Light Striations

Posted by Russ Devan (New Hanover, United States) on 20 October 2008 in Landscape & Rural and Portfolio.

Recently, I spent several weeks working on a project in Virginia, about four hours south of New Hanover. Being from Pennsylvania, I got the opportunity to once again be a Damn Yankee for a spell while I was visiting the south. As anyone from the US knows, a Yankee is the term that our southern brethren have for those of us who live in the northern US, primarily north of the Mason-Dixon line (the boundary between the states of Pennsylvania and Maryland). For those that may not know, a Yankee who comes down to the southern US is affectionately referred to as a Damn Yankee. This is not to be confused with a God Damn Yankee, which is a Yankee who comes down south and stays there. Having lived in Virginia many years ago, I've had the honor of having all three titles bestowed upon me. All in good fun, of course.

So while I was busy being a Damn Yankee, I took some time to explore nearby Shenandoah National Park, which is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains not far from where I was working. The elevations of these mountains average 3,000 to 3,500 feet MSL and in some places exceed 4,000 feet MSL. That may not sound very high, but remember that the Blue Ridge (part of the larger Appalachian Mountain chain) are very, very old mountains, and have been eroding for hundreds of millions of years longer than other mountain systems in North America.

One of the main attractions of Shenandoah is the main road that winds its way for over 100 miles along the summit of the mountains, called Skyline Drive. On clear days, you can see spectacular views for tens of miles on either side of Skyline Drive in many places. I was fortunate to visit there when the autumn leaves were at peak color.

The above image was taken just after dawn from the mountainside overlooking the valley and the foot hills east of the Blue Ridge. The "striations", as I called them, appear to be created by the very long shadows of trees and other objects on the valley floor from the low angle of the rising sun and accentuated by the fog. The low ground fog blanketed the entire valley for as far as the eye could see. I had never seen anything like it before during a sunrise. I think they were only visible due to my high vantage point (about 2,000 feet) above the valley.

More images of Shenandoah to come...by this Damn Yankee. Perhaps that might be an interesting name for a business, should I ever open one..."Damn Yankee Photography".

"The Master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence in whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he is always doing both."
- Zen Buddhist Text

vfxy Photoblogs | Listed on Photoblogs.org