• landscape,  National Parks,  quotes,  river,  Smoky Mountains National Park

    The Earth is a Gift

    August 12, 2022
    Fall colors on Roaring Fork River in October of 2003

    “Our elders say that ceremony is the way we can remember to remember. In the dance of the giveaway, remember that the earth is a gift that we must pass on, just as it came to us. When we forget, the dances we’ll need will be for mourning. For the passing of polar bears, the silence of cranes, for the death of rivers and the memory of snow.”

    Robin Wall Kimmerer

    This quote reminded me of my visit to the Roaring Fork River back in 2003. I went up there with a fellow photographer to share expenses and have my first visit to the Smoky Mountains. It was also my first year with my first digital camera, a Nikon D100. I was very impressed with the beauty of this area. Someday I would like to make a return visit.

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  • landscape,  mountains,  National Parks,  Smoky Mountains National Park,  sunrises

    Sunrise at Foothills Parkway

    November 14, 2019

    Sunrise on Foothills Parkway in the Smoky Mountains

    In the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy skips and dances down a yellow brick road in hopes of finding the Wizard of Oz who will help her return home to Kansas. Traveling that yellow brick road lead her to new horizons, discovering her gifts of wisdom, courage, and love. I like to think of Dorothy’s yellow brick road as a metaphor of our spiritual journey to new horizons.

    Some of us live in the shadow of an illusionary self, a false-self that alienates us from reality, much of this world and a Creator. We can be blind to the possibility of the horizons yet to be discovered, paralyzed with fear, failing to venture forward on our yellow brick road and discover our gifts of wisdom, courage, and love, which I choose to call our true-self.

    “May we seek this inward path to encounter the true-self, the essence of who we are, and allow ourselves to be embraced by love.”

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  • landscape,  mountains,  Smoky Mountains National Park,  sunrises

    Something from the Past

    August 7, 2019

    This is another HDR image from a trip back in 2003 to the Great Smoky Mountains. It is a sunset image taken on the Foothills Parkway. This image is a merging of three images exposed plus and minus 2/3 stop. I took it prior to any knowledge of HDR. My reason for the multiple exposures was to make sure I had a good exposure. It was taken with my first DSLR, a Nikon D100 and the Nikon 80-400mm lens. It wasn’t a day or two later that I dropped that lens and destroyed it. I pretty much bent it in the middle. Lesson learned was to make sure the camera and lens are securely fastened to your tripod before picking up your tripod. I ended up shooting the rest of the trip with one lens, a Sigma 24-85mm f2.8-4.0 lens.

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  • landscape,  mountains,  Smoky Mountains National Park

    And That’s Your Picture

    November 13, 2012
    Foothills Parkway, Great Smoky Mountains

    “As the saying goes, we see in terms of our education. We look at the world and see what we have learned to believe is there. We have been conditioned to expect. And indeed it is socially useful that we agree on the function of objects. But, as photographers, we must learn to relax our beliefs. Move on objects with your eye straight on, to the left, around on the right. Watch them grow large as you approach, group and regroup as you shift your position. Relationships gradually emerge and sometimes assert themeselves with finality. And that’s your picture.”

    Aaron Siskind, The Art of Photography

    It can be difficult to find new perspectives when capturing images from those popular locations people flock to like this image taken on the Foothills Parkway in the Smoky Mountains. People will sometimes be elbow to elbow as the sun begins to rise. The morning this image was taken a photography workshop was in progress so we had about a dozen photographers with tripods. So I moved away from the crowd looking for another angle and used a Nikon 80-400mm lens to bring the scene in closer and remove distracting objects. This is my picture.

    Not sure if it was that evening or the next that I dropped and destroyed that lens. Still makes my stomach turn. 🙁

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  • landscape,  sunsets

    From the Heart

    April 13, 2012
    Clingmans Dome

    “Vision comes from shooting from the heart,
    from making images more about how you feel than what you see.”

    Darwin Wigget

    About a week ago Paul made the suggestion in his comment to my comment to I let him use my Nikon 80-400m lens so he could find out for himself if it was any good. Well, I would but first there’s a story about that lens that has to do with this image. Another photographer and I spent a week in the Smoky Mountains back in October of 2003. I think it was day 4 that I picked up my tripod and dropped my camera and the lens to the forested floor. That happens when you get excited and forget to lock it on the tripod. The front of the lens took the impact and buckled which saved the camera body. As I picked it up the lens and camera I quickly realized I now had a tilt-shift lens that would not focus. Total trash! I had to shoot the rest of the trip with a 24-85mm, an 18-35mm and 105mm macro and still had a great time using what I had. Even though I destroyed a $1,400 lens I brought home images I enjoyed. More importantly the experience of shooting those mountains will stay with me for many years. I took images with what I had and with my heart.Heck, Paul, if I still had that lens I’d just give it to you. There were no lose parts rattling around, solid as a rock and no scratches on the glass. 🙂

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  • landscape,  mountains,  National Parks,  Smoky Mountains National Park

    You Had Muir

    December 14, 2011
    The Great Smoky Mountains

    Perhaps the greatest tribute ever given to Muir took place in a private conversation between two great contemporary mountaineers. Galen Rowell once asked Rheinhold Messner why the greatest mountains and valleys of the Alps are so highly developed, why they have hotels, funicular railways, and veritable cities washing up against sites that, in America, are maintained relatively unencumbered by development. Messner explained the difference in three words. He said, “You had Muir.”

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  • landscape,  Smoky Mountains National Park,  sunrises

    Smoky Mountains Revisited

    March 17, 2011
    Sunrise – 2003

    This is an image taken back in 2003 on Foothills Parkway during a week long trip to Smoky Mountains. It was my first experience visiting the park. I loved the park and am surprised I’ve not returned. It was a memorable trip in that I dropped and broke a Nikon 80-400mm VR lens so I spent the last three days shooting with my longest focal length of 85mm.

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  • insects

    Todays Work

    July 17, 2010
    Grasshopper in morning dew, Great Smoky Mountains

    “All you can work on today is directly in front of you. Your job is to develop an imagination of the possible.”

    Art & Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland

    While on a trip to the Smoky Mountains I dropped and broke my Nikon 80-400mm VR lens, a $1400 loss. Ouch! Needles to say I spent the last 3 days of our 7 day trip with nothing but two other Nikon lens, a 16-35mm and 24-85mm. Now my longest focal range dropped from 400mm to 85mm, what was I going to shoot?

    The first morning we were able to shoot in Cades Cove we were met with fog, wonderful fog. Along with the fog comes the heaviness of the morning dew, so needles to say we were pretty wet by the time we returned to the hotel. I noticed a barb wire fence covered with dew near the Tipton Place and wandered over to have a look-see. I discovered this grasshopper hanging upside down and patiently waiting for the morning sun to dry his body for the days activities. Since the 24-85mm also had macro capabilities it worked great for me to get some nice images. The fog was burning off and you can see the sun approaching in the background. This image was one of my first attempts at macro photography and spurred the purchase a nice macro lens. So, I ended up working on what was in front of me.

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  • landscape,  National Parks,  sunrises

    First Light

    July 8, 2010
    Foothills Parkway

    Earl’s been posting images of the Smoky Mountains and stirring up  some fond memories of a trip I took back in October of 2003 with fellow photographer Jeff Svoboda.  Jeff and I spent a week shooting early mornings and late afternoons. My first experience in the park, loved it and hope it was not my last one. What a great place to experience. As I’ve been cleaning things up on my hard drive I’ve also been finding images I’ve forgotten about. Here’s a morning sunrise from Foothills Parkway: First light.

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