It's Official, It's Fall

Fall arrived yesterday at 4:02 pm. In many areas of the northern United States, Fall's leaves are at peak. Here in middle Tennessee, leaves have yet to turn, although I do see the occasional yellow leaf from trees here and there.

I captured this image a few years ago in Fall, as I was making the drive from Gatlinburg to Cade's Cove, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Meig's Falls sits back off the park road, but in full view of visitors. As usual I had my 300mm lens on my camera, so I stopped to take a few photos. The yellow leaves really frame Meig's Falls beautifully. I can't wait to share new images as I venture out this season. I hope you have fun out there photographing this beautiful season. Have a wonderful weekend. ENJOY!

The Roaring Fork River's Beauty

There just is nothing more beautiful and serene than watching the water fall over the rocks and boulders along the Roaring Fork River in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I captured this image two years ago, but never shared it. I happened across it in my archives and thought, well, why not. Hope you are having a good week. I must say Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Jose and now Hurricane Maria. Let's pray this is all for this hurricane season. I pray for all of those devastated by these terrible storms. It will take many many years for some to recover and rebuild. ENJOY!

Rambling Mountain Stream

A tiny stream makes its way down the mountain at a gingerly pace at the head of Ramsey Cascades Trail in Greenbrier, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I often photograph streams such as this. I have a particular image in my mind that I hope to achieve some day. This attempt came close, but not quite there yet. A tad bit too much foliage and noise in the image, but I still think it's a keeper.

There is nothing more fun than Independence Day here in the States. The very words conjure up images of our Founding Fathers. I can see them sitting at a simple writing desk, quill pen in hand, with a stack of well crafted paper, as they create the The Declaration of Independence. I could swear I hear someone say 'We the People . . .'

It would not be the Fourth of July without our ever faithful Red, White and Blue flying our proud colors and stars and stripes all. Parades and music, food and fun. And of course, the standard fireworks display will be seen by millions from town to town and city to city. From what I have heard, the largest 4th of July Fireworks Show in America is held in Nashville, Tennessee. Who knew!

My weekend plans involve a whole lot of resting and generally taking it easy. It has been an extremely busy few weeks. However you plan on spending the holiday weekend I hope it is filled with sun, fun and maybe a spark or two from a nearby sparkler or firecracker. Stay cool and dry wherever you are. ENJOY!

Water, Water, Waterfall

Another beautiful scene along the Roaring Fork River in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. As you stand next to your tripod capturing this unparalleled scene, the water rushes over the rocks and boulders as it makes its way downstream. The sound soothes your mind. The sound soothes your soul. Your heart beats a little slower. A calm comes over you. It's a heavenly place to visit. Have a wonderful weekend all. ENJOY!

The Roaring Fork River

The source of the Roaring Fork River in Great Smoky Mountains National Park is 5,000 feet up the slope of Mount Le Conte where several springs converge. Twenty five hundred feet over a two mile span the river falls until it spills over Grotto Falls, absorbs Surry Creek and comes to a steady flow, as it meanders through the narrow valley between Mount Winnesoka and Piney Mountain. The mouth is at the northern end of the small town of Gatlinburg. From there it empties into the West Fork of the Little Pigeon River.

On a dry day, the river could easily be a steady trickle, but let the slightest rain fall and the river turns into a torrent smashing its way downstream rushing over moss covered boulders as it makes its way through the valley. It's magnificent to see and hear. I always drive the motor nature trail to see the Roaring Fork River. I love this river and look forward to hearing the sound of the rushing water. On this particular visit, with wet weather before and after my trip, the river was a monster barreling through the valley. This is just one of the stops I made to photograph the water. ENJOY!

Waterfall, Roaring Fork River

Sitting half way back along the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, tucked neatly out of most visitors' sight, you will find this quaint waterfall. The water rushes down around the boulders and rocks as it makes its way to other tributaries.

If you look closely, you will find it. If you listen closely, you will hear it. ENJOY!

Six and Sixty

On this very week six years ago, I began a journey. A journey that would take me to many places throughout the Eastern United States. Places I would capture through photographs carefully crafted in composition, and later cropped or lightened or darkened, and usually sharpened.

My journey has taken me to places such as Pictured Rocks and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Seashores. To Chincoteague, Assateague, Mustatatuck and Cross Creeks National Wildlife Refuges. To parks such as Acadia National Park, and the infamous and oftentimes visited, Great Smoky Mountains National Park. To the Midwest states of Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Michigan. To the Mid-Atlantic states of Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland. To beautiful New England to visit Massachusetts, Connecticut and Maine, with a day trip over to the gorgeous island of Nantucket. And least I forget, Tennessee, where I now reside.

Six years and many miles behind me in my rear view mirror. I hope you have enjoyed the journey just as much as I have enjoyed sharing it with you. With every image I have tried my best to also craft the story of how that image came to be or share a memory or a thought with only the slightest hope that I might inspire you in some small way. I promise there will be more photos to come as I hope to go for another six years.

Before I leave you today, allow me to share one more tiny piece of news. This week I also celebrated my 60th birthday on June 16th. Oh Boy! I have spent an entire lifetime defying the aging process. The one thing I have come to understand is that all one can really do is smile and soldier on. As I leave you now, I just want to thank all of you for your graciousness over the years and your wonderful heartfelt comments. I cherish each and every one. ENJOY!

Hurst Falls, Cove Springs Park

Cove Springs Park is a small park situated just north of Frankfort, Kentucky, and one of the few waterfalls found in northern Kentucky to my knowledge. Along with the park's forested areas, there is a signiciant wetland area and a waterfall, Hurst Falls. The waterfall was named after the Hursts who originally owned the land and wanted it preserved. Recently, I went on a scouting expedition to locate the park and the waterfall.

When I pulled into the parking lot, next to the entrance to the park, and looked up I found Hurst Falls flowing ever so gently over the cliff and down onto the rocky hillside. It wasn't gushing as I had seen in photos on the internet, but no doubt after a significant rain event, it would be. I love how the water streams down the rocks in tiny riplets on either side of the main flow. This was a test shot I captured just to get a handle on what the waterfall would look like. I decided to share it with you as it was a fairly decent image. Hopefully when I return to the park, the falls will be flowing much heavier. Don't you love it when you find a new location to photograph and it's practically right outside your back door meaning a quick drive and you're there. It not only makes me happy, but even happier when it involves a waterfall because you know how much I love to photograph water. ENJOY!

Fall, Meig's Falls

Meig's Falls is simply beautiful in Fall with its cascading water crashing over the cliff into Meig's Creek.

Fall leaves framed the waterfall as I stood on the pull off to capture this image in Great Smoky Mountains National Park a few weeks ago. ENJOY!

PHOTOGRAPHER'S TIP: My first thought was to post this image as a horizontal image, but I ended up choosing this vertical image instead. If you are not quite 'feeling it' with an image, crop it differently. Perhaps a close up, maybe even a major close up, or a vignette will get you what you are looking for. Or, as in this case, change the orientation. Sometimes when I take a photo, I pull back slightly on the image to include a tad more background. Why do I do this you may ask? Because you just might be glad you did when you drop it in your software and realize you want to crop the image and having that extra background was exactly what you needed. ENJOY!

Waterfall, Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail

Driving the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail requires one thing. Roll down your car windows and take in all of the sights and sounds as you drive the route. The sound of the water rushing down the huge boulders in this area of the park is unparalleled. When you first enter the route, you immediately feel an intensity of being deep in the forest. As you make your way along the route, you hear it. The water moving fast crashing over the boulders as it makes its way downstream. And then there is this. The closeness that envelopes you of being in the very depths of the forest, the rushing river a mere few feet away. Step outside of your car and you immediately feel it.

While there are areas of the park like Newfound Gap, for example, that you visit to view the grandeur of the mountains, with the Roaring Fork, it's the intensity of the closeness of it all. To make this area even more enticing, you access this route right in the heart of the small town of Gatlinburg. Once you reach Gatlinburg, you are right outside of the national park. Getting to various destinations can be time consuming. It is at least an hour to Cade's Cove, or thirty minutes to Newfound Gap, with another fifteen minutes up to Clingman's Dome, add to that another thirty minutes to reach Cherokee, the opposite side of the park. So driving the Roaring Fork is a fantastic alternative when you have just reached your park destination. Can you tell I love this drive.

For those who left me comments about photographing water, I wanted to mention that I did some post processing on this image and retouched out a small branch taking away from the composition. I did some post processing adjusting the shadows, the contrast, the sharpness and more in Adobe Lightroom. I did all of this because the waterfall was near perfect and I didn't want to ditch it. The reason this image was difficult to photograph was the sun was shining right on the waterfall and the rocks all around the waterfall were in dark dark light. And I chose not to set the aperture manually and only adjust the shutter speed.

I am no expert, but if you decide to photograph waterfalls, keep in mind composition first, light second, water third. Then comes looking at how the camera is capturing the flow of the water. Enlarge the waterfall itself on your camera right on the spot and verify how the camera is capturing the flow of water. After practice, this whole process gets easier. Then you can look for better compositions and how best to frame the waterfalls before capturing the image. You must use your manual function and set the aperture and adjust the shutter speed on these types of images always. Whether you use one or both is dictated by the light level.

A tall waterfall in the open with a high light level will probably require setting the aperture and adjusting the shutter speed. There are exceptions. Take a look at this image I captured in the Smokies here, Mingo Falls. The waterfall is in a higher light level setting. But because the waterfall sits between two very tall mountainsides and the rocks are absorbing most of the light that is reflected I only had to adjust the shutter speed. I didn't have to set the aperture. A few test shots will help you determine whether one or both adjustments will be needed.  This process is a lot of work, but the reward far outweighs that. Good luck. ENJOY!

Waters in Tremont, GSMNP

The water was flowing fast and fierce on the Little River in Tremont in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park when I visited in May. As I photographed this waterfall I wondered just what this setting would bring. As I viewed these images in my software, I kept coming back to 'out of worldly' feeling. I'm not sure but I think it's the large craggy rocks that leave me with this feeling.



I have been very busy with the magazine lately which has left little time to get outdoors. And the heat and rain added to that.

A very big holiday is coming up. Speaking of holidays, today is Canada Day, so I wanted to wish all of my Canadian friends a Happy Canada Day. Independence Day, or the 4th of July as we Americans tend to call it, is a few days away. Thinking of it conjures up memories of fireworks, flying the flag, and of course, there's hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill, good ole apple pie and well, you get the picture. I will be taking some time off and plan to spend some time along the southwest coast of Michigan visiting the quaint beach towns there. Lighthouse viewing, sandy beaches and shopping are on the menu. I am especially looking forward to Saugatuck, an arts and crafts community right in the middle of the coast. Settling on a destination was easy when I checked the temperature gauge for July. Michigan will be much cooler. The heat index here in Louisville made it to 100 today. I refuse to wish for winter after the 'one that wouldn't go away' is finally behind us. Stay cool. ENJOY!

Mingo Falls

My goal on this trip to 'the Smokies' was to drive to the eastern side of national park and photograph a waterfall I had yet to visit. I got more than I bargained for when the park ranger suggested Mingo Falls. She didn't really mention anything other than the hike up to the falls involved a whole lot of stair climbing. I figured I could handle that and off I went to find the waterfall. Mingo Falls, as it turns out is one of the tallest waterfalls in the Appalachian Mountains. The waterfall is actually located on the Cherokee Indian Reservation in North Carolina, just outside of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It boasts a stunning 120 foot vertical drop and is quite impressive.

Had I known Mingo Falls was one of the tallest in the area, I would have brought a shorter lens to capture it in a single frame. After much culling of the images from this shoot, I have decided I love this second image best as it is such a beautiful representation of the water falling to the bottom of the falls as it makes its way over huge granite rocks.

The trail to the waterfalls is a mere four tenths of a mile short. But don't kid yourself, it is a gut wrenching hundred plus stair steps 'straight up' before leveling off for a short two tenths of a mile and then you round the bend of a huge rock and find a narrow bridge for visitors to view the waterfall. On this particular day the falls was especially heavy after a rain storm from the previous day. The water powered its way like a beast down the side of the mountain dropping 120 feet almost straight down. It was simply gorgeous. I love a good adventure. ENJOY!

Rushing Waters, Roaring Fork

Last year when I visited the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee, there had been a storm the morning I drove in leaving all of the rivers overflowing. The same thing occurred on this trip earlier this week as well. Both last year and this year there were opportunities in every bend of the road to photograph the beautiful cascading waters in the various rivers that grace the park.

As you drive the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, you will discover that the majority of the rocks are covered in moss. This particular river is also narrow, with foliage growing over the side of the river and hanging over it as well, providing low light for taking photos. This is one of the images I captured along the drive. I like the bright light in the foreground. As I spent some time photographing water in various areas of the park, I was reminded just how difficult each setting can be. Getting the right composition with just the right amount of sunlight while getting the feel of the water just right is difficult. I would have to say I enjoy photographing the Roaring Fork more than any of the other rivers in the park. I have found less light is easier to work with. I have more images to share from my trip so I will be back soon. ENJOY!

Winter, Hocking Hills

Beautiful Old Man's Cave, Upper Falls, in Hocking Hills, Ohio.

I captured this image and several others in mid January 2005 at Hocking Hills State Park near Logan, Ohio. It was bitterly cold and the temp was around 25 degrees. The wind was up a tad and made it seemed even colder. That winter reminds me a little of this winter only this winter might have that one beat by miles. This week we began with a six inch snowfall when I awoke Monday morning and looked out the window. Now this evening around 4 p.m. snow and freezing ran moved into our state. It's now turned to freezing rain and will continue until early tomorrow morning. I am daydreaming about the Caribbean or St. Martin or somewhere where there is a beach with blue skies and sunshine and the average temp is 75 degrees. ENJOY!

Waterfall, Wolf Pen Branch Creek

Wolf Pen Branch is a creek that originates from the larger Harrods Creek which is a tributary of the Ohio River. In Prospect, a small community, northeast of Louisville, there's a beautiful waterfall that sits right next to the road.



Not having an easy place to set up a tripod to photograph the waterfall unless you are standing along the side of the road is not an opportune situation. However, I gave it a try what with the ice and snow having kept most people indoors today, not to mention 25 degree temps. The photo, in my opinion is too blown out, so I gave it an art feel and decided you should see it regardless because it's such a beautiful winter scene. ENJOY!
ENJOY!

Waterfall, Tremont Section, GSMNP

Back from a short trip, first to Atlanta for a business meeting, then to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for some recreation. One of the last things I did before I left today was to drive the route through Tremont in the park. Tremont stands for "tree" and "mountain". In the 1800's Tremont used to be a pioneer Appalachian community and logging town. The government purchased the land in the early 1900's to add to the national park grounds. Tremont present day is a gravel road which meanders about six miles into the park with the Middle Prong of the Little River running parallel to the road. Lynn Camp Prong and Thunderhead Prong of the Little River also both converge in Tremont making for some pretty amazing rushing waters. Today was no exception.

My visit to the Smokies was to work on photographing water. It's not easy to get a great image of rushing water or waterfalls. The composition can be tough. I stood for some time working my shutter speed to get the best waterfall effect. Some compositions that you think would be perfect aren't. Thursday afternoon torrential rains fell throughout the park. Everywhere I went Friday and Saturday the river was gushing over the rocks and boulders, but especialy in Tremont. I'm amazed every time I visit this park at how gorgeous it is. Normally I see more wildflowers on my trips here, but I usually visit in April or May. June didn't find as many wildflowers. Hope everyone is having a great weekend. It's good to be home. ENJOY!