Wildlife Photography across the Water: Smoky Mountains Days 1+2

Sunday 19 September 2010

Smoky Mountains Days 1+2

We are in Tennessee with one of Marian's nieces so Photography is on a when and can basis, We arrived Friday afternoon and after following a thousand hot rods towards Pigeon Forge we dropped our bags off and ask what was going on-seems that this weekend is THE BIG car event of the year here and the world and its wife/sister (same person) is here so it takes 30mins to get 2 miles-nice, We went down to Cades Cove, The jewel of the Smokeys, Unfortunately for some reason the meadows are uncut and the wildlife is very difficult to see, We ended the afternoon with 4 deer and 6 turkeys-i get more in my garden and to cap it off they now open at 10am on Saturday and Wednesday which is crap as the light is very harsh by then and any mist will have burnt off, I made a decision to get up early and head into the mountains to a place called Clingmans Dome which is the high point and gives great views of the sunrise and sets, I arrived early and it was still dark with stars in the sky but a distant glow meant that i wouldn't have to wait too long for the sky to lighten, I got the tripod and camera gear out then realised that i had left the ND grads in the motel so i would take some images and have to HDR them, There were already 3 photographers there and as soon as the sky started to get light a photo workshop arrived and for some reason decided that they would all stand around-ME, i got my shots and enjoyed a beautiful sunrise and left, During the day i enjoyed looking at all the shiny cars and really should have taken a camera but i will be back in a couple of weeks and decided to just have a lazy family day, Back to shoot the sunset tonight and then leave early tomorrow to go to the NC side of the mountains for a day.I quickly put 5 frames together with Photomatix but it doesn't seem to like to mist so will have to reprocess it when i get home but it gives you the idea

HDR Image

Standard Processing

Dave

1 comment:

Amila Kanchana20 September 2010 at 17:26
beautiful scenery! I like that standard processing one better.
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Bio's

David Courtenay, a self taught wildlife and nature photographer, has been capturing images for over 30 years. He has had a passion for wildlife since early childhood and remembers being glued to the television whenever Survival, Wildlife on One and other natural history documentaries were shown. In the 2006 he swapped his established career for the life of a wildlife photographer, such a move demands a measure of uncompromising passion and commitment.

David has travelled extensively throughout Europe as well as spending more than 7 months in India working with local guides and trackers in search of Bengal Tiger, Asian One horned Rhino and Asian Elephant. He has also photographed Wildlife in Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, Sumatra, Africa, Canada and America. Working closely with Conservation companies he tries to raise funds to help Wildlife that has been put on the endangered list by poaching and habitation loss

Martin Dyer has had a passion for avian wildlife since childhood, particularly raptors. Photography was also another keen interest and it was with the specific availability and control of the whole process that digital offers that Martin was then able to combine the two in 2003. Based in the UK, Martin is a regular visitor to Scotland, specifically the Isle of Mull to watch the Eagles resident there. Other trips to Europe and around the UK are usually part of Martin’s agenda in a typical year.

However, as a firm believer on making the most of the local patch, Martin has spent a lot of time and hard work creating a wildlife garden which is reaping the rewards with many new species and varieties of wildlife. A keen member of a number of wildlife photographic groups, Martin is keen to expand his portfolio into other areas of wildlife, and has already established a wide portfolio of images of fungi.