I had not expected to get to the Great Smoky Mountains this year. But a decision to attend a motorsports photography workshop at RoadAtlanta in late April got me thinking of other opportunities. Having gone to school at the University of Tennessee Knoxville I knew well of the Smokies and the Dogwoods, Gatlinburg, and Pigeon Forge. But I was a student back then and shooting the Smokies was not on my college agenda. My travel dates coincided with the peak of Smoky Spring and it was time to finally explore.
I then began researching locations and worked out a travel arc coming up the 75 from the airport in Atlanta Wednesday morning (on a redeye from Vegas); hitting the Cherohala Skyway, Cherokee; a sunset at Newfound Gap; and finally a hotel in Pigeon Forge. Thursday would see me take the route from Pigeon Forge to Cades Cove with exploration around Townsend and Tremont. Friday expected a route east to Catalooche to photograph elk before going further south to my workshop briefing Friday afternoon.
Here is a set of seven images from my visit.
#1 Sunrise at Sparks Lane
This is Sparks Lane at sunrise. Sparks Lane is one of two primary two-way crossroads in Cades Cove, a valley circled by an eleven mile one-way loop road. The valley is not marked by amazing rock formations or a bold canyon or overlook. Look at Cades Cove as a time capsule showcasing rolling hills, meadows, streams and life in the Appalachia in the early 1900's.
Of course I had to awake well before dawn, grabbing a couple sodas and a package of powdered donuts as horrible breakfast on my way out of Pigeon Forge. Taking the more northerly and better route to Townsend, then into the National Park up to Cades Cove. I had read that the Cove had gated opering hours, but I still had to see if predawn setup was possible. Nope, I ended up second in line at the gate. Soon other cars joined and by the time the ranger arrived, the line had lengthened out to the exit road. Had this been Maroon Bells on a Colorado Fall morning, the line of cars would have stretched back to Aspen.
So the gate opens and I headed down to the wye that is Sparks Lane. Many shots were flat, but at a certain moment the sunrise light ripped through the trees at the end of the road. The moment was fleeting, as a a minute later the entire road was flooded with light.
Tremont is a river canyon portion near the Townsend entrrance to Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Several falls and rapids provide opportunities for hiking and fly fishing in this old logging area.
I traveled this area on a mid-afternoon break from Cades Cove. I found several shooting locations, including this location where the Spruce Flats branch combines with the main river. I missed Spruce Flat Falls just up the stream in the trees. The river seemed too deep and brisk to challenge; but I understand a trail from the Institute just north provides easy hiking access. At about the time I finished working this shot, a bee/wasp decided to take a particular fondness to my camera. Patience ensued, and about ten minutes later I was finally able to climb out of my spot.
This 19th century "saddlebag" cabin with two living areas sharing one chimney. A barn rests on the hill. Ogle Place is south of Gatlinburg near the entry to the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail.
My original plan on Friday was to rise early and drive the two hours around the east side of the park to Cataloochee. But after two hard and full days and a hard weekend ahead, I needed the extra rest time. Once I opened the windows to the outside world, I could see the heavy rain clouds resting over the mountains. Good choice I smiled. And then moved to checkout and travel the direct route south past Gatlinburg and over the Gap.
However before I said goodbye to the Smokies, I had to make a stop at Ogle House. It seemed a great spot with the rain and flat light. Ogle House is just off a two-way road only a few minutes south of Gatlinburg. A parking lot provides quick access down into the farm site, with a nature trail and creek beyond. I spotted three locations, one here, another by the big Dogwood, and another by the barn. The light was a bit hit and miss, a pause in the rain brought the sun peaking through the clouds - which I believe helped the tree lighting. When I finished, the rain returned and was coming hard by the time I reached the car.
Of all the locations, this felt the most compelling. But in hindsight getting a cabin shot has a challenge.... its squarish, out of form with the trees; and its too easy to end up with a composition worthy of a real estate ad. So I played and played and finally found color harmony to be a good way to pull the elements together. Hue shifted moved several of the reds and darker greens toward the spring green hue in the Dogwood blossoms.
This 100' falls is located deep within the Cherokee National Forest. The access is from the Cherohala Skyway, a winding highway between Tellico Plains TN and Robbinsville TN. Not far from Tellico Plains, signs will guide travellers off the Skyway down to a river road. About eight miles on the falls appear prominently with a bridge crossing the river to a parking area and a trail.
I tried several different views. I had little room to manuever down at the bottom with only 21, 24 and 50mm primes. The comp is bit tight, but working much more left gets one chasing the image, so it may be a good thing. I did lose a bit more space tweaking the rotation; water is so revealing of what should be horizontal :) There was quite a bit of negative space in the lower right quadrant; I think I brought it th rocks and brush up to a level interesting to the viewer.
Cades Cove is such a remarkable place. It is not an amazing rock formation; or spectacular valley; but gentle Appalachian scenes to be explored along an eleven mile loop road crossed by meadow lanes.
I found this view mid-morning on my second loop through the valley. The wall of trees marked with the fully blossomed dogwoods stood out. With the sun high and still behind to the east, I made a note to return here when the light would be better.
When I came back I worked two different views - the wide shot, a portion you see here; and a sharp long shot focused on individual Dogwoods, especially the group on the right. I initially worked on that close shot - the individual blossoms sharp on the tree line. But too many branches behind made the image busy; lost was the star of the show - the avalanche of dogwood blossoms. The wide shots did not seem to fair better. However I recently explored some softened shot techniques. And long with the blue/green muted background pallette, the scene finally rendered with the proper accent on the snowy Dogwoods.
Its not the most bold image, but the delicate nature of the image makes it one of my personal favorites.
The rains that chased me out of Gatlinburg brought me once more over Newfound Gap. I took a brief pause to capture some of the low clouds working through the valleys and peaks.
The treatment here is black and white to accentuate the clouds against the trees. Color was kinda dull anyway. I used some settings from Silver Efex Fine Art formulas, but done manually to avoid grain and other unneeded processing. I like the mix of dark and bright tree profiles with the clouds working through. Its not the best seen so small, lots of detail is lost at this size.
I probably could have spent an hour up there getting different formations of this fast moving weather. But the 5 pm workshop briefing near Braselton GA was starting to push my time.
Great Smoky Mountain National Park is besected by a north-south highway that climbs out of Cherokee NC to the south up around a ridge to Newfound Gap and then descends down a canyon to Gatlinburg TN. At the top are a series of observation viewpoints and a tunnel.
A set of Neutral Density Gradient filters was used to moderate the exposure between the sky and the Smoky Mountains. With that setup the camera really got the colors. Some additional post in Capture One was used to lift the detail. I love the sharpness in the ridge trees to the left. (ok, the 720 size kills that... grrr)
The Great Smoky Mountains are home to large population of Black Bears, Deer, Elk, and Wild Turkeys.
I got to see two black bears at the edge of a field. It was good the admire them from a distance, as they should have their space in their world. I was set up with the 300mm/2.8 + 2X and was just enjoying the opportunity. I would post the images except that my wildlife shooting skills need some work - with some squinty eyes you might see the brown snouts on black furry bodies.
I also have close deer shots along Abrams creek, but nothing special.... and darn if Wild Turkeys move their head and neck too much. I also can confirm the Wild Turkeys can fly - as one made a beeline for the main highway (near the 360 degree loop/tunnel) and the car ahead me, and lifted off at just the last moment.
Anyone want to teach me wildlife shooting?
Well, thats it. If you spotted these on Facebook, thanks for likes! On here, I expect some constructive critique. C & C away please!!
You have done great justice to the Smokies; especially the first image of sunrise at Sparks Lane. I live about 2 1/2 hours away from the Smokies and travel there often but didn't do it this spring. You've made me regret my decision to skip the Smokies this year. Great job.
I did note that several trees were still in 'winter mode', especially along the Cherohala Skyway. I was told the hard winter really delayed spring, though certainly some trees like the Dogwoods were in full display. You can see that on the Sparks Lane shot, where some of the gnarly old trees lacked leaves - though that may have allowed the golden glow to come through. Of note, the famous big tree in Cades Cove was also in 'winter mode'.
We had similar issues in Colorado fall last year, where big rains caused the Aspens to hold off, some too late and into the freezes. Zion too dropped early. Its been an interesting past 12 months for trees.
Nice series, Karl. I've never been there but someday hope to make it for either spring wildflowers or fall colors, although summer would work as well since then I might be able to get some kayaking in.
The only suggestion I have is on Bald River Falls. Shooting a waterfall at an intermediate shutter speed doesn't work too well. Using a strong ND filter, given the mid-day light, along with a polarizer and a 50 ISO and f16 -f22 setting might have been enough to get your shutter down to about 1/8th-1/5th of a second for a more pleasing blur. The other option of freezing the drops in mid air could work well if someone was in the falls, like a kayaker or some other crazy.
I would love to see some of your motorsports work!
While I have no experience, I did notice a Kayak epicenter of shops and rentals along the Nantahala River. A monument sign I passed noted the area as a venue location for the Olympic Games several years back. Looked like an awesome mountain river and less than an hour from Cherokee NC, south end of the Smokies.
I'll have to check the settings when I get back to my computer - I was using a polarizer and 2-stop ND, but not at the aperture settings you mentioned - more like f8. Light was fairly high and direct - not the most ideal but that was the travel schedule - so I was taking care not to blow it out. I took several bracketed shots at various locations, this being furthest back. I'll see what my exposures were and take another look ... excellent suggestion!
If I do get back there, I might explore a trail to the left that goes into the Bald River Wilderness. You can see fenced portion of the trail high to the left.
PS: I'll let you know when I have a good spot for motorsports work. A pair of websites - one for landscapes / prints and the other for motorsports with a media backend are now my priority. Just in brief, the techniques and gear choices are completely opposite - and I kinda enjoy that back and forth think. RoadAtlanta was cool - 2 1/2 mile hilly roadcourse. Historic Sportscars "The Mitty". Had credentials and shot from the wall and hot pits.
I did find an identical comp at 1/8 - had to drop the exposure 0.74 in Capture One, but little else other than some Vivesa touches.
Take a look.
ps - I have other shots down in the 1/5 and even further, but there are be a few spots of mist/blur - had to keep drying off the polarizer after every few shots :) Might look at those, but this one was easy to pull together.
heh, and also had some at 1/125 - but I had no takers for a 100' dive in a kayak for me :) I think there may be one on the web discovered during trip research -
and oh btw, the is a massive kml file showing all the waterfalls in this area - easy to find,
This is a real fine series of images from a place I've never been. Your travelogue was just as good and quite informative. I like the variety of work that you did here a lot! My only nit was addressed with the repost. Excellent work here, Karl! Thanks for sharing these with us.
Discussion
14 repliesI had not expected to get to the Great Smoky Mountains this year. But a decision to attend a motorsports photography workshop at RoadAtlanta in late April got me thinking of other opportunities. Having gone to school at the University of Tennessee Knoxville I knew well of the Smokies and the Dogwoods, Gatlinburg, and Pigeon Forge. But I was a student back then and shooting the Smokies was not on my college agenda. My travel dates coincided with the peak of Smoky Spring and it was time to finally explore.
I then began researching locations and worked out a travel arc coming up the 75 from the airport in Atlanta Wednesday morning (on a redeye from Vegas); hitting the Cherohala Skyway, Cherokee; a sunset at Newfound Gap; and finally a hotel in Pigeon Forge. Thursday would see me take the route from Pigeon Forge to Cades Cove with exploration around Townsend and Tremont. Friday expected a route east to Catalooche to photograph elk before going further south to my workshop briefing Friday afternoon.
Here is a set of seven images from my visit.
#1 Sunrise at Sparks Lane
This is Sparks Lane at sunrise. Sparks Lane is one of two primary two-way crossroads in Cades Cove, a valley circled by an eleven mile one-way loop road. The valley is not marked by amazing rock formations or a bold canyon or overlook. Look at Cades Cove as a time capsule showcasing rolling hills, meadows, streams and life in the Appalachia in the early 1900's.
Of course I had to awake well before dawn, grabbing a couple sodas and a package of powdered donuts as horrible breakfast on my way out of Pigeon Forge. Taking the more northerly and better route to Townsend, then into the National Park up to Cades Cove. I had read that the Cove had gated opering hours, but I still had to see if predawn setup was possible. Nope, I ended up second in line at the gate. Soon other cars joined and by the time the ranger arrived, the line had lengthened out to the exit road. Had this been Maroon Bells on a Colorado Fall morning, the line of cars would have stretched back to Aspen.
So the gate opens and I headed down to the wye that is Sparks Lane. Many shots were flat, but at a certain moment the sunrise light ripped through the trees at the end of the road. The moment was fleeting, as a a minute later the entire road was flooded with light.
Tremont is a river canyon portion near the Townsend entrrance to Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Several falls and rapids provide opportunities for hiking and fly fishing in this old logging area.
I traveled this area on a mid-afternoon break from Cades Cove. I found several shooting locations, including this location where the Spruce Flats branch combines with the main river. I missed Spruce Flat Falls just up the stream in the trees. The river seemed too deep and brisk to challenge; but I understand a trail from the Institute just north provides easy hiking access. At about the time I finished working this shot, a bee/wasp decided to take a particular fondness to my camera. Patience ensued, and about ten minutes later I was finally able to climb out of my spot.
This 19th century "saddlebag" cabin with two living areas sharing one chimney. A barn rests on the hill. Ogle Place is south of Gatlinburg near the entry to the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail.
My original plan on Friday was to rise early and drive the two hours around the east side of the park to Cataloochee. But after two hard and full days and a hard weekend ahead, I needed the extra rest time. Once I opened the windows to the outside world, I could see the heavy rain clouds resting over the mountains. Good choice I smiled. And then moved to checkout and travel the direct route south past Gatlinburg and over the Gap.
However before I said goodbye to the Smokies, I had to make a stop at Ogle House. It seemed a great spot with the rain and flat light. Ogle House is just off a two-way road only a few minutes south of Gatlinburg. A parking lot provides quick access down into the farm site, with a nature trail and creek beyond. I spotted three locations, one here, another by the big Dogwood, and another by the barn. The light was a bit hit and miss, a pause in the rain brought the sun peaking through the clouds - which I believe helped the tree lighting. When I finished, the rain returned and was coming hard by the time I reached the car.
Of all the locations, this felt the most compelling. But in hindsight getting a cabin shot has a challenge.... its squarish, out of form with the trees; and its too easy to end up with a composition worthy of a real estate ad. So I played and played and finally found color harmony to be a good way to pull the elements together. Hue shifted moved several of the reds and darker greens toward the spring green hue in the Dogwood blossoms.
This 100' falls is located deep within the Cherokee National Forest. The access is from the Cherohala Skyway, a winding highway between Tellico Plains TN and Robbinsville TN. Not far from Tellico Plains, signs will guide travellers off the Skyway down to a river road. About eight miles on the falls appear prominently with a bridge crossing the river to a parking area and a trail.
I tried several different views. I had little room to manuever down at the bottom with only 21, 24 and 50mm primes. The comp is bit tight, but working much more left gets one chasing the image, so it may be a good thing. I did lose a bit more space tweaking the rotation; water is so revealing of what should be horizontal :) There was quite a bit of negative space in the lower right quadrant; I think I brought it th rocks and brush up to a level interesting to the viewer.
Cades Cove is such a remarkable place. It is not an amazing rock formation; or spectacular valley; but gentle Appalachian scenes to be explored along an eleven mile loop road crossed by meadow lanes.
I found this view mid-morning on my second loop through the valley. The wall of trees marked with the fully blossomed dogwoods stood out. With the sun high and still behind to the east, I made a note to return here when the light would be better.
When I came back I worked two different views - the wide shot, a portion you see here; and a sharp long shot focused on individual Dogwoods, especially the group on the right. I initially worked on that close shot - the individual blossoms sharp on the tree line. But too many branches behind made the image busy; lost was the star of the show - the avalanche of dogwood blossoms. The wide shots did not seem to fair better. However I recently explored some softened shot techniques. And long with the blue/green muted background pallette, the scene finally rendered with the proper accent on the snowy Dogwoods.
Its not the most bold image, but the delicate nature of the image makes it one of my personal favorites.
The rains that chased me out of Gatlinburg brought me once more over Newfound Gap. I took a brief pause to capture some of the low clouds working through the valleys and peaks.
The treatment here is black and white to accentuate the clouds against the trees. Color was kinda dull anyway. I used some settings from Silver Efex Fine Art formulas, but done manually to avoid grain and other unneeded processing. I like the mix of dark and bright tree profiles with the clouds working through. Its not the best seen so small, lots of detail is lost at this size.
I probably could have spent an hour up there getting different formations of this fast moving weather. But the 5 pm workshop briefing near Braselton GA was starting to push my time.
Great Smoky Mountain National Park is besected by a north-south highway that climbs out of Cherokee NC to the south up around a ridge to Newfound Gap and then descends down a canyon to Gatlinburg TN. At the top are a series of observation viewpoints and a tunnel.
A set of Neutral Density Gradient filters was used to moderate the exposure between the sky and the Smoky Mountains. With that setup the camera really got the colors. Some additional post in Capture One was used to lift the detail. I love the sharpness in the ridge trees to the left. (ok, the 720 size kills that... grrr)
The Great Smoky Mountains are home to large population of Black Bears, Deer, Elk, and Wild Turkeys.
I got to see two black bears at the edge of a field. It was good the admire them from a distance, as they should have their space in their world. I was set up with the 300mm/2.8 + 2X and was just enjoying the opportunity. I would post the images except that my wildlife shooting skills need some work - with some squinty eyes you might see the brown snouts on black furry bodies.
I also have close deer shots along Abrams creek, but nothing special.... and darn if Wild Turkeys move their head and neck too much. I also can confirm the Wild Turkeys can fly - as one made a beeline for the main highway (near the 360 degree loop/tunnel) and the car ahead me, and lifted off at just the last moment.
Anyone want to teach me wildlife shooting?
Well, thats it. If you spotted these on Facebook, thanks for likes! On here, I expect some constructive critique. C & C away please!!
You have done great justice to the Smokies; especially the first image of sunrise at Sparks Lane. I live about 2 1/2 hours away from the Smokies and travel there often but didn't do it this spring. You've made me regret my decision to skip the Smokies this year. Great job.
Doug Beezley
Snellville, GA
I did note that several trees were still in 'winter mode', especially along the Cherohala Skyway. I was told the hard winter really delayed spring, though certainly some trees like the Dogwoods were in full display. You can see that on the Sparks Lane shot, where some of the gnarly old trees lacked leaves - though that may have allowed the golden glow to come through. Of note, the famous big tree in Cades Cove was also in 'winter mode'.
We had similar issues in Colorado fall last year, where big rains caused the Aspens to hold off, some too late and into the freezes. Zion too dropped early. Its been an interesting past 12 months for trees.
The only suggestion I have is on Bald River Falls. Shooting a waterfall at an intermediate shutter speed doesn't work too well. Using a strong ND filter, given the mid-day light, along with a polarizer and a 50 ISO and f16 -f22 setting might have been enough to get your shutter down to about 1/8th-1/5th of a second for a more pleasing blur. The other option of freezing the drops in mid air could work well if someone was in the falls, like a kayaker or some other crazy.
I would love to see some of your motorsports work!
While I have no experience, I did notice a Kayak epicenter of shops and rentals along the Nantahala River. A monument sign I passed noted the area as a venue location for the Olympic Games several years back. Looked like an awesome mountain river and less than an hour from Cherokee NC, south end of the Smokies.
I'll have to check the settings when I get back to my computer - I was using a polarizer and 2-stop ND, but not at the aperture settings you mentioned - more like f8. Light was fairly high and direct - not the most ideal but that was the travel schedule - so I was taking care not to blow it out. I took several bracketed shots at various locations, this being furthest back. I'll see what my exposures were and take another look ... excellent suggestion!
If I do get back there, I might explore a trail to the left that goes into the Bald River Wilderness. You can see fenced portion of the trail high to the left.
PS: I'll let you know when I have a good spot for motorsports work. A pair of websites - one for landscapes / prints and the other for motorsports with a media backend are now my priority. Just in brief, the techniques and gear choices are completely opposite - and I kinda enjoy that back and forth think. RoadAtlanta was cool - 2 1/2 mile hilly roadcourse. Historic Sportscars "The Mitty". Had credentials and shot from the wall and hot pits.
The original was f/9 1/15 ISO 100.
I did find an identical comp at 1/8 - had to drop the exposure 0.74 in Capture One, but little else other than some Vivesa touches.
Take a look.
ps - I have other shots down in the 1/5 and even further, but there are be a few spots of mist/blur - had to keep drying off the polarizer after every few shots :) Might look at those, but this one was easy to pull together.
heh, and also had some at 1/125 - but I had no takers for a 100' dive in a kayak for me :) I think there may be one on the web discovered during trip research -
and oh btw, the is a massive kml file showing all the waterfalls in this area - easy to find,