Hildesheim/GER

I woke up with about three hours of sleep after the shooting the Milky Way until 2am and was laying there thinking with the clear skies overnight it would be good to skip the cloudless sunrise and get a few more minutes of sleep ... but then I looked out the window of the car and saw pink clouds overhead.

It took tons of effort to get my shoes on and gather the camera to get out quickly for the sunrise there at Bear Rocks. Everything ached ... but the pretty sunrise was calling to me and my camera.

Very cool weather and clouds late in the day at the Dolly Sods in West Virginia.

Nearing sunset yesterday along the Eastern Continental Divide in West Virginia. I have been to the Dolly Sods area many times now in Autumn, and this is my first time there in Spring. So it was a pleasant surprise to the pink blossoms all over the place.

There was some great clouds around in the afternoon, and luckily they dissipated as the day ended and clear skies as it darkened as I mainly went to capture the night sky heading towards new moon. These clouds and the blossoms were a great treat as well.

Night in the Dolly Sods in late Spring.

Morning as the day begins in West Virginia.

Late day light in the Dolly Sods, West Virginia.

Late hour up in the highlands ... the Dolly Sods

Along the ridge at 4,100 feet in West Virginia.

Around 10 in the evening as night was getting darker and the Milky Way was rising along the trail in the Dolly Sods, West Virginia.

Setting sunlight shines into the eastern sky here in the highlands of West Virginia.

A view there in the pretty Dolly Sods area of West Virginia, here captured with the 10 Stop ND.

Sometimes its the small views in nature that catch your eye and focus ... Capture made in the Dolly Sods area of West Virginia.

A vos peignoirs - To your bathrobes

Some light painting done there in the highlands of West Virginia at night.

Long exposure there among the Fall colors in West Virginia.

Early morning view from the Dolly Sods in West Virginia. Taken at the edge of the rocky cliffs.

Sun breaks onto the scene there in the Dolly Sods.

These rock formations are pretty cool to explore. Just need to really watch your step, especially when dusk takes over.

DOLLY SODS WEST VIRGINIA

The Mountain Laurels were reaching peak bloom during our visit. Here, the laurels exhibit a deeper pink coloration than their lowland cousins which are mostly white. Several sources state the pink coloration is the result of the unique climate and soil conditions at Dolly Sods.

Light painting by bouncing the light off of some green bushes back on to the white rocks. Made for some neat contrast against the light pollution hitting the low clouds there in the highlands of West Virginia.

Bear Rocks in the Dolly Sods

Once of the challenges within the Dolly Sods and the bog like areas, the trails become brooks in the wet season. Makes hiking more challenging.

Liked the view here and the spring colors on display under the sky as captured with the CPL filter.

Neat sunset colors and tones filled the sky and land there in the Dolly Sods of West Virginia. Liked this view that I took with the other photographer there in the frame taking his photos too :)

View there in the late evening over Dolly Sods in West Virginia.

Blue hour over the highlands in West Virginia.

A view there in the Dolly Sods with the moon trying to make an appearance as well through the clouds.

Late morning view there among the bushes in the Dolly Sods of West Virginia.

Warm sunrise there on a cold Fall crisp morning in the Dolly Sods.

Yesterday my eldest daughter (who is in from California visiting) trekked along with me for afternoon, sunset, and night captures at this pretty location in West Virginia. She had never been to this location, and we had a great time taking photos and exploring more areas even new to me. Each time I get back there I like to explore some favorite areas as well as new trails and views. Such a great location and unique that you do not see in many other areas.

It is a 3.5 hour drive from where I live, but well worth it when the Fall colors are getting hold there and then to get a pretty sunset ...

Moonlight bathes these rocks in the Dolly Sods, making for some nice foreground in this very early morning capture.

Taken about 45 minutes before sunrise from atop the Dolly Sods area in West Virginia.

Blue hour takes over there in the Dolly Sods of West Virginia

This is another crop of a 14mm capture using the new Super Resolution within Lightroom that is about 1/3 of the original image. The resulting JPEG here was over 30MB. Larger that the normal full frame file of 19MB.

This would be equivalent to using a 20mm lens.

Capture made in West Virginia at the Dolly Sods.

The bushes, lichen and several trees were quite pretty there under the late day clouds.

Night with clouds and stars over the Dolly Sods

Early morning / dawn overlooking West Virginia from the Dolly Sods.Mix of moon lighting here helped provide details in the foreground given the bright horizon with the approach of dawn.