Hmmm, go figure.  🙂   Emily, Evan (Katie’s beau), Carl (my best bud), and I took a trip to Great Smoky Mountain National Park in late April to shoot wildflowers, among other landscapes.  The last spring trip to the Smokies did not yield much in the way of flower images.  Mother Nature’s timing does not always match up with mine, which was the case the last time around.  But all reports this year gave indications of a great year for flora, and that the time frame for our trip would line up very well with blooming season in the Townsend/Gatlinburg areas.

That said, I’m going to begin my series of posts with the end of the trip.  Carl and I were driving home, exhausted from a week of sunrise to sunset hiking and shooting.  Our photography trips are relaxing in the sense of being away from work and enjoying nature.  But, we always keep a long, busy schedule scouting, chasing light, and shooting.

Thirty minutes into our return, as we were making our way up the Gatlinburg side of the 441 parkway headed south, we turned a corner only to find an amazing bank of fog smothering the mountainside.  This was an inspiring scene, and it instantly reminded me why these ARE the Smokies!  It is hard for me to describe how quickly things were changing.  The fog was descending from above and moving in all manner of directions similar to a snow storm.  The movement was very visible, and the scene literally changed from shutter click to shutter click (second by second).  As beautiful and iconic as it was to the eye, it was extremely hard to capture what I was experiencing.  There were also 5-10 minute periods of rain, so in and out of the car I went frequently and often.

Enjoy, and make it a point go spend time in the most visited national park in our beautiful c0untry.

GSMNP – Smoky overlook between Sugarlands and Newfound Gap

5D MkII, 70-200L f/.2.8, 70mm, 1/4 sec. @ f/13, ISO100

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