I recently enjoyed the fall in Georgia. I spent some time up in the mountains, and then a couple of days in Atlanta. This was a trip that I was invited to, so photography was not at the top of the list, but I did prepare a “hit-list” in case I had some time come available. I was very fortunate that my trip fell during the fall time. I think the mountains were just slightly passed prime, but Atlanta was not yet to prime fall color. 

Mountains

I was staying in Blue Ridge, GA. I was in a cabin on the side of a mountain. The sunrise photo was my view from the cabin. I haven’t done much with sun stars, but as the sun emerged, I cranked down on the aperture, and I really like what it adds to the image. This image is made from a bracketed HDR merge. It wasn’t super necessary, but I wanted to recover some of the shadows without destroying the highlights. 

For the next photo, I was driving on Highway 60 south to Dahlonega, and stopped at overlook that provided a view of the layers of mountains. Upon arriving, I was thinking I was going to shoot wide, but I used the viewfinder app, and realized I needed to shoot tight. This is about 150mm. The light was quite harsh, and really I should have thrown on a CP, but I was able to warm it up in post, and get it closer to tolerable. 

The last photo is a spot found when driving south on Highway 136 toward Jasper. There was an overlook that provided a nice view of the fall-colored trees with a piece of the highway exposed. 

Atlanta

I got to Atlanta in the early afternoon and drove around to numerous of the spots that I had mapped, most were busts, but one just north of midtown looked like it could work. I checked into my hotel and returned later for the softer afternoon light. There was no convenient parking, so I found a public lot and hiked to my view point. This was not the perfect spot, I was too close to go with a longer focal length, but too far to feel immersed. It was still a pleasing scene, and I did appreciate the bright fall colored trees. The highway underneath also allowed for the light trails as the sun set. 

The next morning, I woke up early and headed to Piedmont Park for the classic midtown view. There was a bit of bird activity, but as the sun rose, the fog emerged over the lake. I only wish there was a bit more fall color. 

On the way to the airport, I did a stop at the Jackson Street Bridge. It is a nice perspective of the city. I did CP up to get the color back in the sky. I’d like to have gone during blue hour to get the city lights. This spot was much busier, numerous others were there to take selfies. 

It was a good time, and I came away with some pictures that I liked. Now I’m gearing up for a trip to West Texas at the end of the year.