Picture of the Day - October 11, 2009

Autumn in Shady Valley, Tennessee

Photo and narrative by Rick Rouse.                   (Click on the photo for a larger view) Yesterday morning we took a short trip to picturesque Shady Valley, Tennessee to attend this year's Cranberry Festival, and as we drove down the crooked, narrow road between Damascus and Shady Valley we passed a number of mighty pretty autumn scenes. Since it was a bit rainy and foggy, I talked myself into waiting for the trip back home for my picture-taking efforts, but when we pulled into the pasture field that served as the festival parking area we were greeted with the view you see here. Eager to capture the beginning of the annual transition of the leaves from the bland green of summer to the splendor of their fall colors, I pulled out my tripod and camera and snapped off a few shots. Unfortunately, when I got home and viewed them on my computer I discovered that I wasn't really happy with the composition of any of them! Then I got the idea to do some selective cropping to create a faux panorama, and the result is what you see above. I hope you like it. (Note: Be sure to click on the photo to see a larger view). Here are the camera and settings used to capture this image: Camera: Nikon D50 Lens: Nikkor 18-55mm kit lens Focal length: 35mm Shutter speed: 1/125 second Aperture: f/9.5 ISO: 200   Visitor Comments... Name: Tammy Murray Town: Des Plaines, IL My mother grew up in Shady Valley and I visit there often. What a GORGEOUS place! I've been to the Cranberry Festival a number of times, and I was there yesterday as well. I was privileged to enjoy this very same view in person upon exiting my car. My mom visits this site every day and she showed me this picture as soon as I woke up this morning. Wonderful site Mr. Rouse. I'll be stopping by every morning to check out the Picture of the Day!     Name: Susan French Town: Columbus, OH Gorgeous!     Name: Ed Morrison Town: Dunwoody, GA The "Crop" tool is one of the most powerful tools at a photographer's disposal, and you have used it to great effect here Rick. Nice job!     Name: Gordon Brugman Town: Gatlinburg, TN A wonderful image here, Rick. Your masterful post-processing was surely worth the effort. Thanks for sharing this beautiful scene with us here on TodaysPhoto.org!     Name: Alice Milbourne Town: Perth, Australia You created a wonderful looking faux panorama Mr. Rouse. Very well done.     Name: Kathy Beach Town: Maryville, TN Rick this picture you have here surely is Autumn. This picture is a "perfect" picture of Autumn. Thank you for sharing this with us.     Name: Ron Trees Town: Spokane, WA Ho Rick. Your photo is really pretty and I would say that your efforts were richly rewarded. The colors are beautiful!! We don't very often see pictures from you, but when we do, they are great.     Name: Rick Rouse Town: Abingdon, VA Thanks for the very kind comments everyone. I hope you all have a great week!   Comment on today's picture  |  View previous "Pictures Of The Day"  |  Submit a photo Why I publish the "Picture Of The Day"