Shelburne Farms

Shelburne farms was an interesting trip. Only days before the scheduled class did I actually take my camera out to explore its capabilities. There aren't many. The camera I have is a small Cannon Powershot (A3300 IS). My sister bought it for me before I studied abroad in Spain as a relatively lightweight and easy camera to travel with. And that is exactly what it is for. Pictures of friends, buildings, and views I did not want to forget. I've learned slowly that it works best for images closer to the lens. Far away landscape shots aren't exactly its forte, and that's ok. I fumbled with the camera while I Skyped with a friend in Colorado. I took multiple pictures of my room, my boots, and even my friend on the computer screen as I tried to figure out the few (yet still magically confusing) camera settings. When I had had enough for one day, I packed it away with a charged battery and hoped for good luck at the farm.

The day we went to Shelburne Farms it was freezing. I awoke to a weather report reading -10 degrees at 9am… it would barely reach above 7 degrees throughout the day. We all bundled for our day of classes and stepped out into the frigid air. At Shelburne farms it was no different. We spent a good amount of time learning about the natural history of the Champlain Valley inside the education center before we decided to brave the cold that awaited us outside. The class wandered around the barn, snapping photographs of the landscape and architecture of the Vanderbilt design.

I tried to stay away from the crowd that mauled two goats getting their evening meals, and spent more of my time photographing the architecture of the barn. Its high points and Victorian style roof captured my attention, and hogged most of my lens. The sky was perfectly clear and blue, which I found ironic given the miserable attitudes of most students. Our noses running and cheeks stinging from wind burn, we trekked on. We were lucky enough to meet two alpacas also getting their evening grain, which I could not help but photograph. They're goofy animals in general, not to mention when they both have their heads almost entirely engulfed in brightly colored feed buckets. My favorite photo taken from my camera was of the two goats neck deep in yellow and pink plastic.

Though valiant and brave enough to face the cold for as long as we did, the class realized we would not last much longer in the freezing temperatures. We made one last stop at the lake shore to photograph ice patterns and waves. As we stepped out of the car, the wind alone almost knocked me over. Waves crashed and white tips rolled towards the small beach. I could hardly catch my breath as wind ripped into my lungs, whipping my hair out from behind my hood and slashing it across my face. While I of course snapped a few shots of the waves and ice, I also really loved the tall lonely trees that stood along the shore. A flat area not larger than a soccer field faced the water, thin trees sticking up from the ground far away from each other, almost as if they had been planted that way on purpose. I held my breath against the wind long enough to get a few good photos before diving into the car to shield myself from the harsh weather.