Sunday was our last day on the trip. We began with an attempt to capture the smoky ridges for which the mountains get their name. We were here Saturday morning also, along with a half-dozen Porches being photographed for a new dealership. I wasn't pleased with my efforts.

Then we went on a search for anything we could find, driving around until something caught our eye.

Two views of his old barn

An old cemetery churchyard still in use.

For a while we were driving in the clouds.

We eventually made our way back to Gatlinburg for a fine country breakfast. Sunday afternoon we went out again. This time it was all about the streams.

So what do you think? Color or black and white?

After a final dinner in Townsend we said our good-byes and got ready to head home. This trip was especially challenging for me. I learned lots but always felt like I was two steps behind everyone else. I got pushed hard but it was worth it.

Saturday we were all over the place. We wandered through the park getting various shots of foliage, old farmsteads, scenics, etc. We even spent two hours on one rough, gravel road that wound endlessly up and down switchbacks to get us to the other side of the park. Not too much to show for it but we saw lots of country.

Spring green.

This was just under a narrow bridge leading to a farmstead.

Palmer Chapel Methodist Church

Before user-friendly was a buzz-word

This is the carriage path that led to the church 

An overlook on the way back with God-beams. Sometimes color gets in the way.

Here's a few more sky images from Friday morning.

OK, this one isn't a sky image. A view of the Tifton home. Loved the orange color in the fireplace mortar.

Thursday evening we headed out to Cades Cove. When we arrived I didn't see a picture. Moose said "Think monochromatic." Then I began to notice the structure in the sky. I still wasn't thrilled with the light, but going monochromatic was the ticket. These two show something of the sweep of the Cove.

Pano shot

Friday morning we were back out to the Cove. The sunrise wasn't blazing with color but still make for a nice sky.

Country lane

One of the many farmsteads around the Cove

Barn at the Tifton Place.

Color seemed to get in the way of this shot.

After this we headed back to the barn for lunch. More images as I get time.

Being with a mentor on these trips is a great learning experience. Moose Peterson has forgotten more  about photography and Photoshop than I'll ever know. Some of the pictures I'm posting are conscious efforts to duplicate how he handled the same scene. For instance, this is the first picture from yesterday's post:

This is how I originally processed the scene.

I had to tighten the crop and warm up the image considerably.

Moose sees these thing in camera. He never crops his images. He kept asking us, "What's the subject: one word." So the learning continues.

The trip was pretty intense, leaving early and staying late. We didn't have too much time to process images so I have only a few to post here.

Thursday morning we headed out early to catch the ground fog. A beautiful sunrise happened.

When the sun crested the horizon, it set the trees ablaze!

From there we headed to a stream for some water shots. The Great Smoky Mountains are bless with an abundance of creeks and rivers.

Lots of these fluttering around

That's all for now. I'll post more as I have the chance.

I took back roads from Cave City, KY to Townsend, TN today, much of it on US 127. Is this the same road that runs through Jackson? US 127 took me through some beautiful back country on narrow winding roads. I saw a few photo ops but no place to turn off and stop, so I just enjoyed the view.

We're staying this week at Dancing Bear Lodge. I have my own log cabin complete with stone fireplace. Nifty place. It even has rocking chairs on the porch overlooking a pine woods. I could stay here a while. Of course, when things take off tomorrow this will mostly be just a bed to sleep in. We tend to shoot early and late with a debrief after dark. The next three days will be intense so I'm not sure how many images will make it to the blog.

As nice as the cabins are, I hate to complain, but there's no desk. I've got to figure out a reasonable way to edit pictures without having the laptop on my lap!

My place: Metcalf  Bottom Cabin

Pretty nice digs!

Miss Lily's Cafe. Had dinner here.

OK, not a boatload of scenics. Those will come, Lord willing. For now I'll just enjoy the evening.