Rock on

Today's quest for something to photograph had me driving north on Route 7A, as that's pretty much the only way out of town I hadn't really explored yet. Since it was completely overcast here, nothing really caught my eye until I got to the area around Emerald Lake. Luckily I was near a small pulloff, so I was able to park just across the road from what I wanted to shoot. First up, an old bird's nest I spotted shortly after getting out of the car:



Since so many roads in Vermont are carved into the sides of mountains, exposed rock faces are a pretty common sight as you drive along. Route 7A is no exception:



One stretch, however, jumped out at me as I went by. I don't know if it was dampness from the rain, the flat light, or a combination of the two, but I was really struck by the contrast between the flat surfaces of the rock and the various edges and crevices—I felt like I was looking at a painting rather than at reality. It was quite striking, at any rate. Or at least I thought so: