Grandview New River Gorge National River You wouldn't believe, or maybe you will, how this shot came to be. Yesterday morning myself and my good friend Jeff Burcher got a late start at our Cabin at Pipestem State Park, we had a little less than an hour to get to Grandview. I would have never imagined that there was a rush hour in the country and in that rush hour the complete lack of urgency some folks have. 10 miles under the speed limit. Really? After taking 25 minutes to get to I-77 it was time to pour on the heat to get to the North Overlook, even though I was in desperate need of gas. As I was headed up the mountain the first light hitting the clouds was looking pretty sweet and as I got closer the better it got. By the time I got to the Grandview exit the skies had turned epic, I knew there was a lake/pod nearby but had no idea where it was so I continued on to Grandview in a complete disregard for the speed limit. About a mile from the park I came up upon a truck doing 20 in a 35. I was thinking to myself, "this can't be happening, the most spectacular sunrise I've seen in some time is going on and I'm stuck behind this slow poke!" As we crept into the park things began to get foggier and foggier where he finally pulled off and I decided to hit the Main Overlook in hopes of at least getting the last light of the beauty I had seen before. So I parked the car, hopped out, and hurried to the overlook to find it was completely socked in. You couldn't even see the sky. I couldn't believe it. A short time later Jeff arrived and we both thought it would be best if we hung out and waited to see if the fog lifted, but it didn't and after a 1/2 an hour of being cold we packed up and headed towards the cars. Along the way we noticed how the light was illuminating the fog among the trees, having been so disgusted by the whole last hour and 1/2 we almost didn't even notice it. Lemons to lemonade, and we ended up spending the next hour and 1/2 in the park and we were amazed at the scenes we would see.
Grandview New River Gorge National River You know, I just love West Virginia. It truly is Almost Heaven. And I just can't get enough of it. Every time I'm there I see the most beautiful things nature has to offer in unrelenting awesomeness. Take this scene for instance, as I drove down the road to Grandview in The New River Gorge I was watching a sunrise of epic proportions but as I pulled into the park it was clear that I was more than likely not going to be anything to shoot due to a thick fog. After standing at the Main Overlook disappointed and sad that I had arrived basically to shoot nothing, myself and good friend Jeff Burcher started to head back to the vehicles, but along the way we noticed there was something going on; an eerie light was cast upon the forest through the mist. For the next 20 minutes we shot the forest and the path and the benches, enjoying every second of it. It just goes to show you, that the cards you're always dealt aren't always what they seem, if you read between the lines.
Grandview New River Gorge West Virginia I'm not sure what it is about Grandview in West Virginia's New River Gorge, but I often have trouble getting that "sun rising over the horizon moment." Now don't get me wrong, I've gotten several images that I do like, all very different from norm. My latest trip was no different. Arriving around 5:20 am to the main overlook there was fog in the gorge and it was lifting up over the mountain to our opposite. We were hoping things would settle down but alas they did not. A short time before the sun rose I ran off a few shots as an afterthought just to capture the sea of clouds, then quickly the fog rose high above us and we were soon engulfed not being able to see 10 ft. from ourselves. Not long after we decided to head out, little did I realize that when I'd get home for fun I'd mess around with one of the shots I took and would eventually like the image. Hope you enjoy this cataract sunrise!
