Luftee Overlook has always been, to my mind, the quintessential Smokies sunrise location. For more than a quarter-century it has offered me a quiet solitude of early morning hours with a face that is never quite the same from one dawning to the next. The title of the timeless Tsalagi outdoor drama, Unto These Hills, draws its name from a Biblical passage (Psalm 121) that begins with the words, “I will lift up my eyes unto the hills…” To be at Luftee as the darkness lightens to pre-dawn and then passes into the coming day is to be in the presence of the sacred in the form of a mountain range covered in broken clouds scattering the onset of a new beginning.
A focal length of 250mm, solid medium-telephotoland, gave me the angle-of-view I wanted, isolating portions of receding ridges beneath the cloud cover with its slanting rays. This focal length also allowed for some compression and magnification of elements. An aperture of f/22 provided depth-of-field, and a shutter speed of 0.5 second at ISO 100 gave me an overall somewhat darker-than-medium exposure.
Even though Luftee Overlook can be reached year-round, as long as US 441 is open, late-January to early-April are the prime months for bringing ridges and direct light together in a single image; and when clouds are present, there is often magic.
A little farther but Forney ridge AKA Clingman’s Dome Parking lot has been my favorite. Somewhat seasonal though like Morton Overlook.
My favorite from Forney ridge is with a 300mm with a split neutral density filter. Now I guess most people would use HDR.
Hey Bob. Thanks very much for joining us for this conversation. I’m going to join both of your comments into one and respond to them here. Like you, I have also loved the sunrise from Clingman’s Dome Parking Lot (Forney Ridge), and unless you want to have a 14-mile round trip hike from Newfound Gap Road, this location, as wonderful as it is, is definitely seasonal. In some respects the same challenges adhere at Clingman’s as occur at Luftee, for during the period on either side of the summer solstice, the sun rises so far to the left of the valley (Beech Flats Prong Valley at Luftee and the Tuckaseegee/Little Tennessee Valley at Clingman’s) that in both cases it rises behind the ridge before becoming visible to the scene; and because of this, its color intensity has been lost. The additional challenge at Clingman’s is, of course, that Clingman’s Dome Road is closed from December 1-March 31, which is actually the period of the best solar positioning of the entire year from that perspective.
I perfectly agree with you about the use of a 300mm lens and split (graduated) ND filter as the tools for the job at Clingman’s, although a 70-200mm and even a 24-70mm can be used effectively, depending on conditions. I still prefer that filter in most instances to using HDR. Thanks for sharing those observations with us. Stay safe.
This is a moody image where Mother Nature is determined that this day shall dawn in spite of the cloud cover. It is another magic moment captured by being at the right place at the right time. Thanks for sharing with those of us who were sleeping in.
Hi Nancy T. I hope all of the stormy weather in West Tennessee do you no harm. I think it has mellowed a bit as it has reached into western North Carolina. I’m really glad Mother Nature showed that grit and determination. When we arrived at Luftee we were fairly convinced that the cloud cover was going to have the day. We had stayed the night before in Cherokee based of our interpretation of the forecast for the following morning and we were almost decided that we had not made a wise decision. As it turned out, the light made our effort very much worthwhile. Walk in Beauty and take good care.
Don, this is one of those images that rewards lingering. At first I looked at it and thought “okay, another classic Smokies receding ridgelines shot…” But then, I started noticing other things. First the super-dense cloud ceiling, second the beautiful diagonals emanating from the sun, third that fantastic little gift of a dark full tree at the bottom on the second ridge (unless it’s the top of a tree on the closest ridge; I can’t tell for sure). There is stand, a minor counterpoint to the rest of the landscape. Thanks for this moody and intriguing shot!
Hey Ray. Thanks very much for joining us. Your good eyes have spotted one of the highlights of this image for me. It’s not the entire tree that you are seeing, but it’s just about all of it, missing a tiny bit on the bottom so that I could avoid the inclusion of the top of another tree closer to the camera-one of those quintessential photographic compositional choices that must frequently be made. This image was, indeed, a delight of shape and form that allows you to really concentrate on the relationships among those elements as you craft an outcome to express what you are feeling. I appreciate the aspects of the image you have pointed out for our attention. From such thoughtful observations, expressive images are created. Have a great week!
Don, my favorite photographic sunrise was at Luftee Overlook in 2015, when you opened the first workshop I did with you by taking us there. No other sunrise has matched that one, before or since, and I remain very grateful to you for the experience.
Hi Joel. What a delight to hear from you! You and I have shared a good number of memorable golden hours around this land; but the one you reference at Luftee during that Arrowmont class in 2015 has to be at the top of the list.
I hope this finds you well and looking forward to our adventure on Mount Desert Island coming up quite soon. I’m getting excited as the spring opens up for us. It will be here before we know it. Take good care, my Friend.
Thanks, again, Everyone for joining me for this conversation and for offering your thoughtful observations. Though this is not a particularly complex construction, there are several things occurring that challenge our decision-making processes and influence how we might ultimately craft an outcome. Angle-of-view is the major outcome, for there are a number of approaches that can be taken in reaching a conclusion about how much of the larger whole to include and the perspective chosen to express it. The lines of the ridges and lines of the rays, one loosely horizontal and the other diagonal seemed to demand some sort of relational expression with the cloud cover as another horizontal to bring everything together. Sometimes it’s more a matter of “what to exclude” than what to keep in.
Have an excellent week! I’ll look forward to seeing Everyone down the road. Walk in Beauty.