Northeastward from Newfound Gap the Appalachian Trail rises around the southeastern face of Mount Ambler, while US 441, Newfound Gap Road, wraps around the western slopes of the mountain before descending into the valley where West Prong of the Little Pigeon forms on its way to the mighty French Broad. High up on Ambler’s lofty western shoulder a small, unnamed creek forms from the many seeps and springs, the children of gravity and precipitation, that the mountain has birthed. Commonly it is merely a trickle; in wet weather it becomes a flow.
Bonnie and I were excited to find ourselves with access to the park recently when a snow event covered the landscape above 4500′. The little creek on Ambler’s brow was as charming as ever.
A focal length of 28mm, squarely in wide-angleland, gave me the angle-of-view I wanted, with the creek bed offset to the right and snowy forest on either flank. An aperture of f/16 provided depth-of-field and with an ISO of 200, gave me a shutter speed of 0.5 second for a considerably lighter-than-medium exposure and for just the appearance of flow in the water that I wanted.
It was a pleasure seeing all of the visitors in the park enjoying the experience of snow. It is my great hope that such enjoyment will translate into a real desire to understand and preserve the common wealth our public lands bestow upon us. May they be here for our children’s children of seven generations and more.
Beautiful quiet image…….just what we need as we wait for so much in this particular season.
And a huge joy to have Rep Deb Haaland nominated as Sec. of Interior! She has ‘understanding and preserving the common wealth of our publics lands’ as well as honoring our Indigenous peoples, of which she is one, with proper treatment, restitutions.
Hey Robin,
It’s always good to have you join us. Indeed, we wait in stilled anticipation of whatever may come next; and, as we wait, we work to make whatever comes a reflection of the best we can imagine. We are so hopeful that Deb Haaland will be fierce in her advocacy for public lands and our sacred common wealth. I know I will be working to make those possibilities into reality for everyone. I hope her being an enrolled member of Laguna Pueblo will guide her choices. Some of her ancestors may have come from Chaco.
Thanks for the snow. I am patiently waiting for it. With recent shoulder surgery I am limited in my outdoor activities, so I appreciate you taking me into the great Smokies!
Hi Joani. Thanks for being with us. Ouch! Sorry to hear about the shoulder surgery; hope the recovery is going very well so far. I trust that when you woke up this morning your were delighted with what you found. We had about 6″ at our place, but with all of the ice underneath, I may not wander too far afield for a bit. It is beautiful. Take good care. Hope you and Mark have a wonderful Holiday Season.
This looks very familiar. I believe I have an image of this view from the fall workshop in 2004. It’s been a while but there probably is not another spot in the Smokies where you can shoot from a bridge and get that long straight stream. Of course there was no snow then, but the fall colors were beautiful.
I love how it looks in the snow. The already tranquil scene is even more peaceful with a light blanket of snow. Thanks for capturing it and sharing.
Hi Nancy T. It’s great to hear from you! I have a feeling the image you are talking about is from a bit further down the mountain toward Cherokee; but the sense of depth in both places is very similar; and when we photographed there in 2004, the colors were amazing, just as they were this fall. I very much agree: there is something magical about a light layer of snow that seems to add tranquility to everything it covers. I’m hoping we get to talk this coming week. Walk in Beauty and stay safe.
Don, I’m so pleased you found an open road to discover fresh snow in a favorite place. Two things about this image intrigue me. First, the composition with the creek centered is so strong, the product of your careful — and obviously highly deliberate — decision to eschew classical ‘rules’ of balance. Its modest flow surges toward the viewer. Second, the depth! The lateral areas of snowy hillsides and strong verticals are fairly flat, almost like panels if you will to focus attention on the creekbed which is not only brimming with energy and the only color in the frame, but also give us a tremendous recessive draw of the eye. It goes on forever. Fantastic! Thank you for this image, for your constant advocacy for our public lands, and for your always-timely reminders that beauty matters. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas week.
Howdy Ray. Lack of person-power and liability concerns have severely impacted the willingness of places like the Smokies to open themselves to public travel in inclement winter weather. When I first came to these mountains in 1993, it was not this way; but now….
Your thoughts about composition are well-taken. I wanted to reveal the landscape on either side of the stream, but I did not necessarily want the halves of the image to seem symmetrical, so I placed the flow at about 55-45% with slightly more hillside on the left. I thought, too, that the slight curvature of the streambed to the right as it ascended the mountain would help increase the visual weight on the left side. In addition to your suggestion, I hoped the two fallen trees on the right would focus the eye on the water course. I hope you and your family have a blessed Holiday Season. Walk in Beauty, my Friend, and thanks for the work you do to preserve our common wealth.
Merry Christmas
And the same to you, Gloria. I hope you are safe and well. Walk in Beauty.
Thank you all for joining me for this conversation and for the love of the natural world and its great beauty that you bring to our discussions. You inspire me with your love of the land. I pray that the coming year will allow us to begin to return to a more thoughtful approach to our stewardship and will set us on a course of concern for our public lands that will help us to realize the absolute importance of that common heritage and see us all work to ensure that those special resources remain for the generations to come.
Have a safe and pleasant New Year, and Walk in Beauty.
I love how the creek creates a leading line that takes you through the picture and your eye is drawn to the dark part of the image.