Coventry Farmers Market

One of the colorful produce displays
at the market

This may not be the oldest farmers market  in Connecticut, but it is certainly the liveliest. The Coventry Farmers Market runs from early June through October, and it is the largest and most diverse of the regional farmers markets in Connecticut,  boasting more than 50 vendors each week.  It is situated in the northeast part of the state, on the grounds of the Nathan Hale Homestead. Each week there is a special event or food sampling under the central tent located just as you enter the market area. You might be sampling seafood or marinated mushrooms, or whatever is the focus of the week to showcase some of the products available. Often, there is a special display to educate or entertain the public on such things as local mushrooms, pottery, or wool spinning. There is a good variety of vendors, selling locally grown produce, cheese, meat or fish. Each week there are a few vendors who attend the market on a one time only basis, to keep the market fresh and interesting. But it's the long-standing regulars that draw the crowds who come for the fresh produce, cheese, meat, fish and home-baked goods. The social time and the entertainment is just a bonus.

Right next door is the Nathan Hale Homestead, which offers tours of the house and periodically has re-enactments of the revolutionary war on the grounds.  The museum offers discounts to tour the house on market days, so if you are interested in going inside, this is a good time to do so.

What to Photograph

There is a lot of activity at this market and there is always something to photograph, whether it's the food, the vendors, the people or the dogs. It's a great place to capture the beautifully displayed fresh produce neatly displayed by the vendors. Strawberries, raspberries or blueberries might fill a tabletop, all lined up waiting to be photographed. All sorts of seasonal vegetables are artfully displayed, with signs to match. The vendors themselves are also good subjects, and many of them will pose with their wares if asked. And there are a number of vendors preparing samples or fast food to sell, and it's fun to catch them at their work. Check the website for a schedule of special days: the wool festival in September is a good one to go to. You'll see alpacas and sheep, and people spinning wool or just selling colorful handmade goods.

This is a dog friendly market, and people with dogs are generally happy to have a photo taken of their pet.  There is often a musician playing just inside the entrance to the market under the shade of a large tree who won't mind being photographed.

The Nathan Hale Homestead is another good subject. The red frame colonial home and outbuildings are clearly visible from the market area. A low stone wall surrounds the grounds, and is a good foreground for photographs. The revolutionary war re-enactments on the grounds of the museum, and market goers are free to watch from the stone wall. Soldiers may be performing on foot or on horseback, and their colorful costumes make good subject matter.

Alpacas love their photos taken

The work of a creative fiber artist

Fiber cupcakes at the Coventry Market

Tips and Techniques

This is a busy market so it might be advisable to leave your tripod in the car and hand-hold your camera. Set it on shutter priority, and set the shutter speed as high as you can to avoid motion blur. This will give you an opportunity to play with the shallow depth of field that comes with a large aperture. Or you might want to use a point-and-shoot camera that allows you to set the mode. Try setting it on action for shots of people or dogs that might be active, or put it on the flower or macro mode for close-ups of fruits and vegetables.

Tourist Tips

Brick oven pizza made by hand for your enjoyment

Save your appetite for the market where you can get your lunch at one of the food vendors if you are so inclined. In addition to the food samples given by many of  the vendors, you can get wood oven pizza, hot Indian food, tacos and burritos, and even hot dogs and ice cream.  Enjoy your lunch under the shade of the tall maple trees while watching the live entertainment in the market. What better way to enjoy a Sunday afternoon!

Address

Nathan Hale Homestead

2299 South Street

Coventry, CT

Phone: 860-742-1419

Email: marketmasters@coventryfarmersmarket.com

Website: www.CoventryFarmersMarket.com

GPS coordinates: Longitude: 41.763452; Latitude: -72.345773

Free parking is available in the parking lot adjacent to the Nathan Hale Homestead. Just down the road a short walk to the market, parking is available at the Strong-Porter Museum grounds.

Hours:  11 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. every Sunday, from June through the end of October. 

 Musicians play every week

Spinning wool demonstration

Pink poodles and other pets are plentiful at the market

Rosedale Farms and Vineyards, Simsbury

Seasonal Rating: Spring **     Summer ***     Fall ***     Winter *

Rosedale Farms and Vineyards operates a market garden farm as well as a winery. It is a fifth-generation farm and has been operating since 1920 in various renditions. It created a niche in the winery business when the owners planted a four acre vineyard and produced their first vintage in 2005. The farm is located near the Farmington River in the Weatogue section of Simsbury, and with its freshly painted barns, the vineyards, and lush fields of vegetables and cutting flowers, it provides a scenic setting for photographers.

What to Photograph

During the summer and fall, the vines, vegetables and cut flowers provide lots of opportunities to capture the feel of times gone by on the farm. After becoming a winery, the barn received a new look and now sports a coat of vivid red paint, adorned with oversized green grape leaves. There are various pieces of vintage farm equipment and trucks on the property that make for interesting subjects. Try composing your shot with a vintage plow or truck in the foreground when photographing the bright red barn to get a contrast between the old and new. Take a few close-ups of details of the trucks or cultivators that are strategically placed on the property.

Of course, in the late summer or fall before the grapes picked, you can get up close with the full bunches on the vines. Look for the different colors of grapes, from yellow-green to deep purple. Try shooting the rows of grapevines, using the lines to give your shot perspective, or to draw the viewers eye to another object, such as the barn or vintage truck.

Starting in late June or early July, the cutting flowers come into bloom. Follow the road past the grapevine barn to the fields of sunflowers and other cutting flowers. The field of sunflowers runs back to the stand of trees, which gives a good solid green backdrop for the tall sunflowers. They don't bloom until later in July, but once they start, blooms continue throughout the summer. An adjacent field is overflowing with colorful zinnias, snapdragons, asters and other annuals used to make the arrangements sold at their market stand.

Painted barn adorned with grapevines 

When to go

The warm summer months, from June through September, are the best time to visit Rosedale Farms. Early morning hours give a nice backlight on the vines and grapes, when you can look for dew drops and soft light to backlight the grapes and outline the leaves. The rising sun shines across the fields of flowers, as well, giving a pleasing glow. The sunflowers face the rising sun in the east, which makes it easy to get their faces when you are positioned on the farm road. Try to go by in the winter and spring if you want to photograph the buildings and capture the starkness of the vines against the land.

Tips and Techniques

Get down low to photograph the grapes, with the sun backlighting the grapes for a nice glowing effect. Use a reflector to fill the dark shadows, if you think it's necessary.

Directions

Rosedale Farms and Vineyards

25 East Weatogue Street

Simsbury, CT 06072

860-651-3926

www.rosedale1920.com

GPS coordinates: Latitude: 41.851339, Longitude: -72.798576

Store hours: 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, in season. (Check the website)

Parking is available in the small lot by the farm stand.

Tourist Tips

Pinchot Sycamore

The historic Pinchot Sycamore tree is the largest and oldest sycamore of its type in Connecticut. It's worth a stop to see the tree, and perhaps photograph it. It suffered some damage in the late October snow storm of 2011, but it is still an amazing tree with branches that reach out like a giant's arms, as if to grab the cars driving by. There is a little parking area just north off Route 185 beside the Farmington River.

Route 185, enter across from Nod Road

Simsbury, CT

 Heublein Tower

Heublein Tower is a six story structure on the top of Talcott Mountain. It overlooks the town of Simsbury and off into the distance of the Litchfield Hills and is visible from Bloomfield to Canton and beyond. It is best to photograph in the late day when the sun is shining on it from the western sky. It almost glows when the light is right, and is a much photographed icon of Simsbury. There are many spots to photograph this tower from. Try driving along Hop Road, south from Route 185, or south on Hopmeadow Street, and stop when you find a parking lot or side street with a good view.

Talcott Mountain, overlooking Simsbury