Date Taken: 05/13/2016
Location: Mt. Mitchell State Park Entrance (near Milepost 355)

Camera: Nikon D750
Lens: Nikon 14-24 mm f2.8 zoom
Focal Length: 14mm
ISO: 1600
Shutter: 30 seconds
Aperture: f5.6
Filters: None
Exposure: Manual
How I Got This Shot: While shooting the Milky Way from Ridge Junction Overlook, I decided to play around with a bit of light painting. I set the camera up on tripod with a remote cable release, and during the 30 second exposure I hit the Mt. Mitchell park sign with about 5-10 seconds of light from a small headband mountain light that I use for trail running and in red mode for photographing at night.

It took quite a few tries to get the light to cover the sign but not too much in the grass below or on the trees beyond.

This frame had the light in the right places, but was a bit dark so I boosted the exposure by +1.00 and then altered the whites and blacks in order to bring out the lettering. Some other tweaks were made as well.

30 seconds is a bit too long, especially on a windy night so the result isn’t as sharp as I would have liked, but the color balance is nice.

The brightest “star” to the right of the Milky Way is Mars.

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Date Taken: 05/13/2016
Location: Milepost 357 just above Mt. Mitchell SP entrance.

Camera: Nikon D750
Lens: Nikon 14-24 mm f2.8 zoom
Focal Length: 14mm
ISO: 800
Shutter: 30 seconds
Aperture: f5.6
Filters: None
Exposure: Manual
How I Got This Shot: I was waiting for the moon to set so I could shoot the Milky Way from various locations along the BRP near Mt. Mitchell. I got up there a bit early so while I was scouting potential locations, I decided to shoot straight at the moon – which was about 3/4 full – rather than the opposite direction.

This particular frame had the best color at 800 ISO, but was underexposed. I boosted it in Photoshop by +1.00, or the equivalent of 1600 ISO. I also enhanced the shadows and vibrance and brought the highlights down, enough to bring out the stars against the very bright moon, which also allowed more detail in the starburst effect.

It was very windy with strong gusts, as evidenced by the motion blur in the tree to the left. Even with the camera mounted to sturdy tripod and using a remote release cable, the shot suffered from a bit of camera movement, but the I like the overall result.

The post Near Mt. Mitchell, Milepost 357 appeared first on Blue Ridge Parkway - Photo of the Day | Galleries.