This is a small waterfall that I found off the road a little north of the Lynn Cove Viaduct on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It took a bit of tramping to get to it, but it was worth it. It’s a very nice, serene picture.

Also a very delicate one, it turns out. I ordered a blowup of this picture, but tweaked the exposure and colors to compensate for the paper I had it printed on, and cropped it differently to fit a particular space. I didn’t think I’d adjusted things very much, but I overdid it and the end result was too bright, too saturated, and too focused on just the waterfall at the expense of its surroundings. What seemed like some minor changes made it too vibrant for a picture that should feel very calming. Live and learn.

May 9, 2019 — Rough Ridge Lookout, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina

Fact:

Mother Jones was founded as a nonprofit in 1976 because we knew corporations and billionaires wouldn't fund the type of hard-hitting journalism we set out to do.

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2022 demands.

payment methods

Fact:

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2022 demands.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate