Chimney Rock hike

dsiglin · Jul 22, 2013

The father in law had his 60th birthday this weekend so the wife's side of the family got together at rented a house high in the mountains of North Carolina, near Chimney Rock. I was *really* tempted to pull out the Mamiya 645 I just was given but the thought of lugging it up 500+ steps made me opt for the Nex instead and I wanted to give the Sigma 30mm a proper test run. So, here are a few photos from the day of the hike. I did some significant post processing on these and since I've been shooting film I threw some grain into the mix as well. Any tips or critiques you want to add, feel free!

Photography is not as appreciated in the morning.

Hank was born ready. This dog has no off switch. We had to force feed him water to keep him hydrated while hiking. He was too excited to bother himself.

A sampling of the 500+ stairs. There's an elevator that takes you to the top (so American) but dogs are not allowed so I got to hike up with Hank.

Lake Lure and the mountains beyond.

Of course there is a giant American flag at the top.

View of Chimney Rock and Lake Lure from a lookout point known as the Opera Box.

As the day wore on rain clouds started to form across the valley.

I could not have asked for a more interesting sky to photography.

Back at the house after a hard rain the mist was lying in the valley.

timor · Jul 22, 2013

For me the best is picture of this giant American flag, the tones just work for me. With the rest I don't know, is this your conversion or they are a bit too flat. I wish you took the Mamiya loaded with Tmax 100.

dsiglin · Jul 22, 2013

These were all originally color raw files and I "developed" them with a custom preset that knocked out the darkest and lightest tones. I find myself liking lower contrast landscapes, maybe I went a little too low contrast with these. Here's an original photo and also a redone B&W version with more contrast. Thanks for the comment!

krystalynnephoto · Jul 22, 2013

I'm from very close to Chimney Rock.

I miss that beautiful area.

dsiglin · Jul 22, 2013

It was my first time there, even though I live maybe two or less hours away. I was a little surprised it was $12 to get in, but the views were worth it.

TechChuck · Jul 22, 2013

dsiglin said:
These were all originally color raw files and I "developed" them with a custom preset that knocked out the darkest and lightest tones. I find myself liking lower contrast landscapes, maybe I went a little too low contrast with these. Here's an original photo and also a redone B&W version with more contrast. Thanks for the comment!

Comparing the color to B/W, I have to say I like the color better. There just isn't the pop in the B/W image to make it interesting, just too flat. I do like the flag however. IMHO. Looks like a great place to visit.