Not much smoke in the mountains…..but beautiful still
On my first outing in 2022, I find myself standing in the rain having what can only be described as a crazy good time in the mountains. (Well as crazy as nerdy landscape photographers can get anyway.) Looking around me there are eleven other people also standing in the rain while holding an accumulative value of around $75,000 of very sophisticated electronic camera gear. Not one of us thinks this is at all odd or ill-advised; when you take trying to photograph flowers or a sunrise in the rain, you are going to get wet. Embrace it. This is the first full day of the Greater Smokey Mountains NP photography spring workshop presented by Mandy Lea Photo. We are gathered to shoot mostly flowers and waterfalls with a few historic structures and the iconic foggy mountain vista thrown in for good measure. This is my second time at this workshop, I hoped to use the skills learned during the first workshop to capture a few of the flowers that eluted me last year. At least I have a better understanding of what I continue to do wrong.
The next morning the rain had stopped but the temperature had dropped close to freezing overnight. Not too good for delicate wildflowers. Traveling to a location within a given timeframe selected a year in advance is a gamble, mitigated by an educated guess of when the optimum conditions might occur. One needs to keep an open mind and trust the people you choose to work with. In the case of this workshop, Mandy and her partner Kendrick know the area so well that if the flowers along one trail are not blooming yet or bloomed last week they know that up the road is another prime location that will have just what we are looking for. Then, if the flowers are still not cooperating, there are waterfalls and cascades to work with. It is all good.
A couple of us took a side trip one afternoon up to Clingmans Dome, the highest point in the Great Smokey Mountains NP; 6643 feet. During the seven-mile drive off the main road up to the observation area, the temperature dropped about 20 degrees on a bright blue sky day. Robert, my carpool buddy for the week, shared several cell phone pictures he took of the ice that formed on the trees the night before. The previous night’s rain at our campsite froze on the peak. This is in late April. By the end of the week, the temperatures were up in the eighties.
This year I spent a little more time capturing the historic structures than I did last year. Usually, I spend a lot of time trying to remove buildings, people, and electrical lines from my photos. But, since I was here I figured I should at least try to take a few photos of the historic buildings. Cades Cove is a popular area in the park surrounded by an eleven-mile one-way loop that showcases several old churches, gristmills, and farmhouses from the mid-1800s. A person could easily spend several days exploring this unique area. The circular drive is also the best place to spot the black bears living in the park. I didn’t photograph any bears, I did however shoot my very first snake.
For first-time visitors to the Greater Smokey Mountains National Park that are not interested in the tacky tourist activities, I suggest that you consider camping in the Townsend area. There are a number of commercial campgrounds. They run all the way from basic to resort-like. (Check out the Little Arrow Resort.) The best thing is that there is an entrance to the park two miles from town. Springtime in GSMNP will often have weather representing all four seasons. I packed my down coat, wool hat, and gloves along with summer t-shirts, shorts, and rain gear. All of this was needed in one week.
Nice to be back, and do not concern yourselves, the Princess will be on the next adventure. This time she had better things to do than to carry my cameras for me.
Dennis
