Smoky Mountains – Photography

 Destinations, Photography, Travel  No Responses »
Oct 222010
 

Here is a link to my Smoky Mountains photos on Flickr. These photos were taken between October 17-21, 2010. For those that would prefer to see a slideshow, you can click a link at the top right side of this page and it will start. Once it starts, click the bottom right to go full screen if desired.

I will update and publish more pics in the near future. Feel free to “add as a contact” if you’d like to continue to follow my work. You can see the rest of my work by clicking on photostream or sets. I hope you enjoy them. All my best to you and yours.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jkdurden/sets/72157625214489476/

Make it a great day.

JD

Smoky Mountains – Day 5 – Leaving

 Destinations, Photography, Travel  No Responses »
Oct 212010
 

Day 4 was a better photography day. I grabbed a bite and headed out with the goal of finding a good stream or waterfall. The colors have been great in these areas. As luck would have it, I found a good stream with a nice background. I pulled out my gear and began playing for a while. Tinkering with the exposure, I was experimenting with several different things trying to shoot, “The Shot”. I still don’t know if I got “it” after all of this work but I had fun trying. ;-) After about 40 minutes or so, a gentleman stopped by to shoot the same area. It was quite obvious he’d been shooting for some time. I asked him how long he’d been shooting. He replied, “Since I was 14. I’m 73 now.” ;-) He was also shooting a Nikon D3X, which is Nikon’s flagship camera. The D3X a 24.5 Megapixel camera that cost around $8000-9000. This guy, as you might imagine, is a professional photographer on vacation with his wife. As such, I’m sure he’s writing this whole trip off as a business expense (note to self). It turns out this guy is from southern Louisiana, a town called Franklin. We chatted it up for a bit and he gave me the idea to shoot a panoramic shot of this stream. (DING!) We traded cards then he and his VERY patient wife, continued on down the road. After he left, I ended up spending even more time in this little spot, trying more things. I hope I like the results. Either way, I learned a thing or two playing here.

That complete, I began to work my way towards the Laurel Falls trail. Across from which, I found some amazing color at a trailhead that led to the Appalachian Trail. After a few shots with my D300 and P7000, I began to work my way across the road and begin the hike to Laurel Falls. I spoke to some people who were returning from the falls and looked at their pictures. The falls were running slow and it wasn’t that dramatic of a shot. I decided to pass on shooting it on this trip. I was very happy they let me see their pictures because it would have been a waste of 2 hours if I hadn’t seen them.

I got back into the car and drove toward Clingmans Dome. There were pockets of good color on the ascent to the dome but they quickly faded into past peak as I got closer. On the ascent, I stumbled across a large cluster or rocks/boulders in a growth of old growth forest. Believe it or not, it was richly green. Once again, I pulled out my gear to shoot this area. I climbed around the boulders and took a few self portraits to boot. (I doubt you’ll see any of these.) These pictures will be published to Flickr and linked to this blog sometime early next week.

After shooting the old growth forest boulders, I ventured into Gatlinburg. Personally, I don’t see the attraction of Gatlinburg. I look at it and see what it could be versus what it is and I just despise it. However, they do have a few decent restaurants. I meandered around and made some calls. I spoke to my friend Emily. She’s headed out on another big trip in early November. If you want to live vicariously, http://emilytraveling.blogspot.com . Emily works half the year so she can travel and shoot the rest of the year. This year, she returns to India and plans to work her way towards Tibet and China. Her travels change with her desires along the way. It’s fun to read along as she describes her trip. Enjoy.

After dinner, I worked my way back to camp. I got the urge to pack it all up and head to Knoxville. I enjoyed the first bed that I’ve seen on this trip. The hot shower was amazing and now am beginning to reorganize my gear for the drive back to Memphis. I’ll drop my gear, wash my clothes and pack for Denver. I’m headed to see Emily before she heads out on her trip and I’ll take in the Broncos game as they play the Raiders this Sunday.

It’s been a fun trip to the Smoky Mountains. I once saw the peak back in 1996. I was hoping to see some similar colors this year but it wasn’t to be. I’m sure I’ll return again because this is an amazing area. It is actually our most visited national park and I can see why. You don’t have to even get out of your car to see some amazing beauty. All in all, I prefer the vistas of the mountain west. However, for fall colors, it’s hard to beat New England and the Mid-Atlantic region. ;-) . I’ll be taking a closer look at the hydrology reports before I plan a leaf peeping trip next year. I’m feeling more like New England next year, perhaps Acadia National Park?

It’s been a fun trip and it’s time to work my way back to points west. All my best. Thanks for reading along.

JD

Smoky Mountains – Day 4

 Destinations, Photography, Travel  No Responses »
Oct 202010
 

Here it is at Day 4 and I still haven’t found “The Shot” that all photographers are looking for on a trip. Since the foliage is rather mute, I think I’m going to focus on streams and long exposures today. It rained for 6 hours last night. I hope that equals better shots with waterfalls and streams. I may venture up to Laurel Falls. It’s a short family friendly hike. I normally don’t prefer those but the falls look like they would be worth the trip.

The fog and mist are pretty prevalent today. The light and color should be pretty good under the canopy of trees.

But first….breakfast! ;-) . I hope you all are having a great week. If you’re interested in seeing my photos of this trip, I expect them to be posted to Flickr and linked to this blog sometime next week.

All my best,

JD

Smoky Mountains – Day 3 – Alum Cave Bluff

 Uncategorized  No Responses »
Oct 192010
 

Cades Cove is a neat place It’s not in my top ten, but it is nice. It’s surrounded by mountains that rise 2500-3000 feet above the floor the cove. This area is rich with Civil War era historic buildings. I toured many cabins, a few lavishly sized homes and several churches. It seems there must have been many more dwellings in the area to support the three or four churches that I saw today. For the curious minded, the Baptist and Methodist were well represented. ;-) If you think of “Little House on the Prairie, you’re getting a good idea of what the area looks like. This area was loaned to some settlers from the Cherokee. What happened to that agreement, I haven’t figured out. I’m assuming the Cherokee didn’t favor in the deal. (There is a large Cherokee reservation to the south of the national park.) Sometime during the Civil War, most of the settling families left the area. The inhabitants mostly favored the Union and this cove was becoming increasingly dangerous since this had grown largely into a Confederate area. The locals either decided or were encouraged to relocate. I haven’t studied this too much, so feel free to add your own comments to my blog. At press time, I’m rather limited in my ability to research more historical information.

The foliage has pockets of vibrancy but for the most part is mute.

I hiked up to Alums Cave (Bluff) today. I think it was 5 miles round trip. A nice moderate hike with decent color. I saw that the trailhead to Laurel Falls was very vibrant. I may check on that tomorrow. Rain is expected in the morning and I haven’t made plans for anything else but sleeping in.

Make it a great day!

JD

PS I will post pics upon my return from vacation.

Smoky Mountains – Day 2 – Cades Cove

 Destinations, Travel  2 Responses »
Oct 182010
 

Yesterday, I got out of Memphis quite a bit later than I had planned. I think I finally got under way around noon. Originally I had planned go be underway by 9 AM so I would pull into my camp ground around 4 PM. Last night, I pulled into Cades Cove around 8:15 PM Eastern and tucked in around 10 PM. The road to hell is paved with good intention, right? I haven’t camped in some time and was rather happy at how fast things came together. I haven’t put up a tent, solo, since October 2001. Normally I try to get at least three nights out per summer. Since my divorce and temporary relocation to Tennessee, I haven’t taken the opportunity to camp due to the crazy heat and humidity we had this year. It seemed like we just skipped Spring and leaped into a never ending Summer.

As I drove into Cades Cove, I was greeted with the still air, crisp and cool. The air was laden with the smell of campfires that lay burning in various sites. This was a perfect greeting for me. Fall seems to have arrived here in the Smoky Mountains or rather it feels that way at night. Daytime temperatures are still forecast in the 70′s all week. Rain on Wednesday but otherwise, sunny and unseasonably warm during the day with cool nights. Since I arrived at nighttime, I haven’t been able to determine the vibrancy of the foliage. I hope to shoot some vibrant colored shots with my camera but I fear the colors are going to be mute this year.

Today, I plan on simply taking pictures on Cades Cove and a day hike in the afternoon. Telephone service is about 9 miles out of the park. I’ll be in touch when I can. I had to run to Townsend for some gas. It seems the traffic is ultra crazy this time of year. Who knew? :-) . Apparently it can take 4-5 hours to tour Cades Cove on the weekend. I didn’t want to risk it with only a half tank, thus the reason I’m posting so early. Well the sun has just popped above the horizon. Time that I check-in with the Rangers and get my day started.

Make it a great day.

JD

Smoky Mountains – Day 1

 Destinations, Photography, Travel  No Responses »
Oct 172010
 

Day one will begin a little later than planned. I can’t say that getting to sleep at 1 AM is the best way to prepare for an early drive, thus I may be forced to get a later start. As my friend Rhonda might say, “That’s why we have headlamps.” I tend to agree. Tomorrow, I have a seven-hour drive to the Smoky Mountains. I will likely be setting up my base camp in the dark. You know it can be rather sporting to locate a good bear-bag tree in the dark. :-)

Don’t expect much chatter from me in the coming week. I don’t know how often I’ll be able to slip away to update my blog or post to Facebook. The goal of this trip is to get some good hiking in, shoot a lot pictures and find the calm that I seem to have misplaced in the past year.

Make it a great week! I hope to hear from you all.

All my best,

JD

My Personal Favorites

 Photography, Uncategorized  2 Responses »
Sep 012010
 

Over the past couple of years, I’ve kept a camera near me and have recorded some of my favorite shots to date.  If you click “My Personal Favorites“, it will take you on a quick slideshow of the my favorite shots that I’ve taken up until this point. Some are better than others, but all bring back wonderful memories for me.  Looking back on it simply refreshes my soul and reminds me where I’ve been, the people I’ve met and the experiences I’ve gathered along the way.  I thought I’d share those memories with you today.  Many of you have watched along the way and you’ve been encouraging me every since.  I cannot thank you enough for your kind words, critique and friendship.

As I go forward from this point, I’m mindful of the past and optimistic for the future.  Each day is a new day with new blessings and rewards. I would encourage you to make sure you “get out there” and enjoy each day.  If you take your camera along, be sure to share.  I’d love to share in your journey as you have in mine.

Make it a great day!

JD

“Be the change you want to see in the world”

- Gandhi