Camera in the Park: Snow and ice season

Winter sees a dramatic drop in visitation to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, resolving the traffic congestion seen on busy fall color days…

Camera in the Park: The end of the season

After all the colors have faded and leaves have fallen, many visitors to the Smokies, including photographers, lose interest. After all, the pretty stuff is on the ground now, isn’t it?

Trailside Talk: Smokies photos—take your best shot

The beauty of Great Smoky Mountains National Park isn’t always easily translated to photography. Even experts in the art often agree…

Camera in the park: Leaf season

Well, folks, that time of year that photographers and non-photographers alike look forward to is nearly upon us: leaf season. The park gets busy during this time of the year, but with or without a camera and stuck in traffic or not, the classic grand landscapes are still there to enjoy: sunrise at Foothills Parkway […]

Camera in the Park: Goldenrod season in Cades Cove

From about mid-August to the first Smokies frost, bright yellow clusters of goldenrods add intense patches of color to a mostly green landscape.  A quick Wikipedia search turns up interesting facts about the flower, including that it is the state flower of Kentucky, Nebraska, and South Carolina—and previously Alabama before being replaced by the camelia. […]

Camera in the park: Summer flowers in Cades Cove

Photography is quite simple, and yet at times it can seem hopelessly complex. Some people go to university to study photography and get advanced degrees, but others manage to do it without any special training at all…

Echoes in the mountains: A herd in sacred waters

Images by Phoebe Carnes Before I began observing elk in Smokies, I never thought of them as water-loving creatures. But it wasn’t long before I learned that the elk here have a profound relationship with the Oconaluftee River that is as fascinating as it is multifaceted. The Oconaluftee River (or Egwanulti) is considered to be sacred […]

Echoes in the Mountains: On bulls and close encounters

When I first started studying the bull elk of Oconaluftee last fall, I quickly learned that each male is an individual. They each have their own quirks that make them easily recognizable. One of the first males I began to study was a bull who goes by the name of “B” within the park service. […]

Image for the asking: Curtain call

There is a second word that comes to mind as easily as the first, and that is the word “surprise.” Capturing images for whatever reason is an ongoing experience of surprise and, fortunately, delight as well. Surprise and delight come in many and varied forms, like the occasion when I encountered a juvenile bull elk […]