Waterrock Autumn

Waterrock Knob offers the single best view of the entire Great Smoky Mountains National Park. From Waterrock you can see from Fontana Lake all the way across to Cherokee, Clingmans Dome, Mount Leconte, and Thunderhead Mountain.  The layers at this overlook are about as many as you will see in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  On this particular October evening, the foliage was at absolute peak in the high elevations of the Smokies and Blue Ridge Parkway, and I knew the sun would be setting right int the corner of the endless ridges of the southern side of the Smokies.  I waited til the light hit its most golden point and highlighted every ridge top.  How many layers can you count in this image?

--Brent McGuirt, Splendor of Light Photography.