Over the years, nearly two hundred of them, roads have taken various routes over the crest of the Smokies between the Oconaluftee area and what eventually became Gatlinburg and Sevier County. One route wound around the east side of Thomas Divide above Beech Flats Prong to approach Newfound Gap from that direction. On a snowy, icy day, when there are no leaves to obscure, the trace of the old road can be seen as it ascends toward Newfound on its journey into Tennessee.
A focal length of 37mm, just beyond the realm of wide-angle, gave me the angle-of-view I wanted. An aperture of f/20 provided depth-of-field; and a shutter speed of 1/13th second at ISO 100 gave me an overall lighter-than-medium exposure.
In winter, the late afternoon sun is setting behind the Smokies Crest at such an angle that its light does not penetrate the deep watershed through which Beech Flats Prong flows on its way from the mountains to the Gulf of Mexico.
Another beautiful image. Thank you for sharing Don. A couple of years ago I found that if you go to the Smoky Mountains during the winter months, one sees a different landscape that is hidden behind the leaves. I hope your recovery is going well!
Thank you for all your great invcite into realm of photography. Also you are a great teacher of photography.i appreciated your patience with me on your workshop in North Carolina last October. I hope your healing is progressing.
Don, two thing in the composition jumped right out to me. First the color progression of light, to dark, to light, to dark. Made me walk into the image. Secondly, the cloud in the center that is rolling down compliments the line of the trees. The image shows that there is much good out there in winter to work with. Great winter beauty.
This looks like it could have been last week, but today the sun is shining, my windows are open, and it’s 70 degrees outside! Most of the snow and ice was a little north of here. This is a beautiful winter scene. It looks like mother nature is hiding everything under the white while she prepares to unveil it for spring and it will all look new again. The tiny bit of blue sky is the promise of spring. Thanks for sharing. I hope you are healing quickly and will be back out there soon.
I absolutely love it! Very nice!
Beautiful image. If I looked at the image and didn’t already know your focal length, I would’ve thought you used a much longer focal length.
The white trees are so stunning! Would you consider converting this image to B/W? I’m thinking the green mid-ground trees would not lose their effect in dark grayscale. On the other hand, I really like the blueness of the distant ridges and the patch of sky.
Don, truly one of the most beautiful images you’ve posted. The fog over the mountain, the ice-rimed trees, the dark evergreens beyond–it’s a stunning image.
Good evening Everyone. Thank you all very much for joining me for this conversation. I have long considered that, as a visual matter, winter is my favorite time of year in the Smokies. As Chris Courter so aptly put it in the first comment, “…one sees a different landscape that is hidden behind the trees.” Indeed, absent the colors of the other seasons, in winter one sees the bones of these old mountains, the shapes and forms; the lines and patterns; and especially the textures of the mountains.
Hey Chris, thanks for your keen observation and for your kind words. There is so much to see in the Smokies winter that is typically hidden. The recovery is moving along slowly, but steadily; thanks for asking. Folks who love these mountains like you do make me appreciate the blessings I have received.
Hi Charles, thanks so much for being with us. I truly appreciate your kind comments. It was a pleasure having you with us on a Road Scholar adventure. Combining a love of these mountains and a love of sharing images can only be a formula for fun; and your own willingness to be present made my job even all the more so. I hope you will carry the memory of your time with us in your heart always.
Hey Chuck; it’s great to have you with us. You may have received some of the snow that visited the D.C. area last week. Your description of the elements working in this Image certainly work for me: we’ve had lots of discussions about contrast and you picked it up here exactly as I saw it. The complementarity of cloud and trees was also in my eye. A bit of patience was necessary for the sun to highlight the foreground trees and for the cloud to roll over the ridge so as to become a real factor. I hope all is well with you.
Hi Nancy T. It was good to hear from you this week. I’m hoping that the situation in West Tennessee is going to turn exactly in the direction that you are hoping for very soon. It would seem that we are hoping for the same things for each other; and the end of it must surely be to share some photography somewhere soon. I think Mother Nature has put her weather on a roller coaster and it’s about to go into another steep dive over the next few days. Stay warm and be safe.
Hi Ron. It’s great to hear from you. Thanks for joining us. This image is hopefully reminding you of the Pioneer Valley and those lovely Berkshires. I hope you’ve had an excellent winter playing in those places.
Hey John. What an excellent observation. The reason that it seems like a longer focal length is because of the relatively close camera-to-subject distance. The ridge of trees was fairly near to the overlook and they were fairly dense and tall; however behind them, the far ridge was across the valley of Beech Flats Prong and somewhat distant. I think this combination made it seem that there was greater magnification that there actually was. Hope all is well in the Upstate. Winter sports season has kept you busy: really good work!
Hey Donald. It’s good to have you with me. That is an interesting proposition, and one that could work really well as an alternative. If the blue sky were filtered to a black tonality, it could also be quite becoming. And you’re right, the green of the foreground trees could easily work in grayscale. Are you in Arizona or Illinois these days? I need to catch up with you soon.
Hey Jackie. I am honored by your kind words. Winter imagery has always been an interesting proposition. I’ve long held to the idea that folks are less drawn to winter scenes because of being reminded of the harsher conditions. I’m really glad that you were so drawn to this one; and I appreciate your kind comments.
That would be an excellent topic for discussion sometimes – how people react emotionally to scenes of winter. Thank you all, again, for joining me. Your insights and observations always open me to new ways of thinking about my own work. Walk in Beauty.