Off to the Boonies

A 2 day break from work all of a sudden became a 4 day break, We quickly found a camp site on line in Boone NC, We have not been there for a few years, The break started badly as we hit heavy rain on the way and when we got there it was pitch black and our camp was under a few inches of water, Nothing for it but to camp somewhere else and sort it in the morning, It continued to rain all night and was very grey in the morning but mountain weather is very changeable and unpredictable, The over cast conditions made it perfect for waterfall photography so we drove up the Blue Ridge parkway to Linville falls and spent a few hours photographing the waterfalls and streams in that area, This is something we did for a couple of days, Really working the area hard photographically, On the 2nd day we went further along the Parkway and had a late lunch at Little Switzerland, When we left we spotted a bear with 2 cubs near the road, Unfortunalty the traffic pushed the bears back into the woodland and for 30 minutes we watched the cubs at distance playing in the trees, It was great to watch but photographically poor with just some snaps for memories, The weather seemed to change every hour or less, One minute rain the sun then overcast, I took a trail to the bottom of the gorge to get a different angle on the falls but there were lots of others down there and i had a hard time of getting a shot without people in the shot, In frustration i tried to hop across some rocks and get further out, Doing this i missed my step and took a really heavy fall hurting my back, thumb and toes, The trail down to the gorge base was the most dangerous trail i have been on and extremely steep, I had no problems getting up physically but once at the top found myself once again on the deck as i slid on wet clay, The town of Boone has change considerably since our last visit, Mostly now new and double what i remember, Its a good place to base yourself as its not far from the parkway and there are a lot of trails if hiking is your thing, I will let the images do the talking but i have to say that i am pleased with what we got in such a limited time

The top of the Linville Falls

 The main falls at Linville with the top falls visible as well as the viewing platform

 The sky was changeable from dramatic to very overcast

 Looking the other way down the Gorge

 A small stream as you leave the car park at Linville

 Best memories were the bears, A heavy crop but you can clearly see the young bear

 Mist rising up to Linville viaduct

 Plenty to shoot whilst waiting for the weather to change

 This falls was tucked away although near the road, 1st image without a polorizer

 This image with the use of a polorizer to remove the glare from the rocks

 A little color in some of the trees

 A little beauty, I spent some time shooting this fall even getting into the water

 Again a polorizer removes the surface glare

 Some detail work

 Nearly killed myself getting this shot, I have the bruises to prove it

 Blowing rock

 Some great cloud formations, The polorizer deepening the colors of the sky, Saturating the greens and bringing out detail in the clouds

 From the gardens at bowing rock

 We desperately looked for a place to shoot the sunset

 Then we found this and watched as it developed into one of the best sky's i have photographed

 Back at camp and some painting with light before bed

A great trip and great photographic light conditions and with photography its all about the light, Not a great deal of hiking but we got a good workout each day
I have to say the love affair with the Nikon D800E continues, I love what it gives and with photoshop and Nik filters you get spectacular photographs that print beautifully

Click on images to make larger


Dave