There’s no big story!

The image is one of probably thousands that I took and saved for later on one of countless outings I have made in the vicinity of my hometown in western North Carolina. The scene is a popular tourist overlook at Craggy Gardens, which is an area in the United States’ southern Appalachian region managed by the United States National Park Service.

Near the visitors center, there is a large overlook that faces west, and in the summer and fall, the golden hour is when the overlook is at its most crowded. Locals, tourists, and photographers appear there to watch the sunset, and it can be hard to find a good spot to watch. The overlook is about 1675 meters in elevation, which is not terribly high even for the United States, but it is close to the peak elevation in North America east of the Mississippi River.

I took the photo about 7:30 PM in early July 2023, when days in the southeastern United States are still pretty long. Since the overlook and hiking trails are about 30 minutes from where I live, I often go there simply for recreation, and I always take a small camera bag with me.

The weather at Craggy Gardens can shift quickly and with little warning. It’s usually pretty windy at the overlook, and clouds move swiftly above the valleys, so a lot of sunsets there are quite stunning as the clouds diffuse the dying sunlight. I’ve taken, I don’t know, how many dozens of photos at the overlook and kept a lot of them on a thumb drive to look at later. The colors in this particular photo appealed to me, so a year and a half later, I decided to see what I could do with them.

What are the TWO most impactful features that make your image a good photograph? Don’t be shy!

Photos of the Craggy Gardens overlook are kind of a dime-a-dozen where I live. Nonetheless, the Appalachians are geologically among the oldest mountains on Earth, and to me, they have a worn look, with horizons that sometimes resemble the edge of an old, dull drawknife blade that has dips, ridges, and pockmarks in it.

I’d like to think that my photo gives viewers that sense of wear in ways that the vast majority of photos of the same scene don’t. Hopefully, the vignetting, the dulling of the colors, and the de-sharpening of the image help convey that feeling. I also think that it’s pretty great that this photo got some notice from you guys!

That is impactful, at least to me, because it suggests that, as often as not, taking and crafting an effective photograph can have as much to do with a good eye, a good sense of color, and some patience as it does with the quality of equipment.

I’m light years behind the people whose posts usually show up in my Facebook feed. But their work gives me goals to shoot for. The English poet John Donne said in the seventeenth century that “there is nothing that God hath established in a constant course of nature, and which therefore is done every day, but would seem a Miracle, and exercise our admiration, if it were done but once.” By that measure, I see miracles around me every day. All any of us have to do is be observant.

If you could make this photo again, what would be the ONE thing you would like to do better or different?

I suppose I’d like to see what it would look like with a slower shutter speed or a time-lapse.

Paul Yandle shared this photograph with the FRAMES Facebook Group.

Photographer

Paul Yandle, Asheville, North Carolina, USA

Equipment and settings

Nothing fancy at all! I used a second-hand Canon EOS T2i with an EF-S 55-250 mm lens. The camera was originally developed in 2010, which is ancient in terms of technology. However, when I got it it was still considered a good, cheap camera to learn with. You should be able to get both the camera and lens used in decent shape for about $200 US.