on this backpack… The air was clear and crisp, the ground was slightly damp and evoked the Earth and the Maple Leaves in every beautiful breath! (Yes, I wholeheartedly feel the smell of a predominant Maple Forest smells different - and what I associate with the Season - than an Oak Forest, let’s say, in the Fall). I recall the night prior to photographing this scene, having one of my first quintessential Autumn backpacking experiences…

‘It was in the cool dark of night that I sat in my Therma-Rest make-shift Airpad seat, tucked in my 20 degree sleeping bag with only the light of tea candle providing any visibility. As I sipped my Southern Tier Pumking Ale, out of nowhere the shrieks and yips and howls pierced the still of night! A pack of coyotes going crazy over something! And they were close! I even got a brief glance of one prancing by in the shadows of my headlamp and candlelight! It sent chills up my spine, in a beautifully eerie way that I will never forget. How fitting for the Season!’

I remember then in the morning, it was so difficult to pull myself away. My coffee and Mountain House Biscuits & Gravy were an absolute perfect match to the brisk morning. I truly felt the essence of this forest all around me for a few blissful hours and knew I had to still it on film, so that I could always come back to my bountiful ‘Morning with the Maples.’”

https://www.brandonklinewnp.com/printpurchasing/morning-with-the-maples

Side note on the above image and story - this forest also is home to one of the oldest, gnarliest Sugar Maples I have been graced to encounter out in the Wilderness. Tap to take a peak at this spooky beauty, if you dare! Mmmmmmmwwwaaaaaaaahhhhhaaahhhaaahhh…

Happy Halloween my friends, 🎃💀🎃👻🎃🧟‍♀️🎃

Brandon

“Happy When It Rains” Photo Spotlight

Hey everyone, boy are we getting a good soaking here in the Northeast! I was just outside checking on some things and caught a little of the fresh drizzle, and it reminded me of just how refreshing and re-invigorating that feeling can be - literally like the cleansing of a shower! And so I thought I’d take a break from the “glorious sun highlighting Autumn’s beauty” type of photographs I’ve shared recently and show you that rain, mist, and fog in the Fall Forest are also quite glorious! Depending on the scene and one’s mood at that time (just like Mother Nature’s), one could even say such conditions are arguably even better…

“Happy When It Rains” - Green Mountain National Forest, VT

I recall from this week in early October of 2018, that the mood you see here pretty much sums it up. I was on my traditional backpacking week between two Art Festival weekends up in Vermont, and I had chosen this little nook of the Appalachian/Long Trail near Killington. (If you read my “In the Heart of Autumn” spotlight on October 1st, yes that same stretch of trail!)

“Often, people will say what a great day to be out taking photographs on a bright, sunny day. And while, yes, I enjoy a lovely sunny day out on the trail as much as the next person, it doesn’t always exactly resonate with stunning photography outside of the wee early hours and then the latter hours of the day. But clouds, on the other hand, contribute to nice, even light, even during times of the day when light can typically be too harsh. And storms, well, they can create otherworldly conditions and atmosphere!

As I’m sure I mentioned in that other post, this stretch of forest is filled with towering Old-Growth Sugar Maples, not to mention Red Maples, White and Gray Birch, Beech, Aspen, Hemlock, and well, you get the idea - it is a magical place to find yourself lost in for a time!

And this time that I was given was wet. Multiple storms hovered over the region for most of that week, but you know what? I had such a memorable time filled with wonder just kind of hanging out for a few days. I had made a lovely little campsite hidden well off the trail, nestled in amongst some of the Giants of the Forest. And there I basically holed up in my hammock, rain fly, warm clothes and good rain gear. I can vividly recall how relaxing it was and the strong smell of the damp Autumn Woods. And when the rains weren’t too drenching, I would head out with my camera and explore…

Of the uncountable incredible scenes I came across on these early days of Autumn - the forest still lushly green, dappled with those Sugar and Red Maples beginning to vibrantly glow in their oranges and reds, veiled by mist and fog - this one made me stop in my tracks and ponder it for some time. And when that happens, it usually means it is time to break out the beast (aka the large-format 4x5 view camera).

Those soaked and saturated heart-shaped leaves just jumped out of the scene before me along with the downed birch trunk and foreground green, while everything else - hints of orange and the forest you know is back there is kind of cloaked in another world by the misty atmosphere. I just love how the image oozes with earthiness and mystery. You can just feel the dampness and smell the Earth! And one can’t help but wonder what other treasures lurk just beyond sight, out there in the fog…

After exposing my sheets of film, I meandered back to my little hammock cave and would soak in another night of rain drops falling through the forest, beading off of my rain fly and the Old-Growth Giants swaying in the breeze. I eventually would really get a good drenching on my backpack out, the kind that even solid rain gear can’t withstand forever haha, but I wouldn’t have wanted any of this rain soaked adventure to be any different. What a healthy, refreshing reminder to slow down and absorb the world around you.”

https://www.brandonklinewnp.com/printpurchasing/happy-when-it-rains

Take care and be on the lookout again tomorrow, I have another Treat lined up for this Halloween Weekend, because why not have a little excess goodness during this Spooky fun time of the year!

All my best,

Brandon

P.S. - It also recently hit me to get back to showing this when I do a photo spotlight to give you an idea of how the image could look in one of my Custom Curly Maple Frames!

"Autumn's Divine Glory" / "Maple Kissed by Dawn" Photo Spotlights

Happy greetings on this glorious mid-October day! And welcome to a few of you whom I just met in Northampton, MA at the Paradise City Arts Festival this past weekend, it was a pleasure. I missed posting this last week amidst the scramble of show life and travels, so I’m giving you a double whammy to enjoy. Very apropos, as Autumn’s blaze has been firing up through Northern Vermont the past couple weeks and is moving southward throughout the Northeast!

Funny enough, I had actually forgotten that these two images were made only a week apart from each other. In my head they were 2 different years, but no - only 5 days apart, both along the Long Trail while backpacking up Mount Mansfield near Stowe, VT. The first one somewhere in the ballpark of 500-1,000 feet higher up the mountain than the latter the following week. The foliage that year (2016) was special, as you can see! And as you will read direct writings from my journal, I was having very similar emotions on both backpacks…

“Autumn’s Divine Glory”

“- From my journal on October 6th, 2016 from where I made camp off of the Long Trail hiking up Mt. Mansfield in Vermont -

         I came upon these beckoning Sugar Maples late in the day and made camp right here in hopes to catch the dawn’s first light setting them on fire. Earlier today I smelled Fall distinctly for the first time this season. Halfway up this mountain, on the Long Trail, the delicious smell of Autumn leaves in the crisp air! Mixed with the strong scent of pine and fir and the Earthy aroma of damp soil in the coolness of shade towards sunset, the smell evoked the spirit of the season! Within this forest of Maple, Birch, and Evergreen, I sit with my eyes and thoughts fixed upon the stars and the silhouetted giant trees. Leaves tumble down upon me in the breeze as I drift amongst the stars. I await the morning light to cast its glow upon these mountains, ablaze with Autumn fire like I have only ever imagined...”

         -October 7th-  

         “I awoke this morning to a magnificent pre-dawn glow, accentuating the orange glow of the maples with its pinkish-purple hue. The first rays of light to touch these beauties were purely divine. Highlighted Birch bark and fiery Sugar Maple leaves contrast against the shadow of the Green Mountains. What a majestic scene in this golden light! The heavy smell of fir mingles with the unmistakable scent of Autumn. The leaves, the cool air, the dampness in this refreshing light. It is so peaceful as birds softly chatter and it lulls me back to a dreamy state... Autumn’s glory, so fleeting and so precious.”

www.brandonklinewnp.com/printpurchasing/autumn’s-divine-glory

“Maple Kissed by Dawn”

October 11th, 2016 -

“How glorious this crisp October morning is underneath this canopy of majestic Maples! When the sun breaks the facing mountains at dawn and casts its soft warm glow upon this forest, its light sets the fiery orange and red Sugar Maples ablaze! Like rekindling the flame that temporarily burned to embers, the Sugar Maples’ dark orange hue from their nightly slumber is awakened with brilliance!

         It truly is Autumn in all it’s glory where I sit right now, sipping my coffee. I have camped amongst some magnificent old beauties this past evening and morning. Although brisk, chilling winds whipped around last night for hours before calming, the sky was as clear as could be - starlit with a waxing gibbous moon glow. And this morning, not a cloud in the sky, that deep crisp blue like only October can produce. The sun gives warmth yet a chill at the same time. And the forest a splattering of fading lime greens, shimmering yellows, glowing oranges and burning reds!

         It is calm and quiet, unlike the peacefulness of the birdsongs and insects of Spring and Summer, you can almost hear the air this time of year. And oh, the smell of the leaves! Like only a forest floor blanketed with Maple and Birch leaves can smell… Yes, Autumn is in the air!”

www.brandonklinewnp.com/printpurchasing/maple-kissed-by-dawn

More Autumn adventures to come over the next few weeks! Until then, get out and enjoy the bounty of the season!

All my best,

Brandon

“In the Heart of Autumn” Photo Spotlight

Happy October everyone! As I mentioned before, I’m going to be highlighting some of my favorite Autumn photographs throughout this glorious season!🍁

“Before I really discovered Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, when I first started making yearly Autumnal pilgrimages up here, my favorite backpacking stretch became a section of the Appalachian/Long Trail that you can access from and/or near Gifford Woods State Park basically right in the center (or heart) of Vermont.

The trail (packed full with rocks and roots as is typical of the Northeast!), takes you through a magnificent forest of Beech, Birch and towering old Sugar Maples as you climb your way towards both Pico and Killington summits. The higher you go, more coniferous forest begins to dominate and you truly enter a different world from the one below.

I haven’t hiked it in the Fall that recently, although I did enjoy a Winter Solstice backpack there a few years ago which you may or may not see a result of in my portfolio’s future!😉… But of the few years of early October backpacks I did there in the mid-to-late 2010’s, my experiences were always magical.

From crisp sunny days with glowing oranges and reds to damp, fog, mist and rain creating otherworldly realms in these ancient mountains, I have experienced a lot of what Mother Nature can throw at you in this relatively short stretch of mileage.

And not to mention wildlife sights and sounds - I remember one evening hiking past an abundance of packs of glowing eyes in the dark wondering what exactly what it was watching me. Only later to hear wild yips and howls of coyotes echoing in the night. I’ve experienced this a few times here, as well as the hoots and howls of owls, both of which add a wonderful touch to the October ambiance if you ask me!🎃

I guess what all of this boils down to is this - ever since I have begun exploring New England, Vermont in particular, I have strongly felt that if a Season (in this case Autumn) has a heart and that heart has a Place, it is buried deep in the Green Mountains of Vermont, protected by the ancient forest that surrounds it…

On this particular morning, I awoke pre-dawn from my deep forest backcountry site and hiked close to a mile up to this lovely overlook I’ve always admired in the damp, yet crisp, cool October air to await full early sunlight highlighting the brilliant blanket of Autumn foliage. From the glowing Maples in the hills and valleys below, to the central Fir, to the bordering Birch trees acting skeletal, if you will - all of it encompassing the beating heart of the Place and the Season.”

All my best,

Brandon

P.S. - And in case you missed yesterday’s email, here’s a quick link to go back to the post to find out about a special offering for a limited time…

www.brandonklinewnp.com/trailblog/2025/9/30/greetings-from-the-northeast-kingdom-and-a-special-autumn-offering

Greetings from the Northeast Kingdom!… (And a Special Autumn Offering!)

Hey everyone and welcome a handful of newcomers from the Quechee Art Festival this past weekend. It was such a fun weekend meeting all of you and being back in Vermont for the magic of Autumn in New England!

The drive up here to Brighton State Park in Island Pond, VT (yesterday Monday, September 29th)was nothing short of spectacular! We took some scenic detours including stopping at The Willey’s General Store for some supplies and driving all around Lake Willoughby, always an inspirational sight to behold! I can’t tell you how many times I listened to James Taylor’s “October Road” in pure memerization of the season, lol!

And while on the road, taking in the glory, I got inspired to share an Autumn offering with all of you…

I was already planning on kicking off my lineup of weekly Autumn Photograph favorites with a post tomorrow in honor of it being the first day of October, a very special time of the year to me! And then I got to thinking - I should extend a special offer to everyone here, as it’s been a while since I’ve done something of the sort.

I’d like to offer anyone who would like one (or more!) of my custom Curly Maple Framed Photographs at 30% off of their regular price! This includes anything that I currently have on hand that you may have seen in my booth recently and/or brand new Made for Delivery orders. This offer is good from now thru Thursday October 9th! (I’ll be setting up for the Paradise City Northhampton, MA Art Festival on Friday October 10th for the Columbus/Indigenous Peoples’ Day Weekend.)

This is a GREAT opportunity if you’ve been on the fence about a piece (or pieces), especially some of my bigger sizes. For example, my current big show piece - a 32x40 print in a 40x50 frame is currently $3,800. At 30% off that’s $2,660, over a thousand dollars saved ($1,140 to be exact)! And so on down the line…

And if you’re not in the market for a framed piece, but would really love a print, I can take 20% off full print price for you.

This offer is not available in the Print Purchasing page on the website. You have to email, call or text me with what you’d like.

Here’s a few looks to perhaps help give you ideas and/or refresh your memory. I hope to hear from you and be on the lookout for tomorrow’s Photo Spotlight!

All my best,

Brandon

“Fortune and Glory” 32x40 Print in Black Mat and 40x50 Frame - Reg. $3,800 would be $2,660

“Autumn’s Divine Glory” 16x20 Print in Brown Suede/White Mat and 24x30 Frame - Reg. $1,000 would be $700

“Shenandoah Dreamin’” 20x24 Print in Green Suede/Black Mat and 28x34 Frame - Reg. $1,750 would be $1,225

Happy Autumn Equinox! & "To Last a Lifetime" / "Of Things to Come" Photo Spotlights

Good afternoon and Happy Autumn Equinox everyone! This seasonal change always brings a lot of emotions for me. Usually come late August/early September you can just feel nature’s life cycle winding down and I can say I have felt that very distinctly this year. But then, right around now and going into October, the changing leaves and crisp air tend to get me fired up for the last hurrah, Nature’s Grand Finale!

I’d be lying if I said this hasn’t been an extremely challenging year, but I am so excited and looking forward to the next few weeks -

I’ll be heading out Thursday for Vermont to try a brand new festival in Quechee, near the popular town of Woodstock. The show runs Friday to Sunday, hours and specs here - www.brandonklinewnp.com/art-festival-lineup-2025 - Anna and our dogs will join me over the weekend for camping at Quechee State Park and then we’ll head up to the Northeast Kingdom for the following week of camping and hopefully catching the spectacular display of Autumn Foliage up there!

Then the weekend of Columbus/Indigenous Peoples’ Day, I’ll be in Northhampton, MA for the Paradise City Arts Festival. And with any luck, I hope to get some good backpacking in during that first full week of October!

So, if you find yourself in New England during any of these time frames, I’d love for you to come see me at the shows and enjoy Autumn’s show as well, New England rarely disappoints!

I plan on lining up weekly Photo Spotlights to be released from now through October/early November showcasing some of my favorites of the season and will keep you posted as I can…

Oh and the on-line store is still open, any orders placed while I’m on the road will be fulfilled as soon as I can (approximately a 2-3 week timeframe).

Ok, here’s the fun stuff…

“To Last a Lifetime”

“It was myself, my brother and our father, in The Great Smoky Mountains National Park for the first time and the first time my brother and I got our Dad out backpacking!  It was truly unique experiencing these beautiful Appalachian Mountains on this grand of a scale and just how bio-diverse these ancient Smokies really are!  

Despite being one of the wettest and dampest adventures overall that I have experienced, and thusly being a bit of a damper for our father, it was nonetheless an amazing experience traversing through different climate zones and such a variety of forest types. From mixed deciduous hardwoods, through rhododendron tunnels (which we dubbed “the enchanted emerald forest”), and up to huge Hemlock realms we hiked. 

This image is, to me, a beautiful representation to sum up our adventure.  The photograph was taken right beside our camping location on a mid-September's late afternoon.  To my companions chagrin (haha!), the fog really made the atmosphere for me, creeping through this dense forest of towering Hemlocks and Red Maples.  As I was setting up my camera, my brother was asking me where exactly I was going to hang my hammock...  

“Oh, you mean using that dead tree there?” he asked.  

“Ahh I’m sure it’s fine” I responded.  

Eeeeerrrrrrrr, BOOM!  About 30 feet to my right, a tree fell over...  No one hurt, laughs all around, and needless to say I reconsidered my sleeping placement.  

We soon got a fire going to warm the spirit and later were serenaded to sleep by the chattering katydids and crickets in a thundering echo like I have never heard before... It all still rings so loud in my mind. Much like the ancients dwelling here, memories were made "To Last a Lifetime."

“Of Things to Come”

“A little known image in my portfolio, as I don’t typically advertise it or have it on display in my booth. But I still love to gaze at it from time to time and is about as good of a presentation of a close-up as you will find in my portfolio.

The reason, I share it along with “To Last a Lifetime" you ask?

Well, the reason is quite simple - you see, if you were standing right where I was at the same moment I was when I photographed “To Last a Lifetime” and you panned the camera down towards your feet… Ta-Dah!

I just loved how damp and green the forest floor was and having this perfectly placed Red Maple leaf adorned in its Autumn hues just laying there, recently dropped from the towering tree canopy above on this mid-September day, whispering a signal to us “Of Things to Come.”

Find them both in the store directly here! -

www.brandonklinewnp.com/printpurchasing/to-last-a-lifetime

www.brandonklinewnp.com/printpurchasing/of-things-to-come

And as always, any questions, concerns or anything, don’t hesitate to reach out to me!

All my best,

Brandon