Great Smokey Mountain Scenes

If you are not afraid of heights and you love the splendor of nature and have a sense of wonder at God's creation, then taking a trip to the Great Smoky Mountains is a must for your "bucket list".  I can now say that I've been there and seen it.  Oh yeah, the drive is not for the faint-hearted, but every twist and turn of the highway (and let's not forget the inclines and steep grades) is all part of the adventure.  If you like the smell of hickory I also promise you that your nose won't be disappointed.  I think I'm still smelling hickory after being home for days now.

I wish I could say that I had a fantastic time on this 4-day trip, but I was sick as a dog the entire time.  In fact, I ended up in the doctor's office when I finally got home (a severe case of bronchitis...something I've never had or can remember ever having.  In my restless sleep I'm certain I cried out on occasion for a mountain man to come shoot me and take me out of my misery!).  

Therefore, there are NOT a lot of images that I was able to take.  The experience was worth every mile and minute though.  Maybe next time.

Enjoy!

Willie

Click on images to enter slideview mode

 

The Hill Gang

 Our travel agent gave us two pair of sunglasses to show 

off in so we had to give out a shout to her. Those puppies

                really shaded your eyes too!  Thanks, Ann.

I can see clearly now with my Trip Quest Travel sunglasses!

Water en route to the grist mill house.

 Butterflies were everywhere at the Mingus grist mill.

"Wild Bear" is real...the buffalo is "suspicious".

We didn't have time to visit the museum, but it looked very inviting and interesting from the exterior.  This was "real" Cherokee country.  Even the street signs were in the Cherokee's native tongue. 

Some NBA team ought to draft the guy 
behind me to play the post position.

I love creating panoramas.  The following are a few I made.

Mingus Mill.  The mill is a historic "Grist" mill built in 1886 that's still functional today.  It is turbine powered instead of using a large waterwheel.

A view from the hotel parking lot at sunset.

 The views from the mountaintops were breathtaking and the wind was comfortably chilly.

Camera:  Canon sx150
Post: Adobe Lightroom & CS3
Travel Agent:  Trip Quest Travel

Savannah Rapids Park

Today I took a driving tour of all the parks in Columbia County, GA where I now live. Although I didn't find a lot of subjects that I could photograph, most were ballparks and recreational jump offs, I did find in the Savannah Rapids Park a "gem" of a stop. In fact, it was the last park on my list to visit before heading home.

It's a treat to walk around with my camera and let my senses take in everything that's surrounding me. However, as a photographic artist I then have to isolate particular vistas that might only be as large as a budding flower or as wide as the Savanna River itself.

There is so much visual information going on before your eyes and in your brain. First, there is the play of light, shapes and forms, and textures that can capture your attention as you look at subject matter from different angles. And, second, there is also the forethought of how you can enhance an image later once you get it into your favorite digital software. Now, that's something that years ago I could not dream of doing with film.

Anyway, I found all of these wonderful ingredients during my brief walk in this park and the following images are just a small gallery of what I discovered. Immerse yourself in them and see if you can see what I saw through the eyepiece of my camera and mind.

[Note: The panorama images were created in Adobe Photoshop CS3 using the photo merge feature.

Enjoy!

Willie

[Double-click images to enlarge viewing]

I don't know the name of this tree, but I want one.

Savanna Rapids Park Images

Canal HeadgatesPanorama #1

Panorama #2

I have two favorites images from this trip and this is one of them.
Panorama #3

I wanted to convey the texture of the water in this image.
I'm always looking for lines and perspective in my images.

A serious of shots led up to this
final composition. I love it!
Who says you can't shoot into the sun?

From this...

...to this.

Camera: Canon 30D w/17-55mm IS lens
Post-production: Adobe Lightroom 2.5 & Adobe Photoshop CS3
Additional Software: Topaz Adjust