Fall Leaves, Rushing Water on Oconaluftee River

Every now and then one finds a reward in his or her travels. On this Tuesday afternoon, as I had made my way across Newfound Gap and down the mountain to Cherokee, my quest was to find Elk. It wasn't in the cards that day which I fully was aware could happen. Before I made it to the visitor center on the East side of the park, I stopped when I saw a bridge that traversed the Oconaluftee River. My reward was in plain sight.

The perfect place right off the road ten steps from my car. The scene was a gorgeous mountain stream resplendent with rushing water and beautiful Fall leaves hanging over the river. Fall leaves were strewn across the boulders. The sound of the rushing water was like music to my ears. I gathered my tripod and set to work snapping images. Normally, finding a spot to photograph water requires scrapping through brush with your equipment catching on twigs and branches, only to discover you just don't have the best vantage point. Yet, you stay in spite of that and snap a few images in hopes of a few keepers. Today was easy, convenient and the perfect setting. Don't you just love when that happens. ENJOY!

Red Maple, GSMNP

As I approached the Oconaluftee Visitor Center in Cherokee, North Carolina, on the eastern most side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, this gorgeous red Maple Tree greeted me with stunning red leaves.

As I stopped at the visitor center, I noticed I wasn't the only one capturing images of this beautiful red Maple. Others were stopping to photograph it as well. So beautiful. ENJOY!

Fall Along Oconaluftee River

Photographing water is a challenge I love to take up at least once every trip I make to the Smokies. There are countless opportunities to photograph water at almost every bend in the road. You will find the Roaring Fork River, the Little Pigeon River and the Oconaluftee River in the park just to name a few. If you drive any distance, you will encounter waterfalls in every shape and size as well. As I drove to Cherokee on the main road from Gatlinburg, I pulled off the road at the Kephart Prong Trail head and stood on the wooden bridge that traverses the Oconaluftee River. Looking east I saw this beautiful Fall scene.

Gorgeous yellow Fall leaves in the background were in stark contrast to thick, dark green Rhododendron leaves hanging over each side of the bank along the river. I stood for a bit photographing the scene using my shutter mode with a few aperture adjustments. I knew the gray overcast day would impact the light and tried to adjust accordingly. Overall I was pleased with the image although I would have loved blue sky in the background. I have attempted in the past to photograph this type of composition, but found you have to have the right elements to really do it justice. Oftentimes, there will be logs in the river or brush along the bank that takes away from the composition. This was as near perfect as I could ever hope for. I love when that happens. ENJOY!