It somehow seemed fitting that the last EarthSong Image for the Asking – after thirteen years and three months of weekly publication – would not only be an image from Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but would also be an image from the most prominent feature of this park, the heights of Clingman’s Dome, and this looking toward the lands sacred to the Tsalagi: the valleys of the Oconaluftee, Tuckasegee and Little Tennessee Rivers and the Mother Town of Kituwa.
It has been a wonderful experience for me to offer this to all of you, and I fervently hope that each of you has benefitted from it as much as I have and it has in some small way contributed to your photographic journey and your growth as a photographer. When it all began in 2009, I could hardly image that it would continue into 2022, but I am very pleased and honored that it has.
This coming Friday (25th) I will leave my beloved Western North Carolina Mountains and travel to Front Royal, Virginia to spend several days with a dear friend photographing Shenandoah National Park. This park will most definitely be part of the public lands book project, and it will be the first location I visit for that project.
As most of you know, I am creating a YouTube channel – Photographic Rhythms of EarthSong – and I will be posting content to that channel as I travel. I hope you will all join me on the journey. We have an amazing and beautiful country that is more than worth preserving and protecting from those who would take it from us in the name of profit.
A focal length of 28mm, squarely in wide-angleland, gave me the angle-of-view I wanted, a sweep across the southern slopes of Kuwahi. An aperture of f/11 provided depth-of-field from the camera-to-subject distance; and a shutter speed of 1/15th second at ISO 400 gave me an overall slightly darker-than-medium exposure. Note that if I had used some of my more typical settings for this composition: ISO 100 and f/22, my shutter speed would have been 4-stops slower, in other words, a full second long. There was enough of a breeze present that the motion of such a shutter speed would have been visible in the image and that was not acceptable. The digital noise at ISO 400 was my biggest concern, but it proved to not be a problem in the end.
I will miss your weekly images and written wisdom. We look forward to your next project. Love you man. Be well.
I’ve loved your images and wish you well in your new adventure! Enjoyed the seminar I attended pre-COVID!! Look forward to the YouTube.
I also will miss these but looking forward to expanded horizons. Will definitely subscribe to your YouTube
Thank you Don for your wonderful journey with many of us who had the pleasure to be in your presence for “x” amount of time with your gift of photography along with great teaching ability. I look forward to seeing your experiences on u-tube as you journey throughout our still beautiful natural ecosystems. Bon voyage.
I’m going to miss Image for the Asking but am looking forward to your email channel. I hope Bonnie’s photographs will continue to be available for inspiration also. Here’s wishing that your new journey will be all you expect it to be.
Don, I will miss your weekly images every Sunday morning, Good luck on your new endeavors and as us old sailors say May you have fair winds and following seas.
I have enjoyed the opportunity to see through your eyes and your lense each week, as well as the ongoing teaching. Our photo class with you and Bonnie in Great Smokey Mountains continues to be a favorite trip. Thank you for your love of the National Parks and invitation to beauty. Peace and every good in your exciting new projects. I look forward to your YouTube channel.
Don,
Nice last image. Remember out class went to Clingman for sun up.
All the best.
Don,
Nice final image. Remember our class went to Clingman for sun-up.
All the best,
Thank you, Don. I am grateful for your teaching and for your posts. This one is especially magnificent. Travel well and safely.
Safe travels my friend.
Thank you Don. I will miss your weekly post but not the inspiration and energy you and your photographs have given me. I will be sure to follow your Youtube channel.
Sincerely,
Steve
Thank you, Don for making my Sunday morning more enjoyable with your weekly photography class. I will be happy for follow your endeavors on You Tube.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you and guide you on your journey. Peace be with you, my friend.
Don, thank you so much for sharing your photographs, your thoughts, and yourself with us. For me it is a form of meditation to ponder the reverence and honesty of your images. I eagerly await more visions of the elegant natural beauty that surrounds us. Bon voyage!
Don, I too will miss Image for the Asking. This has been a nice start of Sunday for me. I am looking forward to your YouTube channel. Your new adventure sounds fabulous I am glad you will be sharing it with us. Stay well my friend and enjoy your adventure.
It has been both a pleasure and privilege to know you and your beautiful work. I will greatly miss your weekly postings both for their beauty and your wisdom. Please stay in touch and let all your followers know when your new endeavor will be posted on UTube.
I will miss you Westy
Thank you for glimpses of beauty on years of Sunday morning!
Don,
I relocated to Colorado about the time you started Image for the Asking. Your photos of the Smokies brought me “home” every time you published one! THANKS!
Now we are back home in east Tennessee and I will look forward to your you tube of western public lands. I will enjoy the wildflowers of the Smokies for you this year. Safe travels and keep in touch.
A beautiful send off with magic lighting from a magical place. Thank you for all you do. I will miss the weekly post but am looking forward to your YT posts in the future. Happy trails… Be safe!
Thank you for your teaching, your wonder-filled images, and your inspiring descriptions. I look forward to your You-Tube site and your upcoming book. You have a way with words as well as images. Peace and safe travels.
Thank you for your inspirational images, quotes, and photographic insights. Sunday morning has been a blessing for many years of your “Image for the Asking”. I look forward to your adventures on You-Tube. Walk in Harmony, Peace, and Beauty on your next journey.
The image alone says so much and gives me the longing to be there again. I know it will always be in your heart as it is in mine.
May strength and safety accompany you on your long journey, my dear friend.
Safe travels old friend. Thanks for all the sharing and teaching over the years.
Till we meet again. I want to believe there are more adventures to come. All the best to you.