The Autumn Skyline Drive ViewFall at Shenandoah National Park

Whether you drive the Skyline Drive as the sole purpose of your visit to the Shenandoah National Park or merely use it as the means of getting to your trail heads it will reward you richly.  Based on weather and pollution levels your views may be clear or hazy but will be worth it either way.

Visit in the fall and the grand views will have some extra colors mixed in as in this photograph. If you'd like to photograph it, bring a polarizing filter along, it will help with the glare a little bit and also take the glare off of the foliage further saturating the colors. And yes, the sky will get darker and bluer too and look great if you are lucky enough to have some nice puffy floaters around.

We enjoyed the variety the park has to offer. You can drive to your trail head in the morning and visit a few viewpoints along the way, or even make it there for a sunrise (there are various viewpoints along the drive facing either east or west so you have a choice). Then, you can head out for a hike or two on the many marked trail heads, a lot of them leading to waterfalls of varying sizes. And you can close the day back on Skyline Drive and pick a spot for a sunset. Head for cover, sleep, repeat! It does not get any better, does it?

Where did this one come from in January you ask? I enjoy winter and its whiteness and potential for high key and abstracts but once in a while I need to see colors. And that little bit of a photo backlog from the past autumn season also has something to do with it.

Enjoy your trips down the memory lane!

Technical data: ISO 100 - 1/4 second - f/16 - aperture priority mode - 85mm on the 24 - 85 mm zoom

Equipment Used:

Nikon D600, Nikon 24-85mm Nikkor Lens, Hoya 72mm NXT Circular Polarizing Slim Frame Glass Filter, Induro Carbon 8x Travel Tripod (CT-014) and Manfrotto Ball Head (496RC2), Think Tank Speed Demon Waist Pack, SanDisk Extreme 32GB SD Cards, Nikon Capture NX2.

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