Hi everyone-

Today's were also shot at GSMNP in October. They are taken from the Clingmans Dome area. This is a cool spot to go as it might be the highest point in the park that you can reach easily. You drive most of the way and then walk the last half mile or so.

It is quite a walk though on a paved path pretty much uphill. The elevation gain is pretty good. I don't know what it was but judging by the people in various states of respiratory distress its a couple of hundred feet.

The area offers some great views and even though these were shot a few hours before sunset you can begin to see how this park got its name. I really enjoyed looking at the layers and layers of mountains you can see from this point.

Have a great day!

Hi everyone-

Last month we spent a few days in the Great Smoky Mountains and though we didn't do the park justice we got to travel around a see a good portion of it. At least to get the lay of the land and get some better intel for future trips.

Even though it was not an intense photo trip I was able to come away with a few images that I really like. Today's is one of those images.

I am not sure exactly what it is about this one that makes me like it but it keeps coming back as one of my favorites. I don't even know what kind of tree this is but I really liked the red berries against the deep blue sky.

Hi everyone-

Recently I traveled to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for the first time. My experience was a bit different than I am used to. Thousands of people, traffic jams and areas that were closed at which you had to wait in long lines until they opened.

One of those areas was Cades Cove. On the morning this image was taken the Cove drive was closed longer than its normal over night hours due to fog. So we waited at the gate for about 45 minutes in a line of well over 100 cars. Not the nature experience I was hoping for here.

That being said there were little pockets of natures beauty there just waiting to be found. If you ventured just off the road often times something beautiful was waiting to be seen.

On this particular day the delay in opening the road allowed for me to pass through the area where this images was shot about an hour later than I would have. In the end It was one of my favorites from the day.

I am currently working on a larger panorama of several images stitched together from this same spot. I hope to have it done soon.

Have a great day!

Hi everyone-

Some days are just better than others... I'm sure you know what I mean, everything goes well and just comes together when you need it to.

Well Saturday was one of those days for me. We went to a state park outside of Knoxville to shoot with some models. I was lucky enough to be able to shoot with Laurie.

Laurie was so much fun to shoot with not only because of her great personality and friendly nature but because she is the consummate professional. She has been modeling since she was 9 and has worked all over the world. And it showed.

She was patient while we decided what our shoot would be, she was understanding when we explaining our concepts and picking wardrobe and as soon as she heard that first shutter click she went to work. It was so cool to watch her work, she made it seem effortless.

Everything fell into place that day and it was due in no small part to Laurie. I could have shot with her all week!

Have a great day!



In this image the key light was the sun which was behind some cloud cover. We reflected a bit onto her face to brighten it up a touch. We used a beauty dish with a sock on it to brighten up the background and accentuate the texture of the building.



This image was shot using natural light only. The best part was standing on top of a fence post with one foot and having Ted Van Der Linden holding me up with the other. I'm sure it was a funny sight to see. I know we spent a good portion of time laughing about me almost falling off a few times.



This image was shot right at the end of the shooting day. A reflector was used to focus the waning light onto Laurie's face. and i pushed the ISO up a bit to bring in some background detail. That's happens to be a very cool grist mill.



As we walked back from the water fall we shot some images along the road. I liked this one because of the way the sun was back lighting her hair. This was light with natural light and no reflectors.