Blue Ridge Parkway, Fall Beauty, pt3

Six additional compositions from my 2021 fall foliage expedition on the Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina. The first two compositions from Hawksbill Mountain represent my return to this location in the Linville Gorge Wilderness Area. My previous visit was sometime in the mid 70s as a young teenager with my late father and Boy Scout troop.

Hawksbill Mountain Sunset 2

At the start of the summit trail, I met and hiked to the top with another photographer Anthony Heflin from Kentucky. We hung out, talked photography shop, and shot the sunset and twilight from Hawksbill together. Wow, what a wonderful experience. As I later discovered, Anthony is an amazing photographer!! You must visit his portfolio site.

Hawksbill Twilight 1

The reaming compositions are from various locations on the Parkway closer to Grandfather Mountain.

Grandfather Mountain Landscape 1

Price Lake Fall Morning Landscape 1

Linn Cove Viaduct and Grandfather Mountain 1

Price Lake Fall Late Afternoon Landscape 1

Thank you stopping by today. See more fall color from my Blue Ridge Parkway gallery site. I dedicate this post to the veterans world wide who serve to keep their country safe! Happy Veterans Day!

Cheers,

C. S.

Silent Sunday: Twilight Mystery at Rough Ridge Overlook

Rough Ridge Twilight Mystery – Lady with Lantern

Oak Island, Pt 2.

This post features my second set of compositions from Oak Island, North Carolina. Once or twice a day, I would leave the family for a “photography expedition”. Time by yourself, with no pressure to “hurry up and take that picture”.

Oak Island Lighthouse Twilight 2

This is when I find photography most fulfilling, the freedom to wander, explore, and just see what you can see. For example, on a rainy day whim, I turned left on a dirt road near Safe Harbor and eventually found this rustic old lifeboat overlooking the Lockwoods Folly River, just before it connects with the Intracostal Waterway.

Abandoned Lifeboat 1

Of course, sometimes seeing is anticipation of a situation or scene that has potential to develop into something visually interesting.

Ocean Crest Fishing Pier Sunset Composition 1

Oak Island Sunset 1

East Oak Island Sunset

If you missed it, see my earlier post – Oak Island, NC In Color. Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!

Cheers,

C. S.

Craggy Gardens Sunset

I felt this sunset from the Craggy Gardens Visitor Center deserved its own post. Setup on my tripod, over the course of 20 minutes, I shot 24, 3 stop bracketed sets, for a total of 72 images. Back during my film days, I obviously would have had to been a bit more judicious and disciplined in the number sets shot. Here I was afforded the benefit to pick the best image featuring the cloud and sun positions, and sun ray impacts streaming through the mountains into the valley.

Craggy Gardens Sunset 1

Post processing includes some dehazing, a little HDR processing, and color correction. Much more to come in future posts of my wonderful visit to Craggy Gardens – so much to see! For the best viewing experience, click to see the high resolution version.

Everyone stay safe!

Cheers,

C. S.

Wordless Wednesday

Outer Banks Osprey Nest Sunset

Romare Bearden Park Cityscapes

Named after the Charlotte born African-American artist, Romare Bearden Park opened in in Uptown Charlotte  in August of 2013.   The 5.4 acre public park is located between S Church St and S Mint St.  Bearden worked in several types of media including oils, collages and cartoons across multiple styles from avant-garde, abstract expressionism, and social realism.

Romare Bearden Park Sunset 1

I approached the park at the end of my late late afternoon stroll through the northeast Uptown district, just as sunset was transitioning into twilight. This series was photographed with my Nikon D750 and Tamron 15-30mm lens, and mefoto tripod. Post processing included initial Lightroom tweaks followed by multiple Photoshop layering workflows using Aurora HDR and Alien Skin Exposure X3.

Romare Bearden Park Twilight 1

Ghosts in the Fountain at Romare Bearden Park

To fully appreciate these compositions, click on an image to see the high resolution version from my portfolio site.

Cheers!

C. S.

Pamlico Sound Sunset

An hour before sunset, I had attempted to photograph windsurfers and
kiteboarders just north of Buxton on the North Carolina Outer Banks. Unfortunately there was no wind, no windsurfers and no kiteboarders. Fortunately though, I arrived back at our campsite in Frisco just in time to capture these wonderful sunset compositions looking west across the Pamlico Sound.

Pamlico Sound Sunset 1

The eastern side of the Outer Banks is flanked by the Atlantic Ocean, while the western side is separated from the North Carolina mainland by the vast Pamlico Sound. Extending 80 miles (129 km) long and 15 to 20 miles (32 km ) wide, the Pamlico Sound is the largest lagoon on the North American East Coast.

Pamlico Sound Sunset 2

Pamlico Sound Sunset 3

Pamlico Sound Sunset 3 – Touching the Sun Detail

To see these sunsets in their fullest glory, click to see the high resolution version.

Cheers!

C. S.

Toronto Cityscape Vignettes

Urban Locust Tree Composition

Cloud Garden Composition

 

Have a great day!

Cheers,

C. S.

Wordless Wednesday: Toronto Queen St E Cityscape Compositions

Toronto Queen St E Cityscape 1

Toronto Queen St E Cityscape 2

Toronto Queen St E Cityscape 3

Toronto Queen St E Cityscape 4