I spent a couple of days camping in the Shenandoah valley, hoping to get some nice pictures of the Appalachian Fall. I had major difficulties capturing anything worthwhile; I’m still not certain what the problem was. Partly it was the time of day I went out — It was COLD in the mornings, so I missed morning light. And partly it’s just that I haven’t zeroed in on what I’m trying to capture. Close-ups? Grand panoramas? Nothing seems to work for me.
On the final evening, I was determined to get a couple of sunset pictures from Skyline Drive. Perhaps I was being overly picky, but none of the overlooks seemed adequate. And just as I was about to give up I spotted down in the valley below a beautiful red barn. I had only 30 minutes of sunset left, so I raced down the mountain and into the valley, and found a different red barn brilliantly lit up by the setting sun. In the last remaining minutes of good light I snapped off a few photos.
The pictures don’t scream ‘fall’, but I might be spoiled by the New England Fall, with the beautiful red maples. Yellow dominates down here (ash, poplar, beech), and they don’t have quite the ‘wow’ factor of New Hampshire foliage. Still, it is a very pretty area, and with each visit I learn a bit more about where the good shots are.
