Date Taken: 10/11/2017
Location: Rough Ridge Trail begins at Rough Ridge Overlook, Milepost 302.8 on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Boone, North Carolina

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Date Taken: 10/10/2017
Location: Rough Ridge Trail, Milepost 302.8 on the Blue Ridge Parkway in the High Country of North Carolina near Boone and Blowing Rock.

Rough Ridge Trail is actually a part of the larger 13.5-mile Tanawha Trail, but it is also a popular trail in its own right. Along the 0.8-mile steep uphill trail, hikers will come to a series of extraordinary stone overlooks and see long-range views of Grandfather Mountain, the Linn Cove Viaduct, and Linville Gorge. To hike this trail, start at Rough Ridge Overlook, Milepost 302.8, and follow the trail signs up the hill to the right of the parking area.

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Date Taken: 11/01/2017
Location: Rough Ridge Overlook, Milepost 302.8 on the Blue Ridge Parkway in the High Country of North Carolina.

Camera: Canon 5d Mark 4
Lens: Canon 16-35mm f4
Focal Length: 16mm
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/10
Aperture: 16
Filters: Singhray
Exposure: Manual
How I Got This Shot: This was a calm morning with no wind at all. I came up to this spot 10 mins before sunrise to set up for my composition. As soon as the Sun hit the horizon, I knew that my shot was gonna turn out nicely. It was an amazing sunrise to be remembered!

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Location: Rough Ridge MP303, a popular trail in the High Country of North Carolina.
The morning sun kisses Grandfather Mountain, causing him to blush. View From Rough Ridge. Captured 10/21/13.

Camera: Nikon D7100
Lens: Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8
Focal Length: 11mm
ISO: 100
Shutter: 3 Seconds
Aperture: f/16
Filters: None
Exposure: Manual
How I Got This Shot: Sun was just beginning to crest the mountains behind me, bathing Grandfather Mountain in pink light. Fog had made its way up the ridge line, enhancing the effect. The even lighting on the nearby trees made the colors pop. I used the rocks below to give a since of where I was standing.

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Date Taken: 10/13/2016
Location: Rough Ridge Trail, Milepost 302.8 on the Blue Ridge Parkway in the High Country of North Carolina.

Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: Tamron 17-35 f/2.8-4
Focal Length: 17mm
ISO: 800
Shutter: 1/50
Aperture: f/11
Filters: HiTech 4 stop graduated ND filter
Exposure: Manual
How I Got This Shot: This image was a tough one to capture. I arrived at Rough Ridge Parking Area (milepost 302.8) to catch a sunrise with some fall foliage sprinkled in. I made the short hike from the parking area, up a staircase and to an opening where I was exposed to some brutal winds – gusts well over 40 MPH, occasionally knocking me and my camera off balance. A tripod (a heavy, durable one) is a must here. I originally set up to shoot some distant images of the fog way off in the distance with a telephoto lens, but the wind oscillated my lens to the point where I couldn’t get a sharp image, even at a higher ISO speed. Then the sun rose; and I switched to my ultrawide Tamron lens, using the staircase as a focal point and a leading line to the rising sun. I boosted my ISO speed to 800 – a sensitivity I rarely, if ever, use. But it was crucial here with the high winds and low light. I had to freeze the blowing branches and foliage in front of me, otherwise they’d be blurry from a slow shutter speed. Also, with a high contrast scene, I had to use a graduated ND filter to hold back the bright sky while projecting the foreground. At 1/50 of a second and at 17mm, with an aperture of f/11, and using the aforementioned graduated ND filter, I was able to control depth of field, capture everything I wanted in the scene, expose the image properly, all the while ensuring there wouldn’t be much, if any, blurring of the colorful leaves or branches in my foreground. In post-processing I was able to remove the modest amount of noise present from the high ISO speed, while doing my usual developments for contrast, color, luminance, clarity, and a quick smart sharpening pass in Photoshop. The end result came mighty close to what I saw with my own eyes, given the limitations of my gear.

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Date Taken: 10/08/2016
Location: Rough Ridge Trail, Milepost 302.8 on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Boone and Blowing Rock in the High Country of North Carolina.

Camera: Sony A7
Lens: sel1635z
Focal Length: 35mm
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1/30
Aperture: f16
Filters: None
Exposure: Aperture Priority
How I Got This Shot: Wet day on and off. Slight drizzle up on Rough Ridge. Linn Cove Viaduct in the background. A few fall colors but still a week away or so from peak for this location.

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Date Taken: 10/22/2016
Location: Rough Ridge Trail, Milepost 302.8 on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina near Boone, Blowing Rock, and Grandfather Mountain.

Camera: Canon 7D Mark II
Lens: EFS 18-135
Focal Length: 24mm
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/200
Aperture: f/10
Filters: None
Exposure: Aperture Priority
How I Got This Shot: A quick casual shot taken while my son sat on one of the many rocks along the Rough Ridge Trail. This particular one makes it look like you are hanging hundreds of feet in the air although you are not really that high.

No tri-pod used but I did use the high speed capabilities of the 7D to fire off 5 bracketed shots that I photo-merged inside Lightroom.

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Visit our complete list of trails on the Blue Ridge Parkway for a photo tour of Rough Ridge Trail.

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