The Blowing Rock
Sep 26, 2023 16:38:44 #
Annette and I visit the lovely town of Blowing Rock, North Carolina often throughout the year. There are nice shops, galleries, and restaurants on the main street downtown, as well as a beautiful park with a lake and picnic tables. The town also hosts an “Art in the Park” festival which is held on several weekends throughout the summer and fall. In fact, we visit so often that it’s amazing that in the twenty plus years we have lived in this area, we never visited the actual Blowing Rock attraction until this past August. These photos are from that visit.
How the Blowing Rock Got Its Name
The Blowing Rock is an immense cliff 4,000 feet above sea level, overhanging Johns River Gorge 3,000 feet below. The phenomenon is so called because the rocky walls of the gorge form a flume through which the northwest wind sweeps with such force that it returns light objects cast over the void.
The current of air flowing upward from The Rock prompted the Ripley’s “Believe-It-Or-Not” cartoon about “the only place in the world where snow falls upside down.” Visible from “The Rock” down the gorge to the southwest are Hawksbill Mountain and Table Rock. To the west are Grandfather Mountain (the highest peak in the Blue Ridge chain) and Mount Mitchell (the highest peak east of the Mississippi).
The Legend of the Blowing Rock
It is said that a Chickasaw chieftain, fearful of a white man’s admiration for his lovely daughter, journeyed far from the plains to bring her to The Blowing Rock and the care of a squaw mother. One day the maiden, daydreaming on the craggy cliff, spied a Cherokee brave wandering in the wilderness far below and playfully shot an arrow in his direction. The flirtation worked because soon he appeared before her wigwam, courted her with songs of his land and they became lovers, wandering the pathless woodlands and along the crystal streams. One day a strange reddening of the sky brought the brave and the maiden to The Blowing Rock. To him it was a sign of trouble commanding his return to his tribe in the plains. With the maiden’s entreaties not to leave her, the brave, torn by conflict of duty and heart, leaped from The Rock into the wilderness far below. The grief-stricken maiden prayed daily to the Great Spirit until one evening with a reddening sky, a gust of wind blew her lover back onto The Rock and into her arms. From that day a perpetual wind has blown up onto The Rock from the valley below. For people of other days, at least, this was explanation enough for The Blowing Rock’s mysterious winds causing even the snow to fall upside down.
These photos with Topaz and Dynamic Auto Painter Pro effects were taken in August. I shot in RAW with my Nikon D750 camera and used Corel AfterShot Pro to convert the files. Then I used Topaz Denoise, Corel PaintShop Pro, and Luminar AI to further adjust and enhance the files in post processing. Finally, I used Dynamic Auto Painter Pro to add the softening and painterly effects. I hope you enjoy!
How the Blowing Rock Got Its Name
The Blowing Rock is an immense cliff 4,000 feet above sea level, overhanging Johns River Gorge 3,000 feet below. The phenomenon is so called because the rocky walls of the gorge form a flume through which the northwest wind sweeps with such force that it returns light objects cast over the void.
The current of air flowing upward from The Rock prompted the Ripley’s “Believe-It-Or-Not” cartoon about “the only place in the world where snow falls upside down.” Visible from “The Rock” down the gorge to the southwest are Hawksbill Mountain and Table Rock. To the west are Grandfather Mountain (the highest peak in the Blue Ridge chain) and Mount Mitchell (the highest peak east of the Mississippi).
The Legend of the Blowing Rock
It is said that a Chickasaw chieftain, fearful of a white man’s admiration for his lovely daughter, journeyed far from the plains to bring her to The Blowing Rock and the care of a squaw mother. One day the maiden, daydreaming on the craggy cliff, spied a Cherokee brave wandering in the wilderness far below and playfully shot an arrow in his direction. The flirtation worked because soon he appeared before her wigwam, courted her with songs of his land and they became lovers, wandering the pathless woodlands and along the crystal streams. One day a strange reddening of the sky brought the brave and the maiden to The Blowing Rock. To him it was a sign of trouble commanding his return to his tribe in the plains. With the maiden’s entreaties not to leave her, the brave, torn by conflict of duty and heart, leaped from The Rock into the wilderness far below. The grief-stricken maiden prayed daily to the Great Spirit until one evening with a reddening sky, a gust of wind blew her lover back onto The Rock and into her arms. From that day a perpetual wind has blown up onto The Rock from the valley below. For people of other days, at least, this was explanation enough for The Blowing Rock’s mysterious winds causing even the snow to fall upside down.
These photos with Topaz and Dynamic Auto Painter Pro effects were taken in August. I shot in RAW with my Nikon D750 camera and used Corel AfterShot Pro to convert the files. Then I used Topaz Denoise, Corel PaintShop Pro, and Luminar AI to further adjust and enhance the files in post processing. Finally, I used Dynamic Auto Painter Pro to add the softening and painterly effects. I hope you enjoy!
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Sep 26, 2023 16:48:07 #
Sep 26, 2023 17:52:01 #
Sep 26, 2023 18:29:33 #
I'm very familiar with Blowing Rock. My first mountain house was about 4 miles outside of the town. My wife and I got to spend a couple of months out of the year there. If you needed a dose of " big city life " you scooted over to Boone. 
i know that everyone has their own taste in doing PP work. In my opinion, these shots just don't look real. The colors are too saturated....beyond reality.
i know that everyone has their own taste in doing PP work. In my opinion, these shots just don't look real. The colors are too saturated....beyond reality.
Sep 26, 2023 18:38:55 #
black mamba wrote:
I'm very familiar with Blowing Rock. My first mountain house was about 4 miles outside of the town. My wife and I got to spend a couple of months out of the year there. If you needed a dose of " big city life " you scooted over to Boone.
i know that everyone has their own taste in doing PP work. In my opinion, these shots just don't look real. The colors are too saturated....beyond reality.
i know that everyone has their own taste in doing PP work. In my opinion, these shots just don't look real. The colors are too saturated....beyond reality.
Thanks for the feedback. You're correct. My PP was intended to create an artistic interpretation of the scenery. I appreciate you taking the time to provide an opinion. And yes, Boone is quite the throbbing metro! Great college town. Got to love Appalachian State.
Sep 27, 2023 05:19:33 #
Sep 27, 2023 08:05:03 #
Sep 27, 2023 08:23:31 #
Sep 27, 2023 09:49:27 #
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Sep 28, 2023 15:03:22 #
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Sep 30, 2023 14:18:44 #
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