Had the day off after my birthday to get some rest in and realized I hadn’t been out to the mountains in while. Still had time on the clock to catch the sunset, so I made a last minute trip to the Blue Ridge mountains for sunset!
More specifically to place called Humpback Rocks, VA to get some hiking and photography in.
The drive out there took about 1hr 20min. The parking lot wasn’t crowded so I knew picking a good spot to catch the sunset wasn’t going to be a challenge.
The hike itself only took about 20-30 mins but it was pretty intense. There was huge climb right off the bat, but was broken up a bit when a fellow hiker gave me a heads-up about a momma black bear and her cubs up ahead.
Got to the area just in time to see them but couldn’t get my phone out in time to take pictures/video. They were a little ways off from the trail and wondered off without any issue.
There were a few other people up top, but most of them left before the sun started going down. I posted up on a small rock to the left of the main rock where everyone else was standing.
The sunset didn’t pop as much as I was hoping, but the mountain surroundings definitely helped my composition.
I had both my Nikon D750 and FujiFilm X100F with me. Nikon was on the tripod and my FujiFilm stayed in hand with a GND filter attached to try and help the sky pop a bit more.
I adjusted my position when the sun dropped behind the mountains and went up to the main area for a different perspective. Ended up coming across a newly engaged couple (like 5 mins ago newly engaged). They asked for a picture, so I helped capture the moment, then went on my way.
Raven’s Roost At Night
Night fell by the time I got back to my car and I realized their was a full moon so I drove to a few more spots along the Blue Ridge. Including Raven’s Roost below. My Nikon does so well in bringing in all the light possible to make an excellent image.
Didn’t make it home until midnight, but it was worth it. Posted the sunset image on Instagram before calling it a night.
Gotta love the Blue Ridge Parkway.
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