Spring Cascade

Spring Cascade
NCAR10D-199

April 3, 2010

Starting off the week still in North Carolina, during my first backpacking excursion in the state.  I had found this gorgeous little camp spot next to the river, under the shade of rhododendron trees, and the next morning I got up, filtering water while sitting on a boulder and watching the spring water cascade past boulders.  It was such a peaceful way to wake up and start the day, utterly quiet save the murmur of the water.  If only that could happen every day :).  Enjoy, and have a good weekend.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Nikon 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6

Focal length:  135 mm

Exposure: 4/5 @ f/25   ISO 100

Post-processing: Minor tone adjusted with PS 4 and LR 1.4.

A Rhododendron Jungle

A Rhododendron Jungle
NCAR11D-121

May 29, 2011

Hiking through Nantahala National Forest, you go through some pretty incredible and diverse landscapes.  This was Memorial Day Weekend last year, and I was in the middle of a 3-day trek around the headwaters of the Nantahala River.  As I leveled out on the trail, I spent part of the afternoon hiking through these dense rhododendron thickets.  The tangle of trunks, and the lush canopy overhead, was amazing, and it dampened the sounds from the nearby river so that everything was hushed.  I saw less than 10 people along the trail that day, as it was far from day-hiking trails and pretty much only backpackers or AT through-hikers were present.  I like how the panoramic merge helped convey the jumble of the rhododendron thicket, adding to the chaos of the trail.  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Nikon 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6

Focal length:  18 mm

Exposure: 1/20 @ f/4   ISO 400

Post-processing: Minor tone adjusted with PS 4 and LR 1.4.

Morning Forest Light

Morning Forest Light
NCAR10D-208

April 4, 2010

Today's image is a bit different from others, in several ways.  First, it was shot on the fly and through the fly.  Waking up in my tent, I decided I liked the angle and just grabbed my camera and snapped away.  Reviewing it in the LCD, I didn't think much of it but left it on the card.  Since then I've grown to like its spontaneous atmosphere, the texture that shooting through the screen gave the image, and the silhouettes of the rhododendrons that surrounded my camp that night.  It is not a technically gifted image, but one that has a lot of elements going for it.  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Nikon 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6

Focal length:  18 mm

Exposure: 1/125 @ f/3.5   ISO 100

Post-processing: Minor tone adjusted with PS 4 and LR 1.4.

Ready for the Trail

Ready for the Trail
NCAR10D-183

April 3, 2010

I'm getting impatient for spring to arrive, and want to get out on the trail again.  This isn't the most artistic image, from my first spring in NC when I went off-trail in Pisgah National Forest for a couple days near Easter, using the smallest reasonable pack I had at my disposal.  I've since gone back to my normal bag, an REI Valhalla, knowing that with the equipment I bring (especially for photography), such a small backpack isn't really feasible.  I'm anxious to be out on the trail with this weather, with my girlfriend and wonderful hiking partner Sarah, to show her some of the fun of backpacking in the wilderness.  Even on the East Coast :)  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: NIkon D80

Lens: Nikon 28-135 mm f/3.5-5.6

Focal length: 105 mm

Exposure: 1/200   f/4.5 

Post-processing: Small toning and curves adjustment in PS

Softness of Season's Change

Softness of Season's Change

GRSM11D-58_HDR

October 8, 2011

Hiking through the woods of NC, one thing you come to realize is that there are an astonishing number of waterfalls around.  The area is very lush, much more so than you'd think offhand, and it holds home to an incredible diversity of species, including salamanders and fungi.  And with some late-summer/early-fall rain storms that preceded our trip up to the mountains, the streams were in full bloom.  This small unnamed cascade was spotted coming down from Chimney Tops in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  You just barely get a glimpse of the colors changing, but it is a good contrast against the greenery all around, and the general coolness of the scene.  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Nikon 50 f/1.4

Focal length:  50 mm

Exposure: var @ f/16 ISO 100

Post-processing: HDR image compiled from 5 images (+2, +1, 0, -1, -2 EV) in PS4.  Minor tone adjusted with PS 4 and LR 1.4.

Fall From Atop the Chimney

Fall From Atop the Chimney

GRSM11D-26_pan

October 8, 2011

The Chimney Tops Trail is a pretty tough slog up the side of the mountain; in the 2-mile journey, you rise close to 2,000 feet, most of which is in the last mile.  So you reach the top, having panted your way across the trail, and you scramble up the final couple hundred yards of craggy slate.  But your rewards are immense.  Perhaps not the tallest peak of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but it has commanding views of the surrounding peaks.  And when fall is in full-swing, it is quite a sight.  This image shows off the patches of color erupting through the forest, and the crags of Chimney Tops below.  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Nikon 50 f/1.4

Focal length:  50 mm

Exposure: 1/80 @ f/16 ISO 400

Post-processing: Panorama compiled from 8 images, cropped own to final size in PS4.  Minor tone adjusted with PS 4 and LR 1.4.

Blue Ridge in Infrared

Blue Ridge in Infrared

NCAR11D-156_HDR

May 29, 2011

After taking the Ph.D. preliminary exam, I felt the need for a little relaxation and unwinding.  Four straight months of studying will do that to you.  As my reward, I spent Memorial Day weekend hiking through the Nantahala National Forest, making a loop around the headwaters of the Nantahala river, part of which was along the Appalachian Trail.  This forest was beautiful, rhododendron groves that hugged the trail,making you hike through a tunnel at times.  The second night I spend up on Standing Indian, which had views out to the west over the Blue Ridge Mountains.  Sitting up there, with this view straight from my tent, was incredible.


However, the weather wasn't quite cooperating.  The color version of the photo did not do the landscape justice, and didn't reveal the stark contrasts that I could see through my eyes.  So I resorted to a great medium, the infrared.  Highlighting the foliage of the near trees, which dance in the wind, I feel this is a much more powerful statement of this particular point in time. 

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Nikon 18-135 f/3.5-5.6

Focal length: 44 mm

Exposure: var @ f/11, ISO 400

Post-processing: HDR image stitched from 5 exposures in Photomatix, colors desaturated and infrared instituted, minor curves adjustment in PS4