Mountains and Clouds, a photo from Virginia, South

Photographer's Note

This was taken in Shenandoah National Park and is my 50th post from my home state of Virginia. I took it on a very early spring day on a rainy and overcast day. I was driving up Skyline drive and the view was completely socked in and you couldn't see 10 feet in front of your face. Then all of a sudden the view opened up and I was looking at this. I about had a heart attack because an area to pull off was nowhere in sight! Finally I found a good spot to pull over before it was too late.

You can see down low the trees had started to fill in but up higher it was still pretty bare at that point during early spring.

I decided to leave this relatively low contrast as it was on the day when I took it. The only post-processing was cropping and a slight sharpening after re-sizing for TE. Taken around 4pm.

PJE, jhm, carper, john_c, Tue, ChrisJ, alvaraalto, plimrn, Emile, Didi, quantabeh, alainh, mumek has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

PJE (20758) 2007-08-15 19:45

Hello Stephen. I have to say if I were to live anywhere in the USA that Virginia would be a good selection because of access to mountains like those in this posting. I like the balance in the framework creating an interesting layered effect. I have been up in the mountains for the last two weeks and have lots of photos like this on the cloudy days.. only the trees and rocks are much bigger and more dramatic because BC is better than Virginia..just buggin you!!

Nice shot!

danyy (0) 2007-08-16 0:41

Bonjour Stephen,
on a des coins comme cela prиs de chez nous dans les Ardennes belges, ce genre de paysage aux vallйes fort encaissйes dans lesquelles le brouillard se traine en longues langues.
Mauvaises conditions climatiques bien accentuйe par le traitement noir et blanc.

Amicalement.
Daniel.

PixelTerror (0) 2007-08-16 0:52

Hi Steve
The PoV looks great to see those succeeding range and get an impression of distance, weather conditions look ... just as good as ours for a november, erh sorry, spring day. Fact this view lacks colors and is not catchy from the vignette already is probably the reason why it got little attention.
Have a nice day,
Jean-Yves

jhm (211736) 2007-08-16 3:04

Hello Stephen,

This is a very specially picture through the different lines of the mountains we see the trees between the low clouds or the misty atmosphere, soft contrasted and nice composition.

Best regards,
John.

feather (51130) 2007-08-16 5:26

My first remark was going to be "unusual B&W from you" and then I noticed it was colour. It really was a grey day. No wonder you were desperate to stop the car when the mist started to lift like this. The 3 tree-lined ridges in diagonal opposition to the fg slope works well as a composition
Kath

Cormac (26565) 2007-08-16 7:55

I've never visited the Shenandoah Valley, but I've heard so much about it. This shows the natural beauty of the area, with those incredible forests that seem to go on forever. The repetition of the hills is really amazing too, made even better by the clouds in between them. Excellent!

carper (96) 2007-08-16 9:34

there is a good foggy atmosphere in the shot, Stephen
I like such atmosphere shots, the black and white is nice and well choosen, good photojob.
gr. jaap

john_c (24666) 2007-08-16 11:16

Hi Stephen,
The clouds really give this great ambience. I like the POV, the depth, and the management of the exposure level. It was appropriate that you not add contrast, as the overall scene is quite mellow. A very satisfying shot, Stephen. I love this area.
John

Tue (92312) 2007-08-16 13:36

Hej Stephen,
I've seen fog like this hanging in the mountains/hills on a rainy day when I was in Scotland last month and for me, who is not used to any mountain at all ;-), it looked very impressive. It's the same here. Very beautiful to see the fog and I like the inclusion of the darker hill in the bottom right hand corner. Well done and thanks for sharing!
Regards,
Lars

ChrisJ (171818) 2007-08-16 20:20

Hello Stephen

Nice aerial perspective & tonal range, in this wonderful monochromatic image. I like the graphism of the fg slope, against the softer & lighter bg. Good work!

alvaraalto (42804) 2007-08-18 11:42

Hi Stephen,
Good moody picture. At First I thought that there was a fire, because of freakish cloud fragments, but fortunately I didn’t see any fire. The white and grey tones find a good answer in the silhouette of the mountain in front.
Groet Rob

plimrn (21344) 2007-08-18 14:32

Hi Steve,
I've looked down on fog/clouds clinging to the mountains many times but none of my efforts to capture it have been as successful as this capture of the delicate tracery of mist lying in the three layers of ridges. The sharply defined ridge rising in the opposite direction provides all the contrast you need. HLJ, Pat

Emile (20352) 2007-08-19 6:37

Hola Stephen.
Sorry I missed this one but we were quite busy fallowing the Hurricane Dean news and getting ready. Fortunately we only had some rain.
Your shot is very good with the layers of mountains covered by fog, your POV is good and your composition great. Well done.
Best regards.

Didi (61589) 2007-08-20 10:48

Hi Stephen
The weather is similar in France; but The clouds in this mountain area gives a good interest to your composition.
Very dramatic ambiance.
Cheers.

jemaflor (147046) 2007-08-21 3:34

Hi Stephen,
Good effect with clouds to draw the mountains, well frame with forest in the foreground and the right side.

quantabeh (5205) 2007-08-23 20:55

hi Steve,
must have been quite a thrill up there. Nice shot of the cloudy mountains. I will add this to one of my themes with this title.
We went on a drive there a few weeks ago and I also took some pictures, although I am not quite happy with them.
Nice work,
B

alainh (33209) 2007-08-23 22:08

hello Stephen
very nice !!
i like a lot these kinds of atmosphere. mysterious and magic. picture well balanced. simply Splendid
have a nice week-end Stephen
alain

Kenny10pin (19301) 2007-08-26 22:40

very mistic and mysterious kind of shot, but I like it, very good shot and with great birds eye view, well done

batalay (41261) 2007-08-28 7:04

Hello Stephen,

I thought that this dramatic image was in black and white. After seeing "color" in the specs, I am able to make out the dramatic hues of gree in the forrest. The sharp silhouettes the tees make at the crests of the hills and the spectacular fog blanketing the valleys. Ten years ago, I was driving down to your alma mater to give a talk, and on the way saw similar scenery, but could not capture the drama of rising and falling slopes, but that all pervasive fog was certainly there. Here is the Road to Roanoke, then onto Blacksburg. Were you at Virginia Tech in 1997?

Warm regards,

Bulent

mumek (20226) 2007-10-11 3:34

Good morning Stephen!
Great scenery from your state Virginia.Excellent quality of the photo, beautiful view at the mountains and hanging clouds.Very impressive work.
best regards
ziggy