When the men, women, children and machines of Little River Lumber Company left the logging town of Tremont in December 1938, there was nothing left for Middle Prong to do but purify itself of the stain of men and flow on. It had officially become a part of Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 1926; but, as the holder of all the aces in the game, Wilson B. Townsend, the logging company’s owner, had wrangled a concession from the Park Service that he be allowed to continue logging in the Tremont area for an additional fifteen years from the date of the sale. When I first put eyes on Middle Prong in 1955, I knew I was in love with a river; I still am. And the wonderful regeneration of the great forest is merely icing on the cake.
A focal length of 68mm, at the very short end of short telephoto, gave me the angle-of-view I wanted from about 5′ away from the near edge of the rapid. An aperture of f/20 provided depth-of-field, and ISO 200 allowed for a shutter speed of 0.6 second, fast enough to create a bit of texture in the white water below the drop.
Dorie Cope’s account, as written by her daughter, of living with her husband, a logger of Little River Lumber Company, and their children in Tremont is a wonderful story of some of the people whose lives were intertwined with this river and who came to know and love it with an intimacy I can barely imagine.
Perfect speed for the falls. I like getting the meta data but I also wonder about your vertical location. Where you down on your tummy to get this great viewpoint? I sometimes forget to not just move sideways for different views, but also up and down.
Great shot Don! I really like the silky flow of the steam and the forest in the background. Now that I am back home, I’ll have to start planning my next trip and include the Tremont area. It was great to see you again!
Perfect!
Another wonderful image. Several things jump out at me. Normally, I am used to my eyes following a path in a shot like this and leaving the image near a corner. In this image, my eyes leave the image at the bottom just right of center and it works for me. Will keep that possibility in mind in the future. Also loved the shutter speed selection. The patterns created in the middle third of the picture just mesmerized me. Finally, I like the amount of background (trees, rocks, greens) you kept in the picture. I generally leave most of that out of the picture. once again, another future opportunity for me.
Beautiful Don. I love everything about this image.
Howdy Don, Love your low angle composition at the water, it give a close-up feel with the little cascade of water in he foreground. And even though I usually find darker areas of the composition to place in the corners as an in camera capture of a natural vignetteing, I like the high key of the splashing water in the bottom & corners. I was wondering though if your thought to use a polarizer to limit some of the surface reflections on the river’s surface.
Another beautiful image of moving water. I too like the low angle of view. When the image first opened, I only saw the bottom and was reminded of Bond Falls, but when I scrolled up, I saw it was not. I can see how you fell in love with this place.
I like the focal length because it makes it very looks real, and shutter speed because it made it look magic. I guess that makes it real magic.:-) It has a bit of a painterly feel created by the beautiful spring green in the trees being reflected in the water and the smoothness of the cascading water.
I am looking forward to seeing images from this week’s workshop. I know I missed another good one.
Don, Your photographs are marvelous as usual. I don’t think you can make a bad photograph. Don’t stop!!
Good morning Everyone. Thanks so very much for joining me for this conversation. What a delight it is to hear from all of you to talk about one of my favorite places in the Smokies. Tremont, its history, its people, and especially its beauty seem to me to be one of those integral matters to an understanding and appreciation of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Hey Linda. What a wonderful observation/question you have offered! First, even though it looks as if I am eye-level with the rapid, I am not on my stomach, but am just downstream and slightly below the level of the drop, so I’m looking straight into it for that reason. Your question about vertical perspective is an important one, especially with wide and normal focal lengths. Vertical perspective determines how the relationships of the visual elements in the image will be seen/experienced by the viewer, and it’s always important that you, the artist, make a determination about how you want your viewer to have that experience. Looking forward to seeing you soon.
Hi Chris, it’s always good to have you with me. If you have never visited the Tremont area, I cannot overstate how worthwhile it is. And if you have the time, hike up Middle Prong Trail for a mile or so. There are some wonderful trails into the Smokies high country at the end of it, but I’ll save those for later. Thanks for your kind words.
Now J. Warren, as much as I appreciate your kind comment – and I really do – if it were actually “perfect”, I’d have nothing left to do as an artist/photographer. I could sit on the porch, rock in the rocker, and watch the world go by. But I do humbly acknowledge the joy your word brings. Hope you are well. Desrosiers and I were wondering aloud how you are doing.
Hey Kev. I think that the important thing is that you give your viewer a “natural” place to exit the frame, or else encourage them the stay within the frame going from element to element as they explore. In this image, my eye follows the reverse-S curve of the stream from where it comes from behind the background boulder, thence to the rapid and over the drop exactly where you suggest. The more I play with water, the more I am convinced that finding a “balanced” way in which to allow the water to express itself is one of the primary keys to the success of the image, whether it be line, shape, form, or otherwise. And, as you well-know, even in the same image, water can usually be expressed in a multiple of ways. Use that control to create images that speak powerfully. Backgrounds like this image offers remind me of the old saying about how much sky to leave in a composition: Give the sky the weight it merits in the composition, from nearly all to nothing at all.
Hi Corrin; thank you very much for being with me. It’s great to hear from you. I love everything about your comment; but seriously, your words evoke a deep sense of satisfaction. The joy of any artist is to evoke such a response from a viewer; and I am pleased to receive it from you. I hope all is well.
Howdy Michael. As always, your being with us adds a wonderful element of observation and inquiry. You comment on the high key corners is well-taken. I saw them as being a continuation of a line across the bottom of the frame, and thus joined together. That joinder kept my eye within the corners and allowed me to experience the water below the rapid as a single entity. Your question about polarization is a wonderful one. I usually turn my polarizing filter a full 360 degrees every time I begin to use it, from total polarization to completely unpolarized. That way I can make an informed choice as to how I wish for that element of the water to be expressed. In this instance, I chose partial polarization because I wanted some of the surface reflection to remain to compliment the green canopy above. Thanks for asking and for your great insight.
Hey Nancy T. I hope you have been well and enjoying the beautiful spring. Looks like you may also have some turbulent weather headed your way, so take good care. This place was much harder to get to than Bond Falls, but I definitely saw the resemblance between them. Thank you for reminding us of the extreme importance of both focal length – angle-of-view – and shutter speed – motion rendition – in capturing the “just right” visual power of any image, and especially one with moving water. Your observation on reflection, of course, goes to everything we have said about using the polarizing filter and the effects it makes possible. Walk in Beauty.
Hi Willa. It’s always good the hear from you. Bonnie and I were thinking about you just the other day and wondering how the Henderson County spring has been. Hope you have been enjoying that new tripod. I truly appreciate all of the kind and thoughtful comments you send my way, and I promise to do my best to fulfill your kind request.
Thank you all, again, for such wonderful observations. I hope, in turn, that my comments will be of good use to all of you as you create and express the world of beauty around us Enjoy that beauty fully and in gratitude.