As The Crow Flies in Cades Cove

Here is another image I shoot in the pouring rain in Cades Cove with my photography class. I decided the crows flying route was more important than the horizon line. LynnFreeny.com

Snow on Small Plant Skeleton in Cades Cove

I was standing next to a small stream in Cades Cove in 15 degree weather looking for an interesting subject. Along the stream I found this tiny plant that had caught some of the recent snow fall. I used a telephoto lens with an extension tube attached to my camera. With a sturdy tripod, I positioned the camera so the small stream in the shadow would help define the snow covered plant. I determined my exposure using the sunny 16 rule which states that on a sunny day your exposure will be f- 16 with a shutter speed that matches your ISO. Because I was using an extension tube I had to add one stop more to the exposure.LynnFreeny.com

Tree Shadows in Cades Cove

Winter can be a very colorless season in the Southern Appalachians. With the absents snow and ice subjects look dull and uninteresting. I had that kind of thinking going on in my mind when I came upon these wonderful shadows in Cades Cove. Cropping so the sky did not show helped simplify the composition and keep the attention on the magnificent shadows. LynnFreeny.com

The Golden Moment

When I think of a place that I would like to be for photography I am usually thinking of being there early in the morning. Morning can be "The best of times and the worst of times." You may have cloud cover so heavy that you can not even see the sun let alone have warm light. But when all the weather elements are just right, it is by far the best lighting you can work with as a photographer. When most people are still in bed I am already setup for that first light of the day.
This image was shot on Cades Cove Loop Road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This was a somewhat foggy morning which in most cases is a welcome weather element. Fog actually reflects the warm light. LynnFreeny.com

Sunset in Cades Cove

Sunsets are one of those wonderful things that happen only once a day. Why they are so colorful is very interesting. Sunlight is made up of red, green, and blue light waves. Blue light waves are shorter than red ones. During the day the sunlight passes through less moisture and dust in the atmosphere than it does in the evening or morning making the shorter blue light waves more visible. When the sun is closer to the horizon line (morning or evening) the longer red light waves are seen because of the increased moisture and dust the light must travel through. Remember that the best sunsets usually happen when there are clouds in the sky that reflect these warm light waves. LynnFreeny.com