Dogwoods, Great Smoky Mountains NP, NC, USA
The last two weeks have been a whirlwind, with back-to-back workshops and two cross-country flights. But Claudia and I had a great time during our visit to the mountains of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. We got to see some beautiful country, and experience lots of that famous southern hospitality.
Now I’m back home, catching up on sleep and processing photographs. I made this dogwood image near the Oconaluftee Visitor Center in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We just caught the tail end of the dogwood bloom, and it was nice to photograph eastern dogwoods in their native habitat.
While the dogwood bloom was almost over, the sarvis were just getting started. I had never heard of these trees until just before our trip, I found them to be highly photogenic. I’ll post more images of sarvis, waterfalls, and many other things soon.
— Michael Frye
Related Post: A Trip to South Carolina
Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to this blog and get every new post delivered right to your inbox!
Michael Frye is a professional photographer specializing in landscapes and nature. He is the author or principal photographer of The Photographer’s Guide to Yosemite, Yosemite Meditations, Yosemite Meditations for Women, and Digital Landscape Photography: In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams and the Great Masters. He has also written three eBooks: Light & Land: Landscapes in the Digital Darkroom, Exposure for Outdoor Photography, and Landscapes in Lightroom 5: The Essential Step-by-Step Guide. Michael written numerous magazine articles on the art and technique of photography, and his images have been published in over thirty countries around the world. Michael has lived either in or near Yosemite National Park since 1983, currently residing just outside the park in Mariposa, California.
Welcome back, Michael. Looking forward to the results of the trip.
Thanks Robin!
Beautiful photo Michael. I’m looking forward to your other photos from the trip. I love dogwoods. Are eastern dogwoods different from western ones?
Thanks John, and yes, eastern dogwoods are different than the Pacific dogwoods in the Sierra. The blossoms on the eastern dogwoods are smaller, but tend to be more numerous. They also don’t have the big green center that the Pacific dogwoods have.
For some reason I thought the Eastern Dogwoods were like the pink ones on the Ahwahnee. Love the photos. Only time I was on that end of the country was fall and for someone raised in So CA and AZ, the colors were amazing.
Dawn, the eastern dogwood (or “flowering dogwood”) has white blossoms in the wild, though some cultivated varieties have pink blossoms. There are eastern dogwoods in Yosemite Valley – both white and pink – that were planted near the Ahwahnee Hotel and along the Ahwahnee Meadow.
Michael,
A lovely image that captures the grace of the dogwood’s delicate structure.
Here’s a bit of Appalachian lore about the “sarvis tree”:
“Sarvis” or Serviceberry trees are common here. I’ve read that the name came from the fact that when the “Sarvis” trees were blooming people in mountain areas could expect the circuit preachers to be making their rounds again for services and for funerals once the ground had thawed enough for burying.
Thanks for the lore Lynda – very interesting!
Michael,
So glad you got to visit my area! The Southern Apps are home to some of my favorite locations. I’m really looking forward to seeing the photos you took so I can see someone else’s perspective!
I’m glad I got to visit “your” area too David!
Well, technically I guess I don’t own it haha. The area of which I reside would be politically correct I suppose!