Bankhead Blues

In case you thought I had forgotten, I hadn't.  I still walk up the Bankhead Trail, just not as often as I did in the Summer.  Now that it's cold enough to drive the rattlers and spiders away, I've been exploring some other trails.  

But I saw a picture of the Bankhead Trail the other day, posted on social media. The colors were great. And I was like, "Huh?  Maybe I'm missing something." So I went up it again the next day.   This is what I got.  And I had to switch the White Balance to "Shade" to get this much color. (The trail pretty much stays in the shade in the morning so the light can be a little cool.)

I'm as bummed out as anybody that it hasn't been a good year for color on the mountains. But there's no reason to tell tales.  The Cindy Crawfords of the world are beautiful enough.  They don't need retouching. But the folks trying to make a few dollars more can't resist.  Monte Sano Mountain is beautiful enough too.  There's a fine line between adjusting the White Balance and boosting the color a little on an image.  Cross that line and the next thing you know, you're shooting on Vivid, with a Polarizer and still boosting the color in Lightroom to beat the vibrancy your buddy got.  

Maybe it was my profession or maybe it's just me, but truth is precious. When you start straying from it, you're on the wrong trail.  You won't like where it leads.   

Nikon D7200 — Nikon 18-300mm F6.3 ED VR

95mm

F8@1/10th

(DOL_4073)

©Don Brown 2021