Location: Art Loeb Trail, Black Balsam Knob
Golden Glory. The setting sun over Sam Knob in the Shining Rock Wilderness, Blue Ridge Parkway Milepost 420

Camera: Canon EOS 1DX
Lens: Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM
Focal Length: 29mm
ISO: 500
Shutter: 1/10th Sec
Aperture: f/14
Filters: Tiffen 3-stop GND; Singh-Ray 2-stop GND
Exposure: Manual
How I Got This Shot: Hiking up Black Balsam Knob, scouting for a large expanse of blooming goldenrod. I set my tripod up low, composed my image, set my focus to get plenty of depth of field, and hoped the wind would cooperate. I stacked two GND filters (a 3-stop and a 2-stop) for a total of 5-stops and waited for the setting sun to come out from behind the clouds. I wanted to backlight the yellow flowers in front of me, and the sun, wind, and exposure settings all cooperated…despite a leg cramp that occurred right at the critical moment!

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Location: Cowee Mountain Overlook, Milepost 430

Telephoto study of the interplay of Light and Landscape.

Camera: Canon EOS 5DMK2
Lens: 28-135 f3.5-5.6 IS USM
Focal Length: 100mm
ISO: 400
Shutter: 1/320sec
Aperture: f/11
Filters: none
Exposure: Manual
How I Got This Shot: I was waiting for sunset at one of my favorite spots on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I was enjoying the slanting rays of light showing up through the haze, complimenting the parallel ridges of the mountains. I decided to zoom in on the scene with my telephoto lens to accentuate this interplay of light and landscape. It turns out that this “pre show” was better than the main event!
I also captured a 7-image panoramic image of this scene.

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Photo By: Rob Travis, Blue Ridge Mountain Photographer

Location: Mount Mitchell.

Sunrise on the Parkway: a shaft of rose-colored light breaks through the clouds on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Mount Mitchell.

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mk2

Lens: EF 16-35 f/2.8L

ISO: 400

Aperture: f/29

Shutter: 0.8 seconds

Exposure: Manual

Focal Length: 35mm

Filters: 3-stop Graduated ND

How I Got This Shot

I arrived at the entrance to Mount Mitchell for sunrise at a favorite spot, only to find it overgrown. I hopped back in my car and headed further North until I found these pretty Rose Bay Rhodies, which I used as a foreground element for my shot.

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