Most likely a cell phone tower, but with the sun rising and the fog off in the valley, it looks more like a remote outpost in Antartica than the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains.

This would be a fantastic drive if not for the 45 MPH speed limit the entire 469 miles that the parkway stretches. Extremely pretty road the entire distance though. This was taken early in the morning near the Cherokee end of the parkway. Traffic is very light before 9a.m. in the morning, so setting up in the middle of the road during the peak of the leaves changing wasn’t too big of an issue.

This year didn’t really provide a good opportunity to get back up to the Blue Ridge Parkway, but I hope to spend 3 or 4 days next year driving, hiking, and photographing this fantastic route.

This image at least had a full moon to provide some light. Still working on how to capture a good image of the moon without blowing the detail out.

Spooky, eerie mists

My last trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains was an overnight trip. I headed up to get afternoon and sunsets photos, then woke real early for some sunrise shots. The morning this picture was taken it drizzled off and on for a good three hours. Pockets of drizzle or rain would come and go, and most overlooks were either shrouded in mist or dark from the clouds.

This was one time when the sun almost burned through the clouds. The fog coming off the mountains and the colors in the trees was spectacular–and very, very real.

A lot of the overlooks on the Blue Ridge Parkway overlook large swaths (swatches, groups??) of trees. At this stop I walked down about 40 feet into the trees and was bathed by the yellow light from the afternoon sun filtered through the oak trees. In this area there are so many that is looks like a stand of bamboo heading off down the hills.

Although there was only a slight and infrequent  breeze, it was enough to fuzz up the HDR bracketed shots I took. So I used a single frame HDR with processing applied to get the color and contrast of the trees.

A hint of color in the Blue Ridge Mountains

The Blue Ridge Mountains are still covered in green even in early October. A few trees have started succumb to cooler weather and shorter days. Technically fall, but this year we have had a long, warm, and dry late summer / early fall. This was taken at the Devil’s Courthouse, while safely behind the rock wall. I’ve been told that if I continue to jump fences to navigate to new vantage points (ala the Grand Canyon), a good lawyer should be on retainer.

Autumn Colors on the Side of a Canyon

I took this on my second trip up to the Blue Ridge Parkway a couple weeks ago, specifically to catch the fall colors. In the south we’ve had some weird weather that wasn’t good for the brilliant colors normally seen up in the mountains.

This image was taken just after the sun went down. I’d spent 30-45 minutes at the overlook a quarter mile back (Graveyard Falls) catching the last rays of sun. After packing up, I intended to head into Ashville for the night–about a 45 minute drive. The sun was down and the shadows were darkening the landscape. Driving, I came around the corner and the view above grabbed my attention in a big way.

Bright yellows, red, browns and even then grayish blue of the dead hemlock trees painted a canvas on the other side of the canyon. I pulled off into this overlook and proceeded to photograph the far canyon wall and an simply enjoy this vista. Many a car came and stopped for a few minutes while a couple of us camped out until the light levels really went down. One guy was even videoing the scenery.

Nikon D200, Nikkor 12-24 DX, 24mm at f/9, ISO 100, HDR, 5 Exposures

Where is everyone? I spent five nights at the Hamilton Princess and less than a handful of people ever showed up to enjoy the sunset-at least in this area. When I saw the chairs I had this image of movie theater seating for the “big show”. Mother Nature didn’t fall down on the job either.

Today and this past week has had rain, cold weather, and leaves starting to change outside. I thought I’d toss up something, well, warmer. Enjoy this last summer picture before the leaves fall off the trees.

Nikon D200, Nikkor 12-24 DX, 12mm at f/10, ISO 100, HDR, 5 Exposures

Getting a sunrise image with the sun just rising, and the mountains shrouded in fog, and the trees just getting illuminated is harder than I thought. Getting setup was okay, but it was cold for an early October day and although I had on a ski jacket and ski gloves, I kept taking them on and off to operate my camera. Before my next trip I took a page from Trey Ratcliff’s playbook and bought a pair of fingerless mittens–in camo!

There is something magical when you experience sunrise in the great outdoors no matter the temperature.

Nikon D200, Nikkor 12-24 DX, 19mm at f/10, ISO 100, HDR, 5 Exposures

Anticipation. After spending 20 minutes trying to figure out why my low pressure sensor in my Outback came on, by the time I arrived at the Clingman’s Dome parking lot, the sky was already starting to lighten. The paved path to the top is short at 1/4 to 1/2 mile or so, but the grade is consistent and steep. I arrived out of breath and still had 20 minutes before the sun rose.

Seeing the sky slowly start to get brighter and brighter made the cold breeze worth it. I really need to pick up some of the gloves where the finger portion can be popped up. At the highest point around, the trees close by were getting more light than the mountains lower down, which made for a nice transition from fore to mid to background.

I used the new Nik HDR Efex Pro plugin for this image. The differences are subtle so far compared to Photomatix. I’ll let you know more in 14 days if I plop the money down for this one or not.