The Flickr Greatcraggymountains Image Generatr

A setting looking to the east-southeast while taking in views across a grassy backyard area with a view beyond to distant ridges and peaks of the Blue Ridge Mountains. This is located in the Weaverville area just north of Asheville, North Carolina. There were a few things on my mind as I composed this image. One was to angle my Nikon Z8 Mirrorless Camera slightly downward, capturing a sweeping view looking down and then across to the mountains. The other was closing down on the aperture, so I could create more of a starburst look with the sun that was going in and out behind a tree in the image left. I wanted to meter the image properly so that I didn't blow any of the highlights with the mountains and sunlight as I liked the detail present. But I also knew that I wanted to be able to pull out the shadowed areas later on and post production without any color cast.

A setting looking to the northeast to ridges and peaks of the Great Craggy Mountains (with Craggy Dome) and then more distant one of the N NC Blue Ridge Crest. This was while walking to the summit area of Craggy Pinnacle along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

I achieve comes from Nature, the source of my inspiration.” ~ Claude Monet

Processed with VSCO with l4 preset

My Spirit Is Never Broken
But there are scars present in life
I've seen things with my eye
Walked, driven, flown, and rode
Experienced a journey, but never arrived
Finding the peaks filled adventure
But taking joy in the valleys in between
The extraordinary does not disappoint
But life is more than a park
There is trudging through life
As this is my home
I will immerse myself and discover
To recreate and explore
Year around but never forgetting now
A strong nod to the past but welcoming what comes next
Off I go...or rather continue.

Another work of short poetry or prose to complement the image captured one morning at an Airbnb location I stayed with a friend in the Weaverville area just outside of Asheville, NC. The view is looking to the southeast to ridges and peaks of the nearby Central Blue Ridge Ranges and Great Craggy Mountains that I had a chance to take in. In composing this image, I chose to zoom in to one section to my front. What I loved about the setting was the way the sunlight added a texture to the trees and mountainside with the light and haze, while other parts remained in shadows.

I later worked with control points in DxO PhotoLab 7 and then made some adjustments to bring out the contrast, saturation and brightness I wanted for the final image.

While taking in views around the Craggy Pinnacle Summit with a view looking to the northeast to ridges and peaks of the Great Craggy Mountains with Craggy Dome and Bullhead Mountain. This is along the Blue Ridge Parkway. My thought in composing this image was to use a wide angle for focal length and capture the full breath of the setting in the Blue Ridge Mountains. I wanted the viewer to not just look down the mountainside in wide-eye wonder and take in the ridges and peaks present, but also to see the Blue Ridge Parkway as it weaved throughout the mountains and gaps, heading off to the distant horizon.

I've Walked
And walked some more
I might not have stopped walking for a time
But I'll stop here
Take in the view
And it is a very good view now that I think about it
The amazing majesty of a creation

Another work of short poetry or prose to complement the image captured one late morning along the Blue Ridge Parkway at Craggy Pinnacle Summit. The setting is with a view looking to the southwest. With this image, I took advantage of the high ground I was located on to capture a sweeping view looking down and then across the ridges and peaks present in this part of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I felt like keeping the horizon more or less leveled-on with the image would help to create a balance with the earth-tones in the lower portion of the image with the blues of the skies above. Using the Peakbagger site, I identified the nearby peaks and ridges of the Great Craggy Mountains, while the farther away ones are of the South NC Blue Ridge Crest.

I did some initial post-processing work making adjustments to contrast, brightness and saturation in NX Studio. I then exported a TIFF image to Nik Color Efex Pro 7 where I made some more adjustments with a Polarization, Foliage, and Pro Contrast filter for that last effect on the image captured.

so that we can inhale them to stay alive. Can we ever forget that? Let us love trees with every breath we take until we perish.” ~ Munia Khan

Happy New Year, Flickr! Between the holidays, sick days and snow days, I'm doing pretty good to finally get a post out only 15 days into January . . .

Mountaintop elevation 6,085 ft (1854.7 m)!!

Meanwhile, down here, WHAT A FINE EXAMPLE THIS IS of a mowed strip at a roadside, to prevent a rhododendron thicket from encroaching upon the road.

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In the Craggy Gardens area along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Buncombe County, North Carolina, on September 25th, 2022, Craggy Dome in the Great Craggy Mountains, a subrange of the Blue Ridge Mountains, as viewed from the driveway to the parking lot of the Craggy Dome Overlook at milepost 364.1.

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Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names terms:
• Appalachian Mountains (7022295)
• Blue Ridge (1108807)
• Buncombe (county) (2001473)
• Craggy Dome (2264710)
• Craggy Gardens (2264712)
• Great Craggy Mountains (2362648)

Art & Architecture Thesaurus terms:
• autumn (300133093)
• clouds (300343840)
• Ericales (order) (300374841)
• evening (300343633)
• fog (300055374)
• mountain landscapes (300411358)
• mountains (300008795)
• mowing (300379802)
• parkways (300008294)
• roadsides (300003889)
• scrublands (300386891)
• shrubs (300132407)

Wikidata items:
• 25 September 2022 (Q69306565)
• Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests (Q4780829)
• Appalachian Mountains (Q93332)
• Asheville-Marion-Brevard, NC Combined Statistical Area (Q116304005)
• bald (Q2858591)
• Blue Ridge ecoregion (Q112230761)
• Blue Ridge Mountains (Q166755)
• Blue Ridge Parkway (Q98195801)
• Blue Ridge Physiographic Province (Q60141323)
• Craggy Dome (Q31424300)
• Great Craggy Mountains (Q5599017)
• heath (Q27590)
• High Mountains ecoregion (Q116201258)
• National Parkway (Q6979644)
• Rhododendron catawbiense (Q194521)
• September 25 (Q2886)
• September 2022 (Q61312992)
• thicket (Q2741825)

Library of Congress Subject Headings:
• Mountains—North Carolina (sh85087916)
• Parkways—North Carolina (sh85098219)

In the Craggy Gardens area along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Buncombe County, North Carolina, on September 25th, 2022, on the Craggy Pinnacle Trail.

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Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names terms:
• Appalachian Mountains (7022295)
• Blue Ridge (1108807)
• Buncombe (county) (2001473)
• Craggy Gardens (2264712)
• Craggy Pinnacle (2264719)
• Great Craggy Mountains (2362648)

Art & Architecture Thesaurus terms:
• autumn (300133093)
• bent (condition) (300053101)
• Ericales (order) (300374841)
• parkways (300008294)
• shrubs (300132407)
• temperate forests (300387603)
• trails (recreation areas) (300000626)

Wikidata items:
• 25 September 2022 (Q69306565)
• Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests (Q4780829)
• Appalachian Mountains (Q93332)
• Asheville-Marion-Brevard, NC Combined Statistical Area (Q116304005)
• Blue Ridge ecoregion (Q112230761)
• Blue Ridge Mountains (Q166755)
• Blue Ridge Parkway (Q98195801)
• Blue Ridge Physiographic Province (Q60141323)
• Craggy Gardens (Q31424302)
• Craggy Pinnacle (Q29633881)
• Great Craggy Mountains (Q5599017)
• High Mountains ecoregion (Q116201258)
• National Parkway (Q6979644)
• Rhododendron catawbiense (Q194521)
• September 25 (Q2886)
• September 2022 (Q61312992)
• thicket (Q2741825)
• Treaty with the Cherokee, 1785 (Q114703881)

Library of Congress Subject Headings:
• Forests and forestry—North Carolina (sh2009006512)
• Parkways—North Carolina (sh85098219)
• Trails—North Carolina (sh85136819)

I convinced myself that each curled-under rhododendron leaf was actually an extraterrestrial invader, an alien insect, extremely dangerous if roused, and I backed away.

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In the Craggy Gardens area along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Buncombe County, North Carolina, on September 25th, 2022, along the Craggy Pinnacle Trail.

-----------------------

Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names terms:
• Appalachian Mountains (7022295)
• Blue Ridge (1108807)
• Buncombe (county) (2001473)
• Craggy Gardens (2264712)
• Craggy Pinnacle (2264719)
• Great Craggy Mountains (2362648)

Art & Architecture Thesaurus terms:
• autumn (300133093)
• curling (structural change) (300053123)
• Ericales (order) (300374841)
• leaves (plant components) (300400479)
• lichens (Fungi) (300249626)
• parkways (300008294)
• shrubs (300132407)
• temperate forests (300387603)

Wikidata items:
• 25 September 2022 (Q69306565)
• Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests (Q4780829)
• Appalachian Mountains (Q93332)
• Asheville-Marion-Brevard, NC Combined Statistical Area (Q116304005)
• Blue Ridge ecoregion (Q112230761)
• Blue Ridge Mountains (Q166755)
• Blue Ridge Parkway (Q98195801)
• Blue Ridge Physiographic Province (Q60141323)
• Craggy Gardens (Q31424302)
• Craggy Pinnacle (Q29633881)
• Great Craggy Mountains (Q5599017)
• High Mountains ecoregion (Q116201258)
• National Parkway (Q6979644)
• Rhododendron catawbiense (Q194521)
• September 25 (Q2886)
• September 2022 (Q61312992)
• thicket (Q2741825)
• Treaty with the Cherokee, 1785 (Q114703881)

Library of Congress Subject Headings:
• Forests and forestry—North Carolina (sh2009006512)
• Parkways—North Carolina (sh85098219)

In the Craggy Gardens area along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Buncombe County, North Carolina, on September 25th, 2022, along the Craggy Pinnacle Trail.

-----------------------

Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names terms:
• Appalachian Mountains (7022295)
• Blue Ridge (1108807)
• Buncombe (county) (2001473)
• Craggy Gardens (2264712)
• Craggy Pinnacle (2264719)
• Great Craggy Mountains (2362648)

Art & Architecture Thesaurus terms:
• autumn (300133093)
• bent (condition) (300053101)
• parkways (300008294)
• temperate forests (300387603)

Wikidata items:
• 25 September 2022 (Q69306565)
• Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests (Q4780829)
• Appalachian Mountains (Q93332)
• Asheville-Marion-Brevard, NC Combined Statistical Area (Q116304005)
• Blue Ridge ecoregion (Q112230761)
• Blue Ridge Mountains (Q166755)
• Blue Ridge Parkway (Q98195801)
• Blue Ridge Physiographic Province (Q60141323)
• Craggy Gardens (Q31424302)
• Craggy Pinnacle (Q29633881)
• Great Craggy Mountains (Q5599017)
• High Mountains ecoregion (Q116201258)
• National Parkway (Q6979644)
• September 25 (Q2886)
• September 2022 (Q61312992)
• Treaty with the Cherokee, 1785 (Q114703881)

Library of Congress Subject Headings:
• Forests and forestry—North Carolina (sh2009006512)
• Parkways—North Carolina (sh85098219)

DOESN'T IT!!

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In the Craggy Gardens area along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Buncombe County, North Carolina, on September 25th, 2022, along the Craggy Pinnacle Trail.

-----------------------

Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names terms:
• Appalachian Mountains (7022295)
• Blue Ridge (1108807)
• Buncombe (county) (2001473)
• Craggy Gardens (2264712)
• Craggy Pinnacle (2264719)
• Great Craggy Mountains (2362648)

Art & Architecture Thesaurus terms:
• autumn (300133093)
• Ericales (order) (300374841)
• moss (plant) (300262568)
• parkways (300008294)
• plant communities (natural) (300132439)
• Polypodiopsida (class) (300375590)
• temperate forests (300387603)

Wikidata items:
• 25 September 2022 (Q69306565)
• Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests (Q4780829)
• Appalachian Mountains (Q93332)
• Asheville-Marion-Brevard, NC Combined Statistical Area (Q116304005)
• Blue Ridge ecoregion (Q112230761)
• Blue Ridge Mountains (Q166755)
• Blue Ridge Parkway (Q98195801)
• Blue Ridge Physiographic Province (Q60141323)
• Craggy Gardens (Q31424302)
• Craggy Pinnacle (Q29633881)
• ferns (Q80005)
• forest floor (Q2998666)
• Great Craggy Mountains (Q5599017)
• High Mountains ecoregion (Q116201258)
• National Parkway (Q6979644)
• Rhododendron catawbiense (Q194521)
• September 25 (Q2886)
• September 2022 (Q61312992)
• Treaty with the Cherokee, 1785 (Q114703881)

Library of Congress Subject Headings:
• Forests and forestry—North Carolina (sh2009006512)
• Parkways—North Carolina (sh85098219)

Blue Ridge Parkway aerial photo with snow along the Great Craggy Mountains range looking toward Mt. Mitchell State Park in Pisgah National Forest near Banardsville, North Carolina - © 2021 David Oppenheimer - Performance Impressions aerial photography archives - www.performanceimpressions.com

The Great Craggy Mountains, commonly called the Craggies, are a mountain range in western North Carolina, United States. They are a subrange of the Blue Ridge Mountains and encompass an area of approx. 194 sq mi (503 km²). They are situated in Buncombe County, North Carolina, 14 miles northeast of Asheville. The Black Mountains lie to the northeast, across the upper Cane River valley. The Blue Ridge Parkway runs along the crest for most of the way between Asheville and Mount Mitchell. Craggy Gardens, an area of 16 km, is covered with purple Catawba rhododendrons in mid-June. The parkway through the area was closed from late 2012 through early 2013 due to subsidence caused by heavy rains, and had to be closed again during summer 2013 due to a reoccurrence of the same issues. Access to Mount Mitchell was only from the north or via detour from the south.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Craggy_Mountains
Weblink 1: www.blueridgeheritage.com/destinations/craggy-gardens/
Weblink 2: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Ridge_Parkway

The Great Craggy Mountains, commonly called the Craggies, are a mountain range in western North Carolina, United States. They are a subrange of the Blue Ridge Mountains and encompass an area of approx. 194 sq mi (503 km²). They are situated in Buncombe County, North Carolina, 14 miles northeast of Asheville. The Black Mountains lie to the northeast, across the upper Cane River valley. The Blue Ridge Parkway runs along the crest for most of the way between Asheville and Mount Mitchell. Craggy Gardens, an area of 16 km, is covered with purple Catawba rhododendrons in mid-June. The parkway through the area was closed from late 2012 through early 2013 due to subsidence caused by heavy rains, and had to be closed again during summer 2013 due to a reoccurrence of the same issues. Access to Mount Mitchell was only from the north or via detour from the south.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Craggy_Mountains
Weblink 1: www.blueridgeheritage.com/destinations/craggy-gardens/
Weblink 2: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Ridge_Parkway

The Great Craggy Mountains, commonly called the Craggies, are a mountain range in western North Carolina, United States. They are a subrange of the Blue Ridge Mountains and encompass an area of approx. 194 sq mi (503 km²). They are situated in Buncombe County, North Carolina, 14 miles northeast of Asheville. The Black Mountains lie to the northeast, across the upper Cane River valley. The Blue Ridge Parkway runs along the crest for most of the way between Asheville and Mount Mitchell. Craggy Gardens, an area of 16 km, is covered with purple Catawba rhododendrons in mid-June. The parkway through the area was closed from late 2012 through early 2013 due to subsidence caused by heavy rains, and had to be closed again during summer 2013 due to a reoccurrence of the same issues. Access to Mount Mitchell was only from the north or via detour from the south.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Craggy_Mountains
Weblink 1: www.blueridgeheritage.com/destinations/craggy-gardens/
Weblink 2: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Ridge_Parkway

The Great Craggy Mountains, commonly called the Craggies, are a mountain range in western North Carolina, United States. They are a subrange of the Blue Ridge Mountains and encompass an area of approx. 194 sq mi (503 km²). They are situated in Buncombe County, North Carolina, 14 miles northeast of Asheville. The Black Mountains lie to the northeast, across the upper Cane River valley. The Blue Ridge Parkway runs along the crest for most of the way between Asheville and Mount Mitchell. Craggy Gardens, an area of 16 km, is covered with purple Catawba rhododendrons in mid-June. The parkway through the area was closed from late 2012 through early 2013 due to subsidence caused by heavy rains, and had to be closed again during summer 2013 due to a reoccurrence of the same issues. Access to Mount Mitchell was only from the north or via detour from the south.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Craggy_Mountains
Weblink 1: www.blueridgeheritage.com/destinations/craggy-gardens/
Weblink 2: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Ridge_Parkway

The Great Craggy Mountains, commonly called the Craggies, are a mountain range in western North Carolina, United States. They are a subrange of the Blue Ridge Mountains and encompass an area of approx. 194 sq mi (503 km²). They are situated in Buncombe County, North Carolina, 14 miles northeast of Asheville. The Black Mountains lie to the northeast, across the upper Cane River valley. The Blue Ridge Parkway runs along the crest for most of the way between Asheville and Mount Mitchell. Craggy Gardens, an area of 16 km, is covered with purple Catawba rhododendrons in mid-June. The parkway through the area was closed from late 2012 through early 2013 due to subsidence caused by heavy rains, and had to be closed again during summer 2013 due to a reoccurrence of the same issues. Access to Mount Mitchell was only from the north or via detour from the south.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Craggy_Mountains
Weblink 1: www.blueridgeheritage.com/destinations/craggy-gardens/
Weblink 2: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Ridge_Parkway