One of the most wonderful and telling signs of spring in the Great Smoky Mountains is a beautiful area on the face of the Bullhead seen from the lower Campbell Overlook. Most of the trees in this section of the forest are hardwood of one variety or another. As spring “greens up” the mountain, the early buds of these species come alive in a palette of pastel which is as beautiful as it is short-lived. With a little creative post-processing this living palette becomes one of the surest expressions of spring I can imagine.
In contrast to this colorful array I chose to insert a small triangle of green from the nearer forest already in vernal foliage.
A focal length of 300mm, squarely in medium telephotoland, gave me the narrowed angle-of-view I wanted with compression and magnification. An aperture of f/22 provided depth-of-field from the camera-to-subject distance; and a shutter speed of 1/4th second at ISO 100 gave me a medium exposure. The primary post- technique in use here was negative clarity, which is an excellent expressive process.
Before I take off on my journey of discovery on the 25th, I will post one more Image for the Asking on March 20 and that will be the conclusion of the series.
Sorry to hear this ending. Not sure what the journey of discovery is but best wishes.
Hey Bob, it’s always good to have you join me. Hope you are safe and well. Thanks for your kind words; they mean a lot.
Quick answer: I am working on a book project to create a book on Public Lands in light of our recent experience of nearly losing some of the best ones to privatization and corporate greed.For the next 2-3 years I’ll be living in my Subaru and visiting about 100+ parks, monuments, forests, grasslands, seashores, lakeshores and wildlife refuges, photographing and conducting interviews with folks who support, and some who do not, this idea of public land as an important part of our common wealth and national heritage.
It’s sort of my own journey of discovery: apologies to Lewis and Clarke.
Maybe our paths will cross somewhere down the road. Walk in Beauty and thanks for all you do to help preserve that Beauty.
You will see and do great things, Don. May you have safe travels. I look forward to your journey. Enjoy the ride!
Hi Joani. It is so great to have you join me as the Image comes to a close! I really appreciate your kind words and the support you have given me over the years. I hope you and Mark are well, and I hope you will continue to join me as I wander around the country looking for ways to celebrate and showcase our precious common wealth. please feel free to join in the conversation often.
Walk in Beauty.
Don,
Good luck with your new venture. I will miss my Sunday morning images, but will look forward to your book. Was in your class at Arrowmont a few years back, and still enjoy finding and getting good images.
I really like this week’s image.
Ken Lusht
Hey Ken,
Of course I remember our Arrowmont adventure; teaching there will always be one of the highlights of my teaching career. As I recall, our classroom for that workshop was the drawing studio. Thank you for joining me and for your kind comment regarding my work. I hope you will join me as I offer comments and images from the road via YouTube and the channel I’m creating.there. May your own journey through photographic creativity always be rewarding. I’ll look forward to hearing about it.
Don, best wishes for a safe and productive journey. It sounds like a fantastic idea. I hope you publish a book of your work. I’m sure I could find a place for it on my coffee table. I will miss you Sunday images. I hope you have time to publish some trip updates and images. Be safe, thanks for the images.
Hi Bruce; it’s good to have you join me. Thanks very much for your kind words and good wishes. The outcome of a book is exactly what I hope will result from all of this, but somehow I know that I would do it just because I love traveling and seeing new places, especially the places of our public lands that are so special just because they exist. Vlogging as I go via a YouTube channel will be an integral part of what I do, so I very much hope you will come along on the adventure. I appreciate all of your support.
This image is a beautiful abstract pastel with a promise of spring.
I have enjoyed your weekly posts and am looking forward to your vlogs. I think your new adventures will be fun, exciting, and rewarding. I am glad you will be sharing them with the world via YouTube; my favorite channel and a perfect venue for your work. Be safe
Hi Nancy T. Every Sunday is a surprise as I wait to see what you have to say about my work. It has been a joy to have you with me all of these years and I certainly look forward, as I go into this new adventure, having you with me as I wander. I know we’ll have just as much to share with the new format as we’ve ever had. Love and hugs; and walk in Beauty.
Don,
It is been such a pleasure to see these photos. I will miss them. Taking your class was a wonderful experience — taking me back to the Smokies which I had visited several times as a child — to the Ridgecrest Assembly Grounds near Asheville. Moving to Cincinnati from Boston gave me a chance to re-visit the Smokies, and to learn from you. Thank you.
Hi Nancy. It was always a pleasure to have you join me for the Image and the Smokies workshop we enjoyed together will always be a wonderful memory. I hope that you will continue to travel with me as I journey our public lands in search of words and images to encourage our preservation of these special places. Take good care and Walk in Beauty.
Don, thank you so much for your Images for the Asking. I’ve followed your images eagerly (“It’s Sunday morning? Yay! There’s an email from Don waiting for me!”) since taking a John C. Campbell class with you. Wishing you well on your impending journey, I’ll just as eagerly follow your updates from the field.
Hey Donald, it has been a special pleasure getting to know you and having you join me over the years since our JCCFS adventure. I think it was in Rhode Island where I really sensed your unique abilities as a photographic “seer,” and your capacity for bringing forward that vision with your post-processing acumen. I am very glad to know that you will be joining me as I wander, and I very much hope that our paths will cross again somewhere down the road.
May Beauty surround you with every step.