No Opportunity Wasted
Saturday afternoon I packed up the Subaru and headed to the mountains for what I hoped would a quiet overnight camping trip filled with shooting. The weather reports called for a slight chance of a shower so I wasn’t too worried but about 4 miles from my campsite that changed in a big way! The mother of all mountain storms rolled in and sat down right on top of the enitre area. Driving rain, lightning and fog so thick I could barely see the road. I pulled into the parking area and waited (and waited and waited!) but things just got worse. So after an hour of this I decided to change gears and head to Grayson Highlands State Park and see if the weather was any better.
Things looked much better at Grayson Highlands with one drawback…all of the campsites were full. I officially gave on staying overnight, which turned out to be a good idea since Sunday morning brought non-stop rain until the afternoon. Instead, I decided to make the best of the situation and hit some of the trails surrounding Mt. Rogers. The trails were muddy and the wet leaf litter made them pretty slick but I did manage to take away some nice photos.
Today’s image was taken in Massie Gap which is a large open area where the majority of the park’s trails converge. This is also the jumping off point for anyone wishing to make the ascent to the top of the mountain on the Appalachian Trail. Massie Gap is a beautiful area this time of year with everything green, the grasses waist high and the rhododendron’s blooming. Between the storms, the clouds opened up to reveal a sapphire blue sky with billowing white clouds racing across it. Considering the weekend’s weather, this seemed like the best image to put forward on a Monday morning!
Camera settings: Canon 60D
Processing: Adobe Lightroom 3
Really nice shot, Curt. I’m digging those clouds big time.
Great processing.
perfect capture of those clouds Curt, they look wonderful, well shot!!
Sweet landscape, I like the play of the shape of the clouds against the trees. Nicely done!
Beautiful… I like the natural color, not overdone. Makes me feel like I’m there! Great job.
Definitely a great shot from composition to processing.
Very dynamic and it still look real, really nice HDR work here.
Love the black-greens in this image Curt. The whole scene feels rain drenched and lush. The hint of purple keeps your eyes glued within the frame. Great capture!
Love this shot as it reminds me so much of my home land! In fact, I can see where I would have setup my fort over there in the trees. Oh to be a kid again!
Must of been a camping weekend, as my family and I were out as well. I love the processing on this with the soft painterly look.
Nice one Curt…I too was camping and we had hail, rain and lightning but I managed to get some good stuff!
Nice shot Curt, Looks like the clouds are really low to the ground.
Nice ‘underplayed’ HDR photo. Maybe you could boost the colours a little more, so that the purple flowers on the bushes stand out.
I any case, it reminds me of home