Location: Cowee Mountain Overlook, Milepost 430.7 on the southern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina

“Cowee Wowee”
The sun sets below the clouds on an October evening at the Cowee Mountain Overlook.
© 2013 Kristina Plaas, All Rights Reserved

Camera: Nikon D5100
Lens: Nikkor DX 18-55mm 3.5
Focal Length: 50mm
ISO: 100
Shutter: 0.7
Aperture: 22
Filters: Cokin gradient density
Exposure: Aperture Priority
How I Got This Shot: The light and layers of clouds over the Cowee Mountains showed promise for a colorful sunset on this warm October evening. As the sun descended below the dark gray clouds, the sky exploded into hues of rose and peach. I used a tripod and a 2 second self-timer shutter release along with a handheld Cokin gradient density filter to capture the richness of the colorful sky against the inky clouds and shadowy mountain ridges.

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Date Taken: 10/16/2019
Location: Cowee Overlook, Milepost 430.7 on the southern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway

Camera: Pentax 645Z
Lens: Pentax 80-160
Focal Length: 90mm
ISO: 400
Shutter: 0.3 sec.
Aperture: F/16
Filters: Circular Polarizer
Exposure: Aperture Priority
How I Got This Shot: Being one of the best locations on the Blue ridge Parkway to shoot a sunset, the Cowee Overlook always offers splendid possibilities. There weren’t many clouds in the sky which made it very difficult to “hide” the sun behind and therefore the exposure to capture the entire scene must be manipulated . I chose to shoot five exposures of this scene, with the camera mounted on a very stable tripod so there was no movement whatsoever . The exposures ranged from two stops below to two stops above (-2 to +2) on the camera meter. To capture the detail in the sky and sun plus get detail in the ground scape this method works very well. I then post process the images and blend them into a single image, via photo editing software. Following up with regular editing produces a nice final image.
I chose a focal length that would cover most of the mountain layers in the area but keep the view tight enough to keep the sun and clouds close. I use the two second self-timer so I don’t have to touch the camera during the actual shutter operation.

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