Image of the Week

Moss covered rocks, cool, clear mountain water, fresh air and the sounds of nature. Spring time in the Smoky Mountains is a great place to be.

This image was taken at Roaring Fork. F/16, for 5 seconds.

Image of the Week

Each year the various types of birds in our area build nests in the trees around my home. We always have Robins in our area, so I can usually count on at least one nest by them. This year they built a nest low enough in one of the trees that I could climb up and take a picture of the eggs. So, when I saw that the momma bird was away I climbed up to take a peak. She had four blue robin eggs in the nest. She returned before I could get a good picture, so I decided not to upset her anymore than she already was and climbed out of the tree. I tried to get a decent picture again the next day and found that there were only three eggs in the nest. I don't know what happened to the fourth and couldn't find it anywhere in the area. I snapped a few quick pictures and climbed out of the tree, so not to upset Mrs. Robin too much again. Of all the years that birds have built nests around my house this is the first time that I actually photographed them.

Image of the Week

They say April showers bring May flowers. Well, we've certainly had several showers this April, so the flowers are coming along nicely. But we don't always have to wait for May when we can make a trip to the local home and garden center, like I did for these African Daisies. When I photographed these flowers I wanted only the flower in the center to be in focus with the rest of them blurred or out of focus. To do this I selected a larger aperture (f/4) for a narrow depth of field, moved in close and focused the lens on the one flower I wanted to be in focus. To add some additional color to the image I made sure to include some green grass in the background. The result is a springtime floral image.

Image of the Week

Water - another of my favorite subjects to photograph. Be it water in a lake, river, creek, waterfall or just about anywhere else, I like to photograph water. Something about it can bring life to an image.

For this type of image I always use a tripod, a slow shutter speed and a circular polarizer filter. The tripod keeps the camera steady since I'm using a long shutter speed. The long shutter speed gives the water the soft "veiled" look; and the polarizer filter allows me to eliminate any reflections coming off the water that I don't want in the image. And one more thing - water images I take like this are taken on an overcast day or in a shaded area. Those lighting conditions provide a soft even light on the water which allows me to get a correct exposure for these results. This image was taken near Grotto Falls in the Smoky Mountains.

Image of the Week

In celebration of the Resurrection this week....

The Legend of the Dogwood

In Jesus' time, the dogwood grew,
To a stately size and a lovely hue.

'Twas strong and firm, it's branches interwoven.
For the cross of Christ, its timbers were chosen.

Seeing the distress at the use of this wood,
Christ made a promise which still holds good.

Never again shall the dogwood grow,
To be a large tree, to be used as so.

Slender and twisted, it shall always be,
With cross shaped blossoms for all who will see.

The petals shall have bloodstains, marked in brown,
And in the blossom's center, a thorny crown.

All who see it will remember Me.
Nailed to the cross from the dogwood tree.

Protected and cherished this tree shall be,
A reminder to all of My agony.

Image of the Week

A familiar scene for anyone who's visited Cades Cove in the Smoky Mountains - Spark's Lane. I've visited this spot and taken many pictures over the years, yet each time I visit it's one of those places that I just have to photograph again with each visit. This image was taken this month, early spring, just after sunrise.

Image of the Week

I made a trip up to the Great Smoky Mountains last weekend and found winter still holding on at the higher elevations of the park. A storm had just passed through leaving behind what looks like snow capped mountains, but is actually a coating of hoar frost that commonly forms on the mountain tops here during the winter months. It's really beautiful and has a different look to it than snow. This image was taken at Clingman's Dome, the highest peak in the Smoky Mountains and the second highest peak east of the Mississippi, at an elevation of 6643 feet and runs along the North Carolina/Tennessee state line. The bare trees are Hemlocks that have been infested with the woolley adele insect that has eaten away at the trees leaving behind a graveyard of trees.