pvarney3
Big Creek - Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina
I've been trying to get a shot of this location along Big Creek, in Great Smoky Mountains NP, NC, for years. Actually, seeing a picture from this spot was not only one of the main reasons I first visited Big Creek, but also one of the main reasons I continued to pursue landscape photography several years ago. I very much love the way the trees form a cathedral over the cascading stream, giving a sense of depth that's hard to find in most stream shots. Big Creek also lacks the same crowds along it's length, as this area of the part is completely disconnected from both Gatlinburg and Cherokee. If you're looking for a great place in the park with phenomenal hiking while still keeping your distance from the craziness of Gatlinburg, this is a good place to check out!
Big Creek itself is the most scenic in the park, in my opinion. Very few other streams have the same gradient, water flow, and amount of large rock in the water, while still not being open to the sky above in many places. The creek is also very accessible, as the Big Creek Trail follows very closely to the water's edge. If you're hiking the trail, this spot is hard to miss.
I spent quite a bit of time using some of the rocks in the creek as a foreground, but wasn't exactly pleased with the results. The reason is that the shots were lacking the element that really makes this scene attractive to me: the depth caused by the 'tree tunneling' effect. To accentuate this aspect of the photo, I moved higher up above the water, almost to the trail itself. The fallen leaves on the rock surrounding the right edge of the picture maintain a sense of fall by better distributing the yellow colors throughout. Also, I was very much assisted here by the crazy rainfall that fell in the park in the days before I arrived - over 5.5 inches along the AT!
Thanks for your comments, as always! If you're interested, you can check out my Facebook page at:
Big Creek - Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina
I've been trying to get a shot of this location along Big Creek, in Great Smoky Mountains NP, NC, for years. Actually, seeing a picture from this spot was not only one of the main reasons I first visited Big Creek, but also one of the main reasons I continued to pursue landscape photography several years ago. I very much love the way the trees form a cathedral over the cascading stream, giving a sense of depth that's hard to find in most stream shots. Big Creek also lacks the same crowds along it's length, as this area of the part is completely disconnected from both Gatlinburg and Cherokee. If you're looking for a great place in the park with phenomenal hiking while still keeping your distance from the craziness of Gatlinburg, this is a good place to check out!
Big Creek itself is the most scenic in the park, in my opinion. Very few other streams have the same gradient, water flow, and amount of large rock in the water, while still not being open to the sky above in many places. The creek is also very accessible, as the Big Creek Trail follows very closely to the water's edge. If you're hiking the trail, this spot is hard to miss.
I spent quite a bit of time using some of the rocks in the creek as a foreground, but wasn't exactly pleased with the results. The reason is that the shots were lacking the element that really makes this scene attractive to me: the depth caused by the 'tree tunneling' effect. To accentuate this aspect of the photo, I moved higher up above the water, almost to the trail itself. The fallen leaves on the rock surrounding the right edge of the picture maintain a sense of fall by better distributing the yellow colors throughout. Also, I was very much assisted here by the crazy rainfall that fell in the park in the days before I arrived - over 5.5 inches along the AT!
Thanks for your comments, as always! If you're interested, you can check out my Facebook page at: