Mount LeConte, Afternoon Clouds, Late Summer 2009

I was lucky enough to find myself in Sevier County today on business. Between meetings, I drove the Gatlinburg "bypass" to my favorite Mount LeConte overlook. For the day after Labor Day, the weather was warm (84) but pleasant. As the image demonstrates, the clouds were thick, but full of character.

I've said the middle of the afternoon is usually not a great time for landscape photographs but there are always exceptions. The point I was trying to convey was not so much the details of Mount LeConte, the clouds obscured the peaks anyway and moving the camera angle any lower would have included in the image some unsightly weeds that have grown up over the summer. Taking what was offered, I focused on capturing the contrasts in the summer clouds without worrying too much about the exposure on the mountain.

Because it was the afternoon, the overall contrast in the clouds was low; the original image is quite flat. I chose this one (out of the several rather good potential images) because the exposure captured the sunlight on Mount LeConte without over-exposing the brightest spots in the clouds.

Mount LeConte, Winter Afternoon Clouds, 2007

I had given a talk about bears to a lodging group in Gatlinburg when I headed home, as I almost always do, via the bypass. I always want to see the view from the two overlooks just in case. I've taken many photographs from each. The clouds were moving quickly. Had I arrived 15 minutes earlier or later this image would not have been taken and I doubt the view would have been anywhere near as dramatic. I remember thinking, at the time, how lucky I was to have been at the right spot at the right time.

While mid-afternoon sunlight is often not the best for landscape photography, the angle of the winter sun on the clouds looking towards LeConte from the overlook just happens to be an exception. Other photographs looking to the left and right from this perspective are washed out due to the angle of the sun.

I'm not shy about modifying images so that they portray the mood experienced at the time but this image required very little modification. Other than to convert to black and white, I only modestly increased the contrast.

Mount LeConte from Clingman's Dome May 2008

Until the end of May 2008, I was never particularly enamored with the view from the observation tower at Clingman’s Dome. I’ve enjoyed hiking from the parking lot to one of the open fields along the Appalachian Trail, but by and large, can’t remember when I last hiked up the tower. (I can remember the day; it was winter, cold, and the leaves were off the trees.)

The day was a relaxed one, meet my family at the parking lot and we hiked from there (avoiding the paved trail) to the open area about a mile or so from the trail head. The forecast has been for clear weather but obviously that was wrong. The hike was interesting. We ran into a ranger and a solo hiker who said he averaged 25 miles a day on his summer-long hike from Georgia to Maine. I took few photographs from the fields as the only view was of the clouds. I’m not one to stick around and wait too long for the clouds to change so we headed back.

Because the grandchildren had not been to the tower at Clingman’s Dome, I suggested we divert to it. It was fairly crowded. I took several photographs with my D200 but decided the better view was a panorama with my Kodak digital. The sun was so bright I had to use my hat to shade the screen to align the images.

I took several panoramas, my family waiting patiently (or not, but they are used to waiting after all these years). This image was the last panorama taken. I thought I had overexposed it but a small adjustment to the contrast curve brought out the drama in the clouds without losing the luminosity of the mountain range.

In case you are wondering, Mount LeConte is the peak to the left of center, visible through the clouds.

Mount LeConte from Maloney Point on Little River Road

I had one rule in law school: if the clouds were beautiful, the day was wasted being indoors. This was probably one of those days when I packed my cameras into the truck and headed to the mountains. As seen, the clouds were not just spectacular, but the recently cleared storm brought a clarity to the air, rendering an unusual detail to the distant mountain range. There are several places in or near the Smokies to see beautiful, sweeping vistas of the moutains themselves. The Little River Road, just up the hill from the National Park visitor center near Gatlinburg, has three pullouts, Maloney Point is the last one. (In the 20 some-odd years since this picture was taken, the trees have now grown up and now block the views on the right side of the photograph.) Since this is not the typical view of Mount LeConte, I should explain that it is behind the clouds on the right hand side. Just to the left, outside of the photograph, is the Park Vista Hotel, making it important to carefully compose the camera.

This was taken with my 4x5 view camera on black and white sheet film. Even 20 years old, the negative holds amazing clarity and resolution. Oddly enought, in contrast to the Ramsey Cascade picture, the scan of this negative is much more satisfying than any print I was ever able to make.

Mount LeConte, Clouds, Late Winter

I was on my way to a morning meeting when the view at Campbell Lead overlook made me rather late. (I would have been late anyway but this was a better excuse.) Shortly before 10 Am, I crested the Gatlinburg bypass and realized, I have a wonderful life.

The crepuscular rays, lined up with the foreground peaks as if they agreed to pose for the picture.

I've always been a sucker for clouds and mountains.