Date Taken: 10/17/2016
Location: Craggy Pinnacle Trail, Milepost 364.2 in Craggy Gardens.
View a printable Craggy Gardens trail map on Virtual Blue Ridge.
Camera: Canon EOS 6D
Lens: Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM
Focal Length: 16mm
ISO: 400
Shutter: 1/30 s
Aperture: 16
Filters: None
Exposure: Manual
How I Got This Shot: I live in the DC area and have visited the Blue Ridge Parkway a few times over the past few years. I have mostly spent time around the Boone area and never drove south of the Crabtree Falls till this last trip. I have always wanted to photograph this famous birch tree and got to the Craggy Pinnacle trailhead about 2 hours before sunset. The trail is really busy around this time of the year and this tree is very close to the trailhead. I tried a few different compositions while being conscious of other hikers. I wanted to get rays of sun as it was setting behind the tree and the vertical composition allowed me to accentuate the twisted branches. There wasn’t much of a breeze and I was able to close down the aperture to f/16 that gave me a beautiful sunburst.
For More Information
- Additional photographs by Mohib Ahmad
- Categories where this photo is found: Fall Color, Editor's Picks, Flora & Fauna, Trails