Post by GaliWalker on Nov 22, 2020 18:37:54 GMT -8
Typically, I don't hike the weekend before Thanksgiving because we are planning to travel to Massachusetts, and I try to do some hiking in the Northeast. This year, we called off our trip due to the pandemic, so I decided to head to ole tried and trusted, West Virginia's North Fork Mountain, which has my favorite view in the mid-Atlantic. I had a specific photo in mind, one which I'd taken earlier in the year, but hadn't been totally happy with. It is, you guessed it, a 'selfie', but one in which I am a good distance from the camera.
I wanted to get to my shooting location, the Chimney Top vista, around sunrise. The forecast was for overcast skies, and light rain for later in the day, but these conditions can yield some dramatic lighting, so I took a chance with an early start. I made good progress up the mountainside, despite the first 45min by headlamp, due to my familiarity with the trail. 15min shy of my destination, and still in the woods, I got a glimpse of the sunrise, but I could see even then that this was most likely going to be my one and only sight of that light in the sky. The sun was already disappearing behind a low cloud deck.
I scrambled up to the Chimney Top summit block, and quickly set up my camera. Even though there wasn't much in the way of a sunrise, the low clouds were showing off a bit of color from filtered sunlight. To get into position for the photo, I had to scramble off the summit block and then back up a small rise, then trot through some woods, and finally scramble up atop a rock spire. In windy conditions I doubt I'd have done this, but there was just the barest hint of a breeze. I struck a nonchalant pose and fired off a bunch of shots using my remote shutter release. This is what I got:
I took my time enjoying the mountain in lonely splendor, eventually turning around to retrace my steps back to the car. Just because Thanksgiving got cancelled doesn't mean I still can't get to have some fun.
Sunrise
Rise!
Brooding skies
Bad weather to the west
Cresting wave
Looking back towards Chimney Top
Prow
Tree line
Life of a shrub
I wanted to get to my shooting location, the Chimney Top vista, around sunrise. The forecast was for overcast skies, and light rain for later in the day, but these conditions can yield some dramatic lighting, so I took a chance with an early start. I made good progress up the mountainside, despite the first 45min by headlamp, due to my familiarity with the trail. 15min shy of my destination, and still in the woods, I got a glimpse of the sunrise, but I could see even then that this was most likely going to be my one and only sight of that light in the sky. The sun was already disappearing behind a low cloud deck.
I scrambled up to the Chimney Top summit block, and quickly set up my camera. Even though there wasn't much in the way of a sunrise, the low clouds were showing off a bit of color from filtered sunlight. To get into position for the photo, I had to scramble off the summit block and then back up a small rise, then trot through some woods, and finally scramble up atop a rock spire. In windy conditions I doubt I'd have done this, but there was just the barest hint of a breeze. I struck a nonchalant pose and fired off a bunch of shots using my remote shutter release. This is what I got:
I took my time enjoying the mountain in lonely splendor, eventually turning around to retrace my steps back to the car. Just because Thanksgiving got cancelled doesn't mean I still can't get to have some fun.
Sunrise
Rise!
Brooding skies
Bad weather to the west
Cresting wave
Looking back towards Chimney Top
Prow
Tree line
Life of a shrub
