October Rust

At the end of the leaf season in Appalachia you get a final show, deep rusty tones, like a warm blanket overtop of the mountains. Biding your time, and waiting for the right day, the right moment as the sun drops down low in the sky the golden light washes over the scene you may yet see the October Rust. You can be assured once the mountains reach this point, the winds will come howling from the north, and then the trees will be bare, and the long winter begins to settle in. The endless cycle of birth, growth, and hibernation trudges on, every year a different lesson to be learned, a new sight to behold, a new scene to be captured. Moments in time, shared, cherished, and over time, fade away like the leaves of another autumn.

I spent a nice day traveling the Blue Ridge Parkway looking for a scene I could capture for my October finale, and came upon what used to be a constant haunt form my younger years. The Craggy Visitor Center, right bellow the looming mountain, and gardens. I stayed here for several hours, surveying the scene, hopeful I would capture something worth while, something I could be satisfied with. So many nights spent right here, and now I come hoping to see the sun once more.

The edit here was simple, yet frustrating all things considered. I started with simple edits, basic color corrections, darkening of the sky, raising my shadows to an appropriate level. Originally I was trying to dehaze this scene, but rapidly found that it looked awful without the haze that gives the Blue Ridge Mountains their name. Next I applied a LUT in a separate program, and added a few other basic color corrections and grading there. Reimporting I dodged, burned, and softened the image, allowed the haze to linger as the image fades into the background. It was an interesting fight to get this image to a point where I was indeed, satisfied.

Until Next Time!

Aperture: f8
ISO: 160
SS: 1/20th
Focal: 36mm

Fujinon 16-55mm