Sunbeams and ridges, Great Smoky Mountains NP, North Carolina

Claudia and I just returned from Tennessee and the Out of the Great Smoky Mountains photo conference. Technically this wasn’t our first visit to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, since eleven years ago we landed briefly in Cherokee, on the North Carolina side of the park, after driving to the southwest terminus of the Blue Ridge Parkway. But for all practical purposes this was our first time exploring the park, and definitely the first time visiting the Tennessee side.

And we loved it. Well, most of it. Gatlinburg is… something. And the traffic in Cades Cove can be crazy. But the park itself is beautiful. I love the hardwood forests of the Smokies, which are so similar to the woods I played in as a child growing up in the Northeast. These forests were especially pretty decked out in their bright spring greens, with rushing creeks and rivers cascading under the arcing branches of the trees.

Then there are the “stacked” ridges the Smokies are famous for. With the right view you can see one tree-covered ridgeline after another stretching into the distance. It’s not always easy to find good vantage points through the abundant trees, but the views you do find are striking.

We were lucky to have some interesting weather to enhance some of those views. Well maybe luck didn’t have much to do with it, since this is a wet part of the world, where rain and thunderstorms are common. When weather systems pass through you can sometimes get up into the clouds, and into the fog, along the highest ridges. And after those frequent rains you can often find fog and mist in the valleys, with opportunities to go down and see trees in fog, or go up and look out over the fog – something I love to do.

Here are some of my favorite photos from higher vantage points in and around the Smokies, looking out over those ridges. In my last post I talked about how desert environments like dunes and badlands lend themselves to creating interesting designs. But the same principles apply to any environment. With these ridgeline views in the Smokies I was often working with repeating horizontal layers, plus diagonals, and the elements that always seem to accompany diagonals like triangles, pyramids, V-shapes, and zigzags. Can you spot some of those design motifs in these photos?

I also made many images in the Smokies of just trees, and cascading water, and even some wildlife, so I’ll have to break things up and post some of those images later.

The conference itself was really fun, as all these Out of Chicago events seem to be. It was based in Townsend, Tennessee, which is much quieter and prettier than Gatlinburg, and close to many of the park’s most photogenic places.

My teaching partner for the field sessions was Michele Sons. She’s super nice, was great to work with, and is an amazing photographer, with a serene, ethereal style all her own. And it was great getting re-acquainted with some of the other instructors and participants, and meeting new people as well. Thanks again to Chris Smith and all the Out of Chicago team for putting together another great conference!

Claudia and I are already making plans to go back to the Smokies. Maybe in the fall, if we can manage the crowds, or again in the spring, but either way we’re looking forward to exploring this area more.

— Michael Frye

Stacked ridges at sunset, Great Smoky Mountains NP, North Carolina

Sunrise mist, Foothills Parkway, Tennessee

Mist and spring colors, Great Smoky Mountains NP, North Carolina

Misty ridges, Great Smoky Mountains NP, North Carolina

Clouds and ridges, Great Smoky Mountains NP, North Carolina

Clearing storm, Great Smoky Mountains NP, North Carolina

Trees, hills, and sunbeams, Great Smoky Mountains NP, North Carolina

Clouds, mist, and early-spring colors, Great Smoky Mountains NP, North Carolina

Hillsides with early-spring colors, Great Smoky Mountains NP, North Carolina

Ridges at sunset, Great Smoky Mountains NP, Tennessee

Related Posts: Along the Blue Ridge Parkway; Appalachian Waterfalls

Michael Frye is a professional photographer specializing in landscapes and nature. He lives near Yosemite National Park in California, but travels extensively to photograph natural landscapes in the American West and throughout the world.

Michael uses light, weather, and design to make photographs that capture the mood of the landscape, and convey the beauty, power, and mystery of nature. His work has received numerous awards, including the North American Nature Photography Association’s 2023 award for Fine Art in Nature Photography. Michael’s photographs have appeared in publications around the world, and he’s the author and/or principal photographer of several books, including Digital Landscape Photography: In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams and the Great Masters, and The Photographer’s Guide to Yosemite.

Michael loves to share his knowledge of photography through articles, books, workshops, online courses, and his blog. He’s taught over 200 workshops focused on landscape photography, night photography, digital image processing, and printing.