Good morning Everyone. The lower reaches of the crest ridge of the Smokies below Mount Kephart are seen from near Thomas Divide on a morning filled with fog from an overnight rain. As the rising mists come and go, the moving clouds reveal and then quickly cover nearly all of the mountainside across the valley in a surreal dance of motion and vaporous energy.
Even though it is a bit ahead of schedule, it is full-throated summer in Great Smoky Mountains National Park and this past week Bonnie and I were treated to some amazing cloud-filled moments on our adventure there.
A focal length of 300mm, just on the short end of medium telephotoland, gave me the angle-of-view I wanted with magnification and compression of the small spur ridge. An aperture of f/14 provided depth-of-field from the camera-to-subject distance, and a shutter speed of 1/15th second at ISO 100 gave me an overall somewhat lighter-than-medium exposure.
Passing moisture-laden systems and afternoon storms are fairly common in the Smokies of Summer. In their passing they can create wonderful atmospheric conditions which, when combined with the natural beauty of these ancient landforms, provide inspiration to fill a photographer’s life with joy.
Wonderful capture. The varying density of the mist makes it an enjoyable image to study as it reveals various details. A lesson in how to use the mist and the rain.
Hey Chuck! It’s great to hear from you and to have you join me. We’re going to get the Zoom/Duo thing figured out soon so we can have a pleasant, uninterrupted conversation.Thanks for your kind comments. It was the variable density of the rising cloud that really caught my eye in the first place. This time of year is an excellent time to enjoy Smokies atmospherics which, as you know, can be so amazingly varied. Walk in Beauty.
This must have felt like you were on top of the world! You captured the dramatic feeling of the fog moving around. I like the deep green in the trees; they seem to be enjoying the show from below.
There’s never a dull moment in the Smokies.
Thanks for sharing.
Hi Nancy T. It’s great to hear from you and to have you join me. It can sometimes be easy to pass by this overlook and keep going to some of the others along Thomas Divide that can be more dramatic. There was so much “white” everywhere I looked that seeing the rich green was a challenge. Isn’t it exactly why we love this park so much: it offers a never-ending palette of land, water, life, and atmospherics that is eternally inspiring.
Don, love how the weather here just enfolds and overwhelms the visible landscape. Such an evocative image for each of us who have found ourselves suddenly not so much “in nature” as “in weather.” Haha. And the mystery of the depth in this image is wonderful — how many ridges? How steep? Does the land fall away or rise here or here or here? Thanks!
Howdy Ray. Thanks, as always, for joining us and for sharing the keen observations that you have. I had a deep chuckle at your “in weather” notion. Aren’t those some of the most wonderful times and lasting memories that we have: when nature ceased to be herself and became an entity that surrounded us with its “is-ness” both to our delight and often to our consternation.
I think you will enjoy the upcoming offering. Stay tuned and have an excellent National Forest Week.
Walk in Beauty.
Thanks to each of you for adding such richness to the experience of creating all of the Images. I truly appreciate the time and energy each of you spends in absorbing the Image each week and sharing with me your heartfelt thoughts and observations.
Walk in the Beauty of our amazing world.