Dogwood and mist at sunset, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina. This isn’t a photograph I expected to make. I almost always keep the sky out of forest compositions, and if I see an interesting sunset developing I’ll usually look for a more expansive view. But here I thought the pastel colors in the sky might complement the softness of the dogwood blossoms and lingering mist, and decided to stick with what was in front of me and see what I could do. It turned out to be one of my favorite images from the trip.
Before visiting the Smokies I’d seen many wonderful photographs of the southern Appalachian Mountains by people like Charles Cramer, Christopher Burkett, William Neill, and Nye Simmons. Their images mostly focused on the forests in spring and fall – understandably, since those eastern hardwood forests are so beautiful in those seasons. So I had certain expectations about what I might see, and the kind of photographs I might make, based on seeing their work.
I certainly hoped and expected to photograph dogwoods blooming. But spring came early to the lower elevations, and the dogwoods were mostly done by the time Claudia and I arrived a week before the conference. We did find a few dogwoods still blooming at higher elevations, so I made it a point to photograph those before they faded. But I realized that I wouldn’t be doing much dogwood photography on this trip, so I had to let go of that expectation and focus on other things.
In a way that was liberating; I could just follow my nose and photograph whatever I was attracted to. That included some of the ridgeline views I showed in my last post, and some water abstracts I’ll show later.
And of course I still wanted to photograph those eastern hardwood forests, and they were still beautiful, with or without dogwood blossoms. Before the conference we ventured onto the southernmost section of the Blue Ridge Parkway, where we found red maples just starting to leaf out. We saw some of those maples in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but not as many as along the parkway, where they emerged earlier.
And the maples were stunning. The newly-sprouted leaves were crimson red, as colorful as anything you’ll see in autumn, but juxtaposed with the bright spring greens of other newly-emerging trees. We spent a wonderful afternoon along the parkway photographing maples and some late-blooming, high-elevation dogwoods, with off-and-on rain showers, mist, and fog.
And even though some of the forest scenes I found might have appealed to the photographers I mentioned earlier, we’re different people, so we see things differently, and compose photographs differently. That’s one of the beauties of photography; if you and I were standing next to each other, cameras in hand, we’d probably focus on different things and find different compositions.
So in the end my photographs of Appalachian forests were not what I expected or imagined, but that’s okay. I made some images I’m happy with, and, to me, captured some of the beauty and feeling of those hardwood forests. That’s all I could hope for.
And photographing those scenes was lots of fun. As photographers, once in a while we get to have special days where the light, weather, conditions, and subject matter combine to present us with one beautiful scene after another. That day along the Blue Ridge Parkway was one of those for Claudia and me – a red-letter day we won’t soon forget.
— Michael Frye
Spring tapestry, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina. This isn’t autumn! Red maples sprout new crimson-colored leaves in April or early May, which create a striking color contrast with the bright spring greens of neighboring trees.
Spring colors, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina. More of those bright-red maples in the distance.
Backlit trees, spring, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina
Budding maple, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina. I liked this tapestry of branches and colors.
Spring colors and blooming sarvis, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina. We found a few sarvis (serviceberry) trees blooming at higher elevations, adding splashes of pink to the spring palette.
Mist and spring colors along the Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina. Another red maple provides a focal point for this misty scene.
Birches and flowers in fog, Great Smoky Mountains NP, North Carolina. This little scene jumped out at me as we were driving by in the fog, so I had to stop. Lingering leaves from last fall added a nice splash of warm color.
Dogwood, Great Smoky Mountains NP, Tennessee. I found this still-blooming dogwood at one of the higher-elevation picnic areas on the Tennesse side.
Spring hillside, Great Smoky Mountains NP, Tennessee. I liked the light on this scene, and one of those red maples added a splash of color and a visual focal point.
Birch catkins, Great Smoky Mountains NP, Tennessee. I photographed this pattern during the conference, as our group was waiting for better light at Morton’s Overlook.
Dogwood in fog, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina. I hoped to photograph dogwoods in fog, and got one opportunity with a late-blooming dogwood along the Blue Ridge Parkway, as patches of fog moved in and out.
Related Posts: Ridges Upon Ridges; Along the Blue Ridge Parkway
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. Mich
ael’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.
