North Carolina Mountain Foliage

We recently took a trip up to the mountains in North Carolina to get a taste of fall. I still believe that Florida has seasons, but there is no comparison when it comes to the fall foliage displays of the northern states. We rented a house for a week and we tried to soak up as much mountain and foliage scenery as we could. I didn't take as many photos as usual thanks to a few days of rain and a few days of being sick.

Here is the long view from the deck. It's quite a sight to see these large swaths of forest all changing color. The area around the house was at peak color, or very close to it.

One morning I got up before sunrise to make a few photos since the forecast called for heavy fog. Up in the mountains, the weather never really followed the forecast and it ended up being rather clear. On other "clear" days the area around the house ended up being completely fogged in. Gotta love that mountain weather. Anyway, this waterfall was just a short walk down the gravel road from the house.

While walking back to the house, the sun came up over the mountain and starting streaming through the foggy forest. I made several photos of the light shining on to the forest floor, mainly ferns, but this one was my favorite.

Back at the house, the early morning light combined with the wet leaves of the past two days of rain made the colors really pop.

The opening in the forest in front of the deck acted as a funnel. The fog and clouds would come floating up the mountain and push right over the house.

I couldn't resist a handheld self portrait in front of the blazing colors.

That same day we did some hiking around Mount Mitchell, the highest point east of the Mississippi. The foliage was already done at these elevations, but the summit of Mitchell is mostly weather beaten pines anyway. It was very interesting to walk through such a unique high elevation ecosystem.

Karen took the camera and got a few shots of me with Vanessa.

Here is Karen taking in the view.

Back at the house, a setting sun backlights the forest and makes the leaves glow.

I managed to capture a few portraits of Vanessa in front of some nice foliage.

During a family hike around the house, we encountered these amazing leaves.

Finally, another view from the deck. The sun had already gone down and it was getting dark. Balancing the camera on the deck rail and using a long shutter speed really brought out the yellows.

Well, that's it for our trip. Karen and briefly lived in Asheville so we really enjoy going back to that area. I wish Asheville had an ocean, or Florida had a mountain range. Oh well.