Month: July 2018

Great Smoky Mountains National Park – Roaring Forks Motor Trail, Noah Bud Ogle Farm, Alfred Reagan Grist Mill

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Those interested in the history of the Great Smoky Mountains region can find it on the Roaring Forks Motor Trail.

The narrow, winding, Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail invites you to slow down and enjoy the forest and historic buildings of the area. The 5.5-mile-long, one-way, loop road is a favorite side trip for many people who frequently visit the Smokies. It offers rushing mountain streams, glimpses of old-growth forest, and a number of well-preserved log cabins, grist mills, and other historic buildings. Please note that the road is closed in winter.

Before entering the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, a stop at the Noah “Bud” Ogle self-guiding nature trail offers a walking tour of an authentic mountain farmstead and surrounding hardwood forest. Highlights include a streamside tubmill and the Ogle’s handcrafted wooden flume plumbing system.

Feature Image – Preserved Cabin 

Interior Image of Noah Bud Ogle Homestead

Alfred Reagan Grist Mill

Those interested in a trip to the Great Smokies should check out these related articles.

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Coming up next: One more post on the Great Smokies, then it’s on to a new location.

I am going to visit the Great Smokies again this Autumn.

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Mike “Mish” Shedlock

Great Smoky Mountains National Park – Trilliums Galore

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Trilliums are my favorite Spring wildflower. The Great Smoky Mountains has more varieties in one place than I have seen anywhere else. Check them out.

Feature Image Details

Does anyone recognize the Trillium in the feature image? It’s not a Painted Trillium nor does it appear to be a white variety trillium gone pink with age. It is a pink-tipped trillium with a white center. I am unsure of the second image as well.

Any botanists out there?

The small whiteish pink-lined flowers that are predominant in many of the images are Spring Beauties.

I used a Tilt-Shift lens on the feature image and the three images that follow. Even with the tilt function, I did not capture all of the landscapes as sharp as I like.

I would do things differently next time. Instead of using the shift feature I would focus stack the images (focus on different parts of the image and blend them). Unlike the Showy Orchis image in my last post, I do want all parts of most of these images totally sharp from the foreground to background.

Yellow Trilliums?

I am not positive of this identification.

Trillium Sulcatum – Southern Red Trillium

Trillium Sulcatum – Southern Red Trillium

Trillium Erectum 

That closeup detail was taken with my Canon 100-400 MM F 4.5-5.6 L Lens at 400mm from quite some distance away. I estimate at least 10 feet.

In this case, the out of focus background helps show off the flower. Note the difference from the previous image. This flower hands below the leaves.

Trillium Undulatum – Painted Trillium

Trillium Simile – Sweet White Trillium

I used a Canon 24-105MM F4 L Lens for the above two images. I estimate I was three to five feet away from the flowers in these images. Both were taken with a near-normal focal length about 50mm.

Trillium Simile – Sweet White Trillium

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Coming up next: More wildflowers and waterfalls in the Great Smokies. Then it’s on to a new location.

I am going to visit the Great Smokies again this Autumn.

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Mike “Mish” Shedlock

Great Smoky Mountains National Park – Tom Branch and Indian Creek Falls, Showy Orchis Flowers

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There are three nice waterfalls in the Deep Creek area of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This post covers the Tom Branch and Indian Creek Falls. My previous post covered the Juney Whank Falls.

The trail to the falls runs along Deep Creek. Trout fishing is excellent in the creek. There are plenty of wildflowers along the trail. My favorite is the Showy Orchis (orchid).

The NPS says the “roundtrip distance to the waterfalls is 1.6 miles. I rate all of the trails as easy.

Feature Image Details

To capture scenes like these you need a long exposure. Depending on how fast the water is flowing, the range may be between 1/4 second and several seconds.

Here is a vertical image of the same scene.

Creating good waterfall images is easy. You need:

    1. Bright overcast or shade
    2. Water
  1. A good angle
  2. Tripod
  3. Slow shutter speed

You cannot do anything about 2. You have sufficient water or you don’t. In regards to light, you can go on a cloudy day or time your visit so that the waterfall is in the shade when you get there. Bright overcast light is nearly always the best.

Points three to five are in the photographer’s control. A good angle can be a make-or-break affair. Just don’t do anything too silly.

If you are wondering how I got that those images without getting wet, I didn’t. I got wet.

The water was cold and fishermen were catching some big trout at the base of the falls.

Indian Creek Falls

Of the three waterfalls in the area, Indian Creek was my least favorite. I had to crop the image heavily and edit out a bunch of clutter.

Showy Orchis

I am only inches away from that orchid. I used a Canon TS-E 17mm f/4L Tilt-Shift Lens, tilted a bit to keep all parts of the flower in focus. Because the lens is so wide, you can easily see the background in context.

Some would call this a wide-angle close-up.

Instead of using the shift feature I might have done an image stack and get the background sharp as well. In this case, the soft background makes the flower stand out while adding context.

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Coming up next: Many varieties of Trilliums. Don’t Miss it!

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Mike “Mish” Shedlock

Great Smoky Mountains National Park – Juney Whank Falls – Deep Creek Area

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There are three nice waterfalls in the Deep Creek area of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This post covers the Juney Whank Falls. I will cover the other two waterfalls, Tom Branch, and Indian Creek in my next post.

The NPS says the “roundtrip distance to the waterfalls is 0.8 miles and the hike is generally considered moderate in difficulty. It takes about 1-2 hours to hike to the waterfall and back.”

I would rate the trail as easy.

Feature Image Details

To capture scenes like these you need a long exposure. Depending on how fast the water is flowing, the range may be between 1/4 second and several seconds.

To make the feature image, I scrambled down to the base of the falls or perhaps a spot on a ledge somewhere. I do not recall which.

Here is a more standard and rather unexciting image by comparison.

Creating good waterfall images is easy. You need:

  1. Bright overcast or shade
  2. Water
  3. A good angle
  4. Tripod
  5. Slow shutter speed

You cannot do anything about 2. You have sufficient water or you don’t. In regards to light, you can go on a cloudy day or time your visit so that the waterfall is in the shade when you get there. Bright overcast light is nearly always the best.

Points three to five are in the photographer’s control. A good angle can be a make-or-break affair. Just don’t do anything too silly.

This is the third in a series of Great Smoky Mountains images.

Please check out:

Equipment List

Those interested in my equipment and recommendations can find it here: Mish’s Equipment List.

If you like this article, please share by email or use one of the share buttons beneath the article.

Much more coming: Click to Subscribe by Email.

Mike “Mish” Shedlock