Date Taken: 06/26/2016
Location: Craggy Pinnacle Trail in the Craggy Gardens Area of the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville, NC.

Camera: Canon 5D Mk II
Lens: Canon 24-105mm f/4L
Focal Length: 32mm
ISO: 400
Shutter: 1/60 sec
Aperture: f/11
Filters: None
Exposure: Manual
How I Got This Shot: Sometimes the first shot ends up being the best. I only took 12 shots this trip but the light changed after the first one so the first ended up being my favorite. My girlfriend and I hiked up to the base of Craggy Pinnacle to try and catch sunset. It was just before sunset and these clouds enveloped the pinnacle, bouncing this wild orange/pink light everywhere. I was disappointed at first but I turned around to see the pinnacle shrouded in mist and everything was glowing. So I quickly set up my camera and tripod and snapped several photos, but as I mentioned earlier, the light changed as the sun went further behind clouds. This was by far my favorite shot. So my piece of photo advice for the day: Always turn around to see what’s BEHIND you. There might be a shot!

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Date Taken: 06/11/2016
Location: Peaks of Otter Lodge Virginia

Camera: Canon 6d
Lens: Rokinon 14mm
Focal Length: 14mm
ISO: 3200
Shutter: 25″
Aperture: 2.8
Filters: None
Exposure: Manual
How I Got This Shot: One of my favorite spots to catch the Milky Way has always been Peaks of Otter Lodge, Bedford county Virginia, off the Blue Ridge Parkway… Sharp top Mt always makes for the perfect backdrop and with a little planning you can line up the Milky Way perfect every time… I use a app called TPE ” The Photographers Ephemeris” you can plan out shots right down to the min, check it out sometime http://photoephemeris.com/tpe-34-for-ios-night-mode. Light paint with LED Lenser p7qc flashlight………

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Date Taken: 07/30/2016
Location: East Fork Overlook, Milepost 418.3

Camera: Nikon D7100
Lens: Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8
Focal Length: 24mm
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1/80
Aperture: f/11
Filters: 2-stop Tiffen GND
Exposure: AP
How I Got This Shot: Shot handheld while traversing East Fork Overlook, just north of Graveyard Fields and Black Balsam off the Blue Ridge Parkway, for some nice compositions; the ever-changing cloud cover was yielding some nice dappled light over the mountains, and I was trying my best to capture the beauty of this light vs shade battle with my go-to Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 lens (currently the widest lens in my arsenal) on my D7100 Nikon. The awesome, yet sometimes frustrating thing about this beautiful landscape, is that the weather changes with such incredible frequency. When observing a desired scene, you really cannot wait for second chances – the camera, and you, has to be ready for the moment and know when to click the shutter. Becoming familiar with your camera and lens(es), and what settings are ideal for certain situations, is a vital tool for any serious photographer looking to capture the shot they want. Once adjusting camera settings becomes second-nature, you can focus more intently on compositions to capture that “perfect” shot once the moment presents itself. Thank you for looking, and happy shooting!

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Visit Virtual Blue Ridge for a complete list of Blue Ridge Parkway overlooks.

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Date Taken: 08/05/2016
Location: Chestoa View, Milepost 320.8

Camera: Canon 7d Mark II
Lens: 1EFS 8-135mm
Focal Length: 18mm
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/125
Aperture: f/10
Filters: None
Exposure: Aperture Priority
How I Got This Shot: This was part of a panning time lapse we were doing of the view using the Syrp time lapse system. It was one of those days where we almost didn’t go because of all of the storms blowing through the area. When we arrived at the view it was raining but we decided to wait it out. When the rain ended we walked down to the view and decided on a time lapse of the clouds in the valley. We setup a 50 minute 60 degree panning time lapse during which time some more rain blew into the valley and then this rainbow formed. It was the most vibrant rainbow I have ever seen. You can watch it form on the time lapse here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Adv8dYXg7Qo

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The Blue Ridge Parkway has over two hundred scenic overlooks along its 469 miles.

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Date Taken: 07/10/2016
Location: Balsam Mountain Overlook close to the picnic area at the end of the road, off of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Camera: Nikon D750
Lens: Sigma 24-70 f 2.8
Focal Length: 24mm
ISO: 640
Shutter: 7.4 seconds
Aperture: 2.8
Filters: None
Exposure: Manuel
How I Got This Shot: I had been to this overlook before, but tonight I was there to specifically try for nighttime sky shots. Usually when I shoot the night skies I look away from where the sun had set, but tonight I wanted to see what I could get if instead I shot where the sun had set. So, after shooting the actual sunset and watching others who were there leave to go back to their campsites or hotels, I started shooting the night sky about an hour or more after sunset. What I was able to capture was the colors that still exist in the sky after the sun has gone down, but our eyes cannot really see them. By using a higher ISO and a wide open aperture, I was able to capture the residual light reflecting in the clouds long after the sun had set and still show the stars in the night sky. I thought that since the Blue Ridge Mountains were so far down at the bottom of the shot I would use the surrounding trees to frame the shot and give a nice perspective. Because of the long exposure, of course a tripod and shutter release cable was used. I counted the seconds off in my head to get various exposures. This shot is best viewed full frame if possible. Thanks and I hope you enjoy.

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Date Taken: 10/23/2015
Location: Cowee Mountains Overlook, Milepost 430.7 on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Camera: Canon 5D Mark 111
Lens: Canon 24-105L F/4
Focal Length: 24mm
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/30
Aperture: 16
Filters: Circular Polarizer
Exposure: Aperture Priority
How I Got This Shot: This image required shooting several exposures and blending them in post processing. With sunsets, one shot will not capture the highlights and shadows that the human eye actually saw at the moment. With blending shots , the tonal range of the scene is all there. Sunsets at most overlooks from Parkway can be outstanding. Use of a steady tripod and either a cable release or self timer is a must. The small aperture of f/16 allowed a deep focus field for maximum sharpness throughout the scene.

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Want more overlook views? Visit Virtual Blue Ridge, our guide to the Blue Ridge Parkway, for virtual tours from the Parkway’s overlooks.

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“Light Shafts” captured on the Blue Ridge Parkway!
I came around the corner and hoping I would find beams of light peering through the trees!.. I got my wish! Here is the result of my time with the Shafts!d

Location: Sleepy Gap, Milepost 397.3 on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Camera: Canon 60D
Lens: EF 70-200 f/4 L IS USM
Focal Length: 70
ISO: 125
Shutter: 1/80
Aperture: f7.1
Filters: none
Exposure: Manual
How I Got This Shot: It was a foggy morning but only in pocketed sections of the parkway. I went up to catch the sunrise and was a little disappointed in the sunrise as it was just to cloudy and foggy where I was positioned. As I started down the mountain I noticed the sun was starting to break through. I quickly thought of the possibility of my favorite morning scene – Light Shafts! As I turned the corner near Sleepy Gap, there they were, just beaming through around the bend. I pulled in to the overlook space. Spent a few minutes moving around to find just the right spot, and shot a few.

I used one of my favorite lens’s, the 70-200 f4 IS USM from Canon. It is super sharp and I knew it would have no problem finding the shafts of light. So little was done to this other then standard camera RAW adjustments upon uploading the LR5. In fact, I tried a few other things in a plugin I like to use, but I was disappointed with the results and went back to my RAW file and started over with the original and just gently nudged the sliders in the basic panel such as my highlights and shadows, a bit of clarity but not too much as this will case it to look unnatural and it will loose it’s softness. I also added a bit of contrast. No worries about my noise as I shot at ISO125.

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Date Taken: 08/24/2016
Location: Devil’s Courthouse Overlook, Milepost 422.4 on the southern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina.

Camera: Nikon D7100
Lens: Rokinon 14mm f/2.8
Focal Length: 14mm
ISO: 1600
Shutter: 30sec
Aperture: f/2.8
Filters: none
Exposure: Manual
How I Got This Shot: I used Stellarium to check the positioning of the Saturn and Mars conjunction in advance, then used PhotoPills to verify that I could get a panorama capturing the conjunction, the Milky Way, and the silhouette of Devil’s Courthouse. I went up to the Parkway on Tuesday night but there was a thick cloud cover and no stars. I went up again on Wednesday and the sky was perfectly clear from sunset until almost 10:15. I took these shots at 9:50PM. Some clouds rolled in shortly after that and by 10:15 the sky wasn’t visible at all. The photo was taken in the parking area and the interpretive sign is barely visible in the lower right of the picture. The panorama is composed of 5 images shot in portrait orientation in order to capture as much of the sky as possible while also getting the near ground landscape features. I used auto white balance and then adjusted to 3750K in post-processing. I actually prefer to use 3750K when shooting night shots (you get a natural look at the colors in the camera) but I forgot to change the setting before I started taking pictures. It really doesn’t matter when shooting RAW since this is easy to correct in Lightroom. There is minimal post-processing. I added clarity, just a bit of tint and contrast, and did noise reduction.

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The Blue Ridge Parkway has over 200 overlooks from its northern beginning in Shenandoah National Park to its southern terminus in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

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Date Taken: 08/22/2016
Location: Flat Rock Overlook, Blue Ridge Parkway Milepost 308.3 in the High Country of North Carolina near Boone and Blowing Rock.

Camera: Sony A7
Lens: sel1635z taken
Focal Length: 20mm
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/10
Aperture: f11
Filters: None
Exposure: AP
How I Got This Shot: Short 5 minute hike to the outlook about 30 minutes before sunset. About 10 minutes after the sun had set, the sky lit up with these vibrant colors.

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Flat Rock Overlook is the trailhead of a leisurely 0.6-mile self-guiding loop trail. The overlook is on the west side of Grandmother Mountain and has spectacular views of Grandfather Mountain and the Linville Valley.

Visit Virtual Blue Ridge for a complete list of Blue Ridge Parkway hiking trails.

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Date Taken: 08/10/2016
Location: Thunder Struck Ridge Overlook, Milepost 454.4 on the Parkway

Camera: Nikon D750
Lens: Sigma 24-70 f 2.8
Focal Length: 36mm
ISO: 125
Shutter: 0.04 seconds
Aperture: f/16
Filters: Graduated Neutral Density
Exposure: Aperture Priority
How I Got This Shot: I had been driving by this location on the way to Waterrock Knob for a while and had tried some shots there before. On this day, I decided to go for this location for the Golden Hour shot instead of the usual Knob shot. I did have to be patient because of the rain and breezes that kept coming in every few minutes. I knew that if the wind would let up at the right time, with the clouds in the sky and the wildflowers in the foreground could give me great results. I think my patience paid off. I always shoot landscapes with a tripod and shutter release cable.

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Date Taken: 09/10/2016
Location: Near Milepost 429 on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Camera: Sony A57
Lens: Tamron 17-50mm 2.8
Focal Length: 17mm
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1/200
Aperture: 9.0
Filters: None
Exposure: Aperture Priority
How I Got This Shot: This was taken just a little north of Cowee Overlook on the BRP, with a tripod.

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Location: South of Chestnut Cove Overlook, Milepost 398.3
October Morning on the Parkway! Just captured this morning Oct 3 2013. I am happy to announce that the Parkway is open for travel as are the overlooks! Yay! But the visitors centers are closed. The entire 2 hours I was there I only saw 3 cars. This time a year that is not normal. The color is patchy from the bottom to the top and sections have more or less colors then other sections. But I do not see a significant change due to elevation. A little surprised.

Camera: Canon 5D MKII
Lens: 24-104 f4L IS USM
Focal Length: 73mm
ISO: 640
Shutter: 1/200
Aperture: f/22
Filters: none
Exposure: AV
How I Got This Shot: I actually did not plan on going up this morning to capture sunrise, but, as I was returning emails this morning, I happened to look outside and I saw pink puffy clouds. My heart skipped for a second and I thought… well I gotta go get it! Grabbed my camera and as I made it for the door I realized I was in my PJ”s. And for a split second I thought , awww who cares. Luckily I changed, made me way up, and arrived just after the sun rose. Happily, there were beautiful soft layered type clouds around to continue to hold the color. I shot for about almost two hours before I called it a day!

This shot was taken handheld as I felt the light level was bright enough to get my shutter speed over 1/60 of a second. A good rule to follow, don’t try and handhold slower then 1/60 of a second. This image was one exposure processed in LR5.

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Date Taken: 10/01/2015
Location: Craggy Pinnacle Tunnel near the Craggy Gardens Visitor Center, Milepost 364.6 along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville, North Carolina.
The tunnel at Craggy Gardens frames the fall color along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Camera: Pentax K-50
Lens: 18-55
Focal Length: 28
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1/125
Aperture: 5.6
Filters: None
Exposure: Program
How I Got This Shot: Thankfully, I was driving very slow through the tunnel so I was able to stop briefly and snap a pic since there was very little traffic this morning.

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Date Taken: 10/02/2016
Location: Beacon Heights, a 1/4-mile hike to a summit, Milepost 305.2 on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Camera: Canon 5D Mark III
Lens: Canon EF 16-35mm F/2.8L Mark II
Focal Length: 19mm
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/8 second
Aperture: f/13
Filters: Lee Circular Polarizer, Lee Grad ND
Exposure: Manual
How I Got This Shot: This was my first visit and hike up to Beacon Heights. I’d just finished shooting sunrise and my buddy, Tommy White, suggested we check out the back side of Beacon so I would know what to expect there next time I visited. Having not found much color at all over the weekend we were surprised to see this stand of trees in near peak color and decided to grab some shots!

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Location: Bass Lake, Moses H. Cone Memorial Park, Milepost 294
The sun illuminates the rising mist from the surface of Bass Lake.

Camera: Nikon D7100
Lens: Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8
Focal Length: 16mm
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1/10
Aperture: f/16
Filters: None
Exposure: Manual
How I Got This Shot: One “secret” about shooting into the sun is to use your LCD display rather than the viewfinder. This allows you to explore various compositions at your leisure without the nasty side effect or blindness.

The sun was extremely low in the sky. This photo was captured just as it had crest the treeline. To get the sharp spikey bits on the sun, use a relatively small aperture. Here, I used f/16. Experiment to see how aperture affects the spikey bits. By the way, this effect can be recreated with other light sources.

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Location: Bass Lake Moses H. Cone Memorial Park, Milepost 294 on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Blowing Rock.
A crisp autumn morning at Bass Lake, Moses H. Cone Memorial Park. Captured 10/6/2013

Camera: Nikon D7100
Lens: Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8
Focal Length: 16mm
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1/20
Aperture: f/16
Filters: Marumi Super DHG Circular Polarizer 77mm
Exposure: Manual
How I Got This Shot: I did my best to compose this scene so that it is balanced. Our eye is drawn to whatever is brightest in a scene (or darkest, if your photo is mostly bright!). In this case, the brightest area of the photo is the radiant sunrise. That is made the left side of the scene very heavy. Think of it like a scale. Something needs to be put on the right side to bring the scene into balance. Here, I’ve used the the island to do just that.

I think it is also helpful that the treetops on the island broke up the treeline running along the lake shore. The idea is that the eye will look at the bright, misty sunrise first, then follow the gradual ascent of treetops to the right until it dead stops on the island interrupting the line.

Everything else about this photo are just basics. If you want calm water and a sky like this, be there when the sun rises. No amount of Photoshop or filters will turn a midday shot into this. You have to do the hard work of getting up early and setting up just as the sun crest the treeline.

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Date Taken: 10/06/2016
Location: Approximately milepost 419 on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Graveyard Fields

Camera: Nikon D2X
Lens: Nikkor 18-70 DX
Focal Length: 50mm
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/40s
Aperture: f/8
Filters: Nikon Circular Polarizer, HiTech 4 stop graduated ND filter
Exposure: Manual
How I Got This Shot: As I was driving the highest elevations of the Parkway Thursday, I kept looking out for scenes compelling enough to show both the Parkway and the developing fall foliage around it. Just before Graveyard Fields I found the shot I was looking for, so I set up my ancient yet trusty Nikon D2X on a tripod (important when shooting at slower shutter speeds!), adjusting the circular polarizer filter on my lens to help reduce glare on the foliage from the mid-day sun (very important!) and used a graduated neutral density filter to help control the sky while keeping my foreground properly exposed. Since my remote shutter is on the fritz, I used a five second shutter delay to minimize camera vibration.

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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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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: 10/03/2016
Location: Woolyback Overlook, Milepost 452.3 on the southern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina

Camera: Nikon D2X
Lens: Nikkor 70-210 f/4
Focal Length: 145mm
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/40s
Aperture: f/8
Filters: None
Exposure: Manual
How I Got This Shot: Sometimes when shooting a vast scene, as I did Monday on the Parkway near Cherokee, it sometimes can be more effective to zoom in with a telephoto lens to capture a small part of a larger scene for better effect. Since this view of vivid light rays was far off in the distance, I zoomed in considerably (to the equivalent of 218mm, if my Nikon D2X were a full frame camera) to compose the fading light as it beamed over Clingman’s Dome some fifteen miles away. Using a tripod at this focal length, with a slow shutter speed (1/40 of a second), is critical here for maximum sharpness.

I composed the scene so that the brightest light would take up the upper third of the image, with the layered mountains gradually darkening as you look to the lower two-thirds of the image, for a sense of depth. I metered my camera for the brightest part of the light and shot away, adjusting my shutter speed for the light without overexposing (using the histogram on your camera is very important here! Expose to the right!). I needed no filter since I was confident the light I was exposing for was enough to convey what I saw perfectly; and as such, developing the image to convey what I saw with my own eyes was quite simple.

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There are over 200 overlooks along the Blue Ridge Parkway’s 469 miles.

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