Top Ten (#2)

Photo by: Tim Bindner Photography

 

Here is # 2.

Technical aspects:

Camera – Fuji X100F

Aperture – F/5.6

Shutter Speed – 1/800 sec.

Focal Length – 23mm

ISO – 320

Film Simulation – Acros+R

Location – Burnsville, NC (https://goo.gl/maps/T5CTUdfEJ2kVzbm1A)

Date – April 26, 2019 @ 12:09 pm

As we reached my top 2 at the time of this writing I can easily waver back and forth between the shot above and my soon to be revealed number one.  For now, this ranks as my number two, not for the shot itself, but the shot, memory, and experience when I took it.

Mount Mitchell is the highest peak east of the Mississippi summiting at 6684 feet.  Mark and I planned to visit this on our five day trip from Indiana through this area of North Carolina before returning home again, but not in this condition.  As we left the Blue Ridge Parkway and headed up the road it was not long before we had to pull off at an overlook.  We sat in the Jeep as we were pelted with hail (some that can be seen in the shot), rocked by various gusts of wind, sat surrounded by fog, yet we were both able to snag some moody pictures (from the Jeep).

The experience of sitting in Mark’s Jeep swaying by the winds, being rhythmically pelted by hail and having most of my sight hindered by the fog surrounding us, made this picture and the details of it meaningful.  So often in life beauty surrounds me amidst the chaos of life.  This picture is a true example of that.  The Jeep was getting beat up, the surroundings were torrential, yet from it all, I got one of my most favorite shots.  Nature again provides for me and teaches me another life lesson.

This picture along with others from my trip has helped me tap into thoughts and feelings I would otherwise dissemble.  I am learning to open up and tell stories, at least in my mind about the shots I take.  They help me have a voice and share my experience with others, which for me is the ultimate gratification.

I will leave you with a quote that I feel best sums up what I saw at that moment “I like the muted sounds, the shroud of grey, and the silence that comes from the fog.” Om Malik.

Until next time,

Tim