From: "Ken Waller"
Luck - when preparation meets opportunity.
Hope you're prepared and have the opportunity.
Semi-prepared anyway.
Quick trip report while I look through the images and see what might
make a decent PESO.
When I left Friday, I was headed down to Charlotte, NC to scout a church
location for a wedding next Saturday. I'm second shooter.
After that, I drove on in the dark to Maggie Valley where I found a room
for the night.
Saturday, I left the motel before dawn and made it to Newfound Gap
overlook in Great Smokey Mountain National Park in time to shoot a
sunrise. Headed on down into the Tennessee side of the park and out to
Gatlinburg long enough to buy a couple of cups of coffee, then headed
back into the park to Cades Cove.
On the way to Cades Cove I ran into a traffic jam and discovered people
were stopped because of a bear in the woods with two cubs. I managed to
get MY CAR into one of the pull-offs so I wasn't blocking traffic and
walked back with my 300 f/2.8. Got 6 frames with one good sharp shot of
one of the cubs.
As soon as I got to Cades Cove a flock of wild turkeys crossed the road
right in front of my car. I got one good clear shot.
Fall colors were not well developed yet.
I followed the loop around and checked out the various sights, then took
a nap along a side road during the middle of the day, before I made
another circuit in the middle afternoon.
I was setting up to shoot a nothing scenic of the one good red tree I
found when a wedding party pulled up wanting to shoot photos at the same
tree. As it chanced, I have a bridal portrait assignment due on
Wednesday and hadn't yet found a model.
They, OTOH, didn't have a photographer - the grooms father was planning
to shoot using a handful of point&shoot cameras contributed by members
of the wedding party.
Preparation ... meet opportunity.
I had my 285HV, Quantum Battery 1, light stand and Cyber-Sync with me. I
offered to shoot the photos so the Groom's father could be in them.
Got my assignment done & I've got contact information so I can get the
photos to them.
Finished the evening with what the rangers call "The Deer Show",
although the deer were really too far away to do any good. After dark, I
drove a narrow, winding, one-way dirt road over the mountain to Townsend
TN, where I found a motel room.
Sunday it was up again and into Cades Cove an hour before official
sunrise. The roads are closed to automotive traffic until after sunrise,
but I had found out from the rangers that it was OK to walk in, and the
location I scouted for shooting sunrise on 10/10/10 was only a mile from
where I was allowed to park.
Just, as they say, "a walk in the park!"
Sunrise comes on time, but because of the mountains, the direct rays
don't show up until about an hour later, so I get an extended golden hour.
I got some good morning fog and some beautiful directional light on one
of the roads despite some asshole in an SUV who decided to park right in
the middle of where I was trying to shoot, so that I had to find another
location.
While relocating, I looked over into the field and spotted a couple of
bucks in the mist. "Luckily", I brought my 300 f/2.8 along even though I
was only planning to shoot landscapes.
Walking back to my car, one field I passed had a large flock of wild
turkeys, with the males displaying. The next field had young buck deer
feeding on apples. The 300 f/2.8 came in handy again.
After that, I headed back into Gatlinburg where I found the one
restaurant in town that has free parking and ate breakfast before
heading home.
Driving back through the park into NC, I felt like the fall color had
developed a lot over-night, but I didn't really get anything worth
mentioning.
By next weekend, I expect color will be peaking in GSMP, and I have
Sunday, Monday & Tuesday off for Fall Break. I actually have Saturday
off as well, but I promised to shoot that wedding in Charlotte, so I
have to take care of that before I can head back up there.
--
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