3 Photo Spots near Brattleboro, VT for the Adventurous Couple

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1. Dutton Pines State Park

My session with T & DJ started just north of the Brattleboro line on route 5. Dutton Pines is a small but mighty little park with a quick trail and a picnic shelter with a table and a fireplace, surrounded by towering pines.

We gathered in the shelter, and did a quick run down of the session. I had worked with T previously, and she was a natural! I wasn’t sure how DJ was feeling, but we dove right in and DJ proved to be a natural, as well!

I quickly discovered that, together, these two were magical! They were incredibly comfortable in front of the camera, and we moved like well oiled machinery through sets and “poses” (I hate this word but I’m not sure of another noun to describe it. I usually say guiding, as opposed to posing because “posing” is not what I do).

We moved from the shelter to a place in the ferns, making some jokes about ticks, while I internally screamed prayers that they would be spared from any insect assault. They took it in stride, settling comfortably on the grass, staying just outside the ferns. What great back drop, though!

After about 10 minutes of shooting, we made our way back to the cars, and I told them the route to our next stop, which was about 15ish minutes away. We wound and bumped our way down Black Mountain Road and arrived at the second location.

2. Black Mountain Quarry

A few days before this session, Eric and took a quick jaunt to the quarry to scope it out, as it has been a while since we had been there. As we approached the water, we may have unwittingly disturbed two young men rolling a joint. They made haste. I giggled and shrugged.

When I arrived with T & DJ, we, again, may have disturbed some young people with a bong. They, too, made haste, bowing out to yield to the photo shoot. I giggled and shrugged. They went up on the rocks behind, while we arranged ourselves on the ledge on the edge of the water.

After crumpling myself on the ground and potentially getting broken glass on my butt to get shots of the quarry wall looming high above behind them, we moved to the rock wall with graffiti. It was slightly treacherous footing, but we all agreed that we loved graf art. Although, in the end, you can hardly see it in the photo anyway. I giggle and shrug again.

3. Dummerston Covered Bridge

On Route 30, just north of Bratt, there is the longest covered bridge in Vermont that is still in use.

In 2013, I took a day trip with my then 5 year old son to Bratt, and we stopped at this covered bridge. We took the long stairs down the the river shore and went to the right. I got a great picture of the river and the mountains (which I had to scour my Facebook photos from 10 years ago to find ):

and when I turned around, there was a huge dog in my son’s face (hackles raised and teeth bared), and I was inches from tacking this beast with my bare hands to prevent a mauling when it suddenly ran off down the rocky shore – seemingly picking up what I was putting down. No souls were injured on that day on 2013.

I tell this story because every time I drive by the bridge, I think of it, but also because that part of the shore has great views! It was the perfect backdrop in my mind.

When I arrived with T & DJ, and we carefully made our way down the steep steps to the river, we discovered that the path to that area was washed away and no longer accessible. I turned to the left, and we discovered an even better spot than what I thought we came for!

A sandy beach nook! On this hot and muggy day, the shore was breezy and beautiful! It reminded me of Sandy Point Beach in Portsmouth, RI, where we used to go for photo shoots and just to visit randomly because it was such a beautiful spot. My heart was full.

This location was the perfect end to the day, and we got some killer shots! We also got covered in sand, and for the first time in nearly a decade, I got sand on my camera. That was almost my cue to go, but not before we got a few last gems from above.

We ended, tired and hungry but invigorated by the rushing water, billowing breeze and sand under our feet. We chatted in the parking lot for a few and went our separate ways, giddy and smiling and full of the joy from a wonderful photo shoot. There is no feeling quite like it, and I can’t call it anything else but zinging.

A great day was had in the wilds of Brattleboro (technically Dummerston) and wonderful memories were made forever. Thank you so much to T & DJ who totally killed their session of 3 mini adventures near Brattleboro, Vermont.