Summer in the Smokies - A Hackberry Farm Nature Photography Workshops Field Report

Rain peppered the mountains for most of the morning, but despite the immediate meteorological challenges, we headed out to explore the Smokies.  The evening before, wave after wave of an organized storm system brought rain to the temperate rainforest.  It’s a typical weather pattern for this time of year, so the best thing we can do is be patient and wait it out.

In lieu of the rain’s end, we head afield.  While the precipitation still falls, we see it:  a mother black bear sleeping in a tree.  While she rests, a small cub scampers deftly about the tree.  The cub is tiny, and it's amazing how innate negotiating the tree limbs some twenty feet in the air is.  Right about the time we stop to watch the cub’s antics, the rain stops.

That’s the moment the magic begins on this Summer in the Smokies nature photography workshop: the moment when it all clicked.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTr9RNYnB90

Of all the parks to which I’ve traveled, the Smokies are my favorite.  Rich in natural and cultural wonders, the Smokies are a symbol of resilience and it all folds well into this nature photography workshop. A century of over-harvesting once left the mountains stripped of trees, but now, the forests abide.  Beneath every tree is a story of life in its understory.  Here, the smallest insects, fungi, invertebrates, and vertebrates thrive.

The thread that stitches it all together is the water.  Each year, the area receives more than 70 inches of precipitation.  All this rain and snow create a verdancy nearly unmatched by most national parks.  Each landscape seam flows into a creek which runs through a holler.  The hollers flow into the rivers.  This fractalized network of water creates postcard-worthy riffles and waterfalls.  We stop at many water features and photograph these picturesque locations.  At each stop, the sound of the water flowing across rocks is cathartic and mesmerizing.  These water stops are easy places to spend a while, as there are so many things to see and capture on digital media forever.

We whisk our way to mountaintops where the unsettled sky painted the hollers with ragged clouds and fog.  The mountains stacked in the distance are an iconic Smoky Mountain image, and we photograph them earnestly.  All of the shots we take help make up a well-rounded Smokies portfolio.  We shoot wildlife, including bears, elk, and turkeys.  We visit pioneer cabins and learn about the Cherokee culture that still reigns strong in these mountains.  We roam small town general stores to explore local wares.  And we take in the culture by pausing and listening to a trio of apt musicians as they play happy bluegrass tunes to an enthusiastic audience.

On the very last evening, we take to the woods after dark to witness the lightning bug spectacle that befalls the Smokies each spring.  We find out we are a bit late this year, as the peak displays (which vary by year) were about a week behind.  However, the fireflies were still out and in droves.  For one glorious hour, we stood amongst what must be one of Mother Nature’s most spectacular and surreal spectacles.

For those of us who witnessed the spectacle, we can attest to how beautiful the sight of the dark woods lighting up in chartreuse at the behest of a small beetle can be.

It was worth the effort.

ADDITIONAL IMAGES