I went on vacation last week to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to do some exploring and a little photography as well as to meet up with my son there. When we got there, it had been raining all day. That afternoon the weather improved so we went hiking the Twin Creeks Trail by the Cherokee Orchard Road in Gatlinburg. We stumbled upon this little fellow on the trail, nearly stepping on him. A copperhead snake laying across the trail. I didn’t bring my cameras since I was just exploring and trying to find a place called the “House of Fairies”. I had taken his picture using the cell phone, so the image quality wasn’t that good.
Copperhead found on Twin Creeks Trail
Since I didn’t find what I was looking for, we left there and went down the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. We eventually came to the Alex Cole cabin, finishing the day by taking this shot. I didn’t care for the color as much so I converted it to a black and white.
Alex Cole Farm
On day 2, we went out yet again to try to find the “House of Fairies”. This time I found and followed some different information on a Facebook group called “Hike the Smokies”. It still was a little difficuilt to find but at least I had some good knowledge of about where it was. We walked a little beaten path that was overgrown to its location. This is an unedited shot of the “House of Faeries”, which was really a spring house from the 1930s.
Fairy House
Day 3 started out with downpours of rain. I had planned on driving up to Clingmans Dome to photograph a sunrise, but the weather had changed my plans. I took the opportunity to catch up on a little sleep. Later that day when the rain slacked off, we drove up to the Chimney Tops Trailhead. My son and his friend went up the trail, and I stayed back near the trailhead to photograph the creek, after all they are more physically fit than I am.
I found a little area under the bridge that I wanted to capture in detail, taken with a long lens pretty close to the beginning of the trail.
The next day, Day 4, I drove up to Clingmans Dome in hopes of capturing a sunrise. We got up there about an hour before the sun was to rise, and the fog was so thick you couldn’t see anything. It was the first day of summer, or so I thought. The temperature was 50 degrees F with wind gusts as much as 60 mph. We were freezing our butts off, and it didn’t look like it was going to clear anytime soon. So we started down the mountain to head back to camp. As we did, we dropped below the cloud line and saw a beautiful opportunity on one of the pull offs, near Newfound Gap. The clouds were moving very quickly through the mountains, creating a very dramatic scene. My son Josh had taken this shot as I was setting up to photograph the scene.
Me at an overlook
When this picture was taken, I was shooting this beautiful scene. Although beautiful, the image doesn’t do the scene justice as being right there in the moment.
A Smokies Sunrise
Later that day, I went to Elkmont to find an old structure that is nicknamed, “The Troll Bridge”. I went exploring and had no trouble finding it. I had walked around the bridge and the cabin ruins planning a photo shoot for that evening. I returned just after sunset and had taken this very shot.
Troll Bridge
After I photographed the bridge, I walked up to what was left of one of the cabins. All that remains of the cabin now are two fireplaces and a chimney. When I was taking this shot, my back was to a ditch and a small creek. I had hoped to get back a little further but this was the best that I could do. I set the camera up and triggered the remote, light painting using an incandescent halogen spotlight at the same time. I did this to both make it stand out and create a warmer color onto the ruins.
Fireplaces at Elkmont
There were fireflies everywhere, but they were not plentiful enough to make interesting photos. It was getting really dark, and the whole area felt a bit spooky. Oh what stories that these old historical structures could tell….
The next day, we all went to Dollywood though I only stayed half the day. After leaving the theme park, I spent some time in Roaring Fork. I had attempted to shoot this subject before, and never could get what I was after. I was thinking that maybe this time would be different. I found the composition that I wanted, and waited for the light to fall. As I was waiting, I saw something move from the corner of my eye. I was startled by a bear that was walking past me, not more than 30 feet away. He acted like he didn’t even see me as he kept walking and disappeared behind the mill. Unfortunately, I left my phone in the truck and the camera was all set up to photograph the mill so I wasn’t able to capture the moment.
I placed 3 small lanterns inside the building to illuminate the interior. The small lanterns were LED type, and I used an amber colored film to create a warmer effect.
Alfred Reagan Tub Mill at Dusk
On the last day of the trip it was raining yet again. I went to a place that I had been to before near Tremont and off of Laurel Creek Road. When I got there, I had walked the little path until it ended and found this scene. Somebody had evidently stacked rocks in the middle of the stream. To get this shot, I had to wade into the creek and tear down the stack in order to get a more natural landscape photo.
Natures Beauty
In the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, there is so many subjects to photograph. One could spend a lifetime up here, and always get something different. The possibilities for creative photography are endless.
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the very few national parks that is free to visit. That said, this park is the most visited national park in the US, having more than 11.3 million visitors each year. With so many people visiting the park, it is inevitable that there will be those that will be destructive, breaking the park rules and ruin the experience for the rest of us. If everyone would commit to a “leave no trace” policy, we can preserve this beautiful environment for generations to come.
