Down that Old Rusty Trail

"Down that old rusty trail . . . in the morning rays - not perfect, but just right. Down that old rusty trail in the pale summer sun. Down that old rusty trail in the fall morning gone, and cold apple rain. Over the hill(s) and back to me again."

What a beautiful morning in the Smoky Mountains! The rain the day before lent fog, thick and lit-up, to the following morning. Alarm did not work. I knew it was time. Sure enough, 6:30. 15 minutes 'till sunrise. Bathroom, Larabar, water, in car. Photos. Sunrise . . . still lots of fog. 30 minutes. Light! Lots of light, but subtle and golden. Light streaming laterally across the fields, the fog like low lying clouds capturing sunrise in their mist. What a beautiful moment to stand there and sweep my camera across this panorama. Enjoy!

Photo Info: Usual ISO 100, f/13. About 105 mm. 9 or so vertical photos stitched in CS4. Beautiful colors straight out of the RAW files. I am really meticulous about this. I have calibrated my camera with a colorchecker chart in Lightroom, and then shoot all these panoramas with that neutral profile at 5000 K (daylight color temperature). What results are colors that (in my opinion) are better, more subtle, and more beautiful (my main goal) than anything I could create (or re-create) in photoshop. So, I let the scene be the scene and I capture it faithfully with great quality, and I am than proud to say "it really was that beautiful." I am still amazed I saw this scene.