Blue Ridge North Carolina Full Moon Mountain Reflections

This image has been featured in print several times: Our State Magazine ran a two-page spread of this image in their June 2014 issue; Smoky Mountain... more

by Mark VanDyke

Title

Blue Ridge North Carolina Full Moon Mountain Reflections

Artist

Mark VanDyke

Medium

Photograph

Description

This image has been featured in print several times: Our State Magazine ran a two-page spread of this image in their June 2014 issue; Smoky Mountain Living ran a 1/2 page spread in their August/September issue.
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My family took a vacation to Blowing Rock, North Carolina this past June and I had the chance to show my father some of my favorite Western North Carolina hiking spots, as well as to show my mother, who is also an avid photographer, some of my favorite photography haunts. On the morning of June 23rd, when the moon was the closest that it will be during the year 2013 (the Perigee Moon), I convinced my mother to get up early and take the short ride over to Price Lake where I was hopeful for at least a colorful sunrise and some reflections of Grandfather Mountain and Calloway Peak. Much to my surprise (I wish I could say that it was planned in advance) the supermoon was literally hanging right in the upper third of my desired sunrise composition. While she was excited to see the moon and wanted to shoot its light and reflection from near the parking lot to ensure that we didn't miss its quick descent in the morning sky, I hurried her and myself out of the parking area and down the dark trail a short distance knowing that the composition would be far better if we made it in time. And we just made it--literally! I think we each got about three to four frames snapped before some fog/clouds swallowed the remainder of light and sunrise swept in to erase the blues of morning. All along the Blue Ridge Parkway in the evenings and mornings people were enjoying the supermoon, and this morning was no different: the light in the mid-frame to right is actually a lantern that some folks were burning while they enjoyed the large moon over the calm lake. Sometimes neat stuff like this comes together, and to be able to share it with someone is always a neat experience.

Julian Price Memorial Park together with adjacent Moses Cone Park form the largest contiguous acreage of recreational opportunities along the length of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Owned by Julian Price, an insurance executive with Jefferson Standard Life Insurance Company, the property was initially purchased to be the site of a company retreat. However, following an untimely death, his children donated the property and asked that Boone Fork Creek be dammed to create Price Lake in memoriam. The park consists of 4,300 acres with Julian Price Lake comprising 47 acres as a centerpiece.

Uploaded

July 26th, 2013