Bald River Falls, June 2020

Bald River Falls, June 2020.
Green is my favorite color. I find green to calm me and give me peace. I love the soothing effect of slowing down water in images. When I can combine the two, all is right in my world. Bald River Falls was a last minute add-on to my trip to the Smokys in June, but I am glad we did it. It was my first visit to the falls, but won’t be my last!
Tamron 17-28mm f2.8 Di III RXD lens on a Sony a7Riii, Manual Exposure mode, f11, ISO 100, shutter speed of 4 seconds, Sirui tripod, Acratech GXP ballhead, H&Y Filters 5 stop CPL, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #withmytamron, #tamron, #tamronlensesusa, #tamronimagemaster, #tamron1728, #siruiusa, #acratech, #hyfilters, #bearwoodsphotography

Always look behind you

Always look behind you.

 

That is something I teach at all of my workshops. Even though you may get focused on what is in front of you, always look behind you as sometimes the subtleties of a landscape are equally as good as what is in front of you. This was looking downstream from the image I posted yesterday. It was one of my favorites from the day.

 

Tamron 17-28mm f2.8 Di III RXD lens on a Sony a7Riii, Manual Exposure mode, f11, ISO 100, shutter speed of 1.3 seconds, Sirui AM 284 US tripod, Acratech GXP ballhead, H&Y Filters CPL, Shimoda Explore 40L backpack, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #Tamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #tamron1728mirrorless, #HY_Filters, #HYFiltersGlobal, #Sirui, #SiruiUSA, #Acratech, #ShimodaDesign, #BearWoodsPhotography

Lynn Camp Prong Cascades Vertical

Lynn Camp Prong Cascades Vertical.

 

One of my favorite compositions from my trip to the Smoky Mountains was the vertical I did after composing several horizontal images of the same scene. I think with the vertical I was able to use the foreground rock as a definitive element to grab the viewer’s attention then slowly get them to study the remaining areas in the frame. With the vertical the angle I was photographing stretched the depth of field so I had to do 2 images, one focused on the rock, one on the background and then blend those images together in Photoshop so the image was very sharp all the way front to back. I always emphasize to my students do verticals and horizontals of the same scene. It helps you learn and you may find the one you liked while creating the images, isn’t necessarily your favorite when you finish. Digital film is cheap, use as many frames as you need to complete your image.

 

Tamron 17-28mm f2.8 Di III RXD lens on a Sony a7Riii, Manual Exposure mode, f11, ISO 50, shutter speed of 1.6 seconds, Sirui AM 284 US tripod, Acratech GXP ballhead, H&Y Filters CPL, Shimoda Explore 40L backpack, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #Tamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #tamron1728mirrorless, #HY_Filters, #HYFiltersGlobal, #Sirui, #SiruiUSA, #Acratech, #ShimodaDesign, #BearWoodsPhotography

Middle Prong and Spruce Flats Branch

Middle Prong and Spruce Flats Branch.

 

This is along a section of the Middle Prong of Little River where water forming Spruce Flat Falls on the Spruce Flat Branch join together. Every time I go by this, I think it will make a beautiful image, but I always envision the image being made from the rock in the foreground so I climb down, work several compositions, then come away disappointed. This time I decided to take a few images from the road before going down to the rock. I am more pleased with this image than others I have made, and I think it is because I included the rock as an element in the composition as seen from the road. Often we feel we need to get “into” the scene more to capture it, but sometimes the best image is from where we saw it and were attracted to it. Remembering that digital film is cheap, you should leave no composition un-captured.

 

Tamron 17-28mm f2.8 Di III RXD lens on a Sony a7Riii, Manual Exposure mode, f11, ISO 50, shutter speed of 6 seconds, Sirui AM 284 US tripod, Acratech GXP ballhead, H&Y Filters CPL, Shimoda Explore 40L backpack, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #Tamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #tamron1728mirrorless, #HY_Filters, #Sirui, #SiruiUSA, #Acratech, #ShimodaDesign, #BearWoodsPhotography

Abstracts along the Tellico River

Abstracts along the Tellico River.

 

After visiting Bald River Falls we drove up the road to Baby Falls for some imagery. I wasn’t as impressed with the falls as I was some of the rapids above the falls and spent most of my time capturing details with the new Tamron 70-180mm f2.8 Di III VXD lens. I am just so impressed with the sharpness of the lens, especially in such a small and lightweight package!

 

I released my video from the trip yesterday, and if you haven’t had a chance to view it, here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq3jpsQLGLQ&t=1s

 

Tamron 70-180mm f2.8 Di III VXD lens on a Sony a7Riii, Manual Exposure mode, f8, ISO 50, shutter speed of 1/8 seconds, Sirui AM 284 US tripod, Acratech GXP ballhead, H&Y Filters CPL, Shimoda Explore 40L backpack, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #Tamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #tamron70180mirrorless, #HY_Filters, #hyfiltersglobal, #Sirui, #SiruiUSA, #Acratech, #ShimodaDesign, #BearWoodsPhotography

More of Lynn Camp Prong Cascades

More of Lynn Camp Prong Cascades.

 

This was my final composition from the area just above the falls/cascades I posted 2 days ago. When viewing this area from my right about 6 feet, all of the visual interest carried the viewer to the left. I moved over to the left and composed the image to include the upper area, then lead the view out of the frame using the cascade to the left. I wanted to make sure the rock in the foreground was included and unobstructed to give the viewer and anchor point in the image.

 

Tamron 17-28mm f2.8 Di III RXD lens on a Sony a7Riii, Manual Exposure mode, f11, ISO 100, shutter speed of 1.3 seconds, Sirui AM 284 US tripod, Acratech GXP ballhead, H&Y Filters CPL, Shimoda Explore 40L backpack, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #Tamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #tamron1728mirrorless, #HY_Filters, #Sirui, #SiruiUSA, #Acratech, #ShimodaDesign, #BearWoodsPhotography

Bald River Falls

Bald River Falls.

 

I’ve traveled to the Smoky Mountains for 40 years, but had never visited Bald River Falls until this past Tuesday. I will definitely visit there again in different seasons in the future. A beautiful set of falls on the Bald River as it joins the Tellico River in Tennessee. All in all I feel I had a very productive day during my trip to Townsend and the Great Smoky Mountains NP, and the drive in between.

 

Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 Di III RXD lens on a Sony a7Riii, Manual Exposure mode, f11, ISO 100, shutter speed of 3.2 seconds, Sirui AM 284 US tripod, Acratech GXP ballhead, H&Y Filters CPL, Shimoda Explore 40L backpack, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #Tamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #tamron2875mirrorless, #HY_Filters, #Sirui, #SiruiUSA, #Acratech, #ShimodaDesign, #BearWoodsPhotography

Lynn Camp Prong Cascades

Lynn Camp Prong Cascades.

 

I didn’t know the name of these falls/cascades but it is great to have friends like George Mraz who will do research and find the name of them. Thanks George Mraz. The Lynn Camp Prong Cascades are on the trail you reach when the road along Tremont ends. It is about 1/4 mile, maybe a little more, hike on a gravel trail to the beginning of the cascades. The hike down to this spot is about a 50 foot decent. You then need to climb big boulders to get to this vantage point. After doing this image I began to climb to the right and do some additional images until I eventually reached the rock ledge visible at the top of the frame. It wasn’t easy with a camera backpack on and if you do it, take your time as the rocks can be slick, but it is worth it. Or you could just climb back the way you came and walk the trail to the top of the area. I will show and discuss the whole process of my thoughts on my compositions tonight in our Webinar “All about Composition” at 7pm EDT. Here is the link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ywgFJhHrRCia3a_fa4-NxQ?fbclid=IwAR1MEaRW7IqlNR2SZZJYIEjZlU9rOa_WbgkI9hqcxlocKoNA_JGk4ne5yKs

 

Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 Di III RXD lens on a Sony a7Riii, Manual Exposure mode, f11, ISO 100, shutter speed of 1.6 seconds, Sirui AM 284 US tripod, Acratech GXP ballhead, H&Y Filters CPL, Shimoda Explore 40L backpack, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #Tamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #tamron2875mirrorless, #HY_Filters, #Sirui, #SiruiUSA, #Acratech, #ShimodaDesign, #BearWoodsPhotography

A visit to Tremont

A visit to Tremont.

 

I didn’t get to do my normal post yesterday as I was pretty busy spending a day photographing along Tremont in the Great Smoky Mountains. I met Cecil Holmes and George Mraz up there to do some river therapy and a vlog. I’ll get the video out in a few days hopefully. It was really great up there and not too crowded along the river. I didn’t even attempt to go into Cades Cove or Gatlinburg. The river had a nice flow to it and the “greens” were very rich. This image was part of a series of images dealing with composition. This was my final and favorite of the series. Speaking of composition, don’t forget this Thursday our webinar on “All about Composition”, 7pm EDT. Here is the link for registration:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ywgFJhHrRCia3a_fa4-NxQ?fbclid=IwAR0jOHhJ5ZEwED0kJ_29w4uLcKYvH6zSNXpHD9gM698CJBvGOXGz8vYx5Vc

 

Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 Di III RXD lens on a Sony a7Riii, Manual Exposure mode, f11, ISO 100, shutter speed of 4 seconds, Sirui AM 284 US tripod, Acratech GXP ballhead, H&Y Filters CPL, Shimoda Explore 40L backpack, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #Tamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #tamron2875mirrorless, #HY_Filters, #Sirui, #SiruiUSA, #Acratech, #ShimodaDesign, #BearWoodsPhotography

Spruce Flat Falls

Spruce Flat Falls.

 

Don’t worry, I’m not violating any laws or orders by visiting the Great Smoky Mountains right now. I am simply going through my calendar of images for April and reviewing them. Often I find images I did years ago, in this case 4 years ago, and think about what I would do differently if I could go back today (if it were possible). Sometimes if it is close and the conditions are good, I go and see if I can improve on an image. I may be totally happy with an image but I may feel I have learned something new or technology may have progressed to help me make it better. So many places to revisit…

 

Tamron 24-70mm f2.8 Di VC USD lens on a Canon 5Diii, Manual Exposure mode, f16, ISO 100, shutter speed of 2 seconds, Circular Polarizer to reduce glare, Sirui tripod and ballhead, processed in Lightroom CC. #WithMyTamron, #Tamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #tamron2470, #SiruiUSA, #Sirui, #BearWoodsPhotography