Great Smoky Mountains National Park Fall 2024
Fall can prove a challenging time of the year for me when it comes to taking photos. This season was no different. However, I always try to do my best even when conditions aren’t favorable.
We started our journey going to Campsite #18 in the National Park. This campsite was the perfect distance away from where we were going to set up for photos. I was amazed at how many of the trees still had not turned to yellow, orange or red. Everyone around me said that this fall was going to be early, or late, or not even there at all. So when scheduling this trip, we really had no idea what to expect.
We decided to go to the Cades Cove section of the National Park for sunset. Last year we went for sunrise and we had to wait for hours before we could even get in because of how many people were waiting in line in front of us. This experience motivated us to get to the park VERY early to make sure we had enough time to fully capture this area. This is where the story becomes a bit of a downer.
I had decided to take everyone to this overlook just off the main road to see what it was like. None of us had ever been there, and photos from this spot were very hard to come across.
While the view was pretty, we decided to continue further down the gravel road to get back to the main park road. Little did we know, this was the WORST decision we could have made. We had a 50/50 shot, and we lost.
This road continued to stretch on and on and on and on. Up the mountain. Down the mountain. Around the bends. Under the trees. We just kept driving. All the extra time we had planned was being lost right before our eyes. By the time we got back to the road, the sun was setting, and our spirits were down.
This is the only time on this road that there was a break in the trees. Meaning this view is even harder to find.
So, we decided to just go back to camp. We tried to lighten up the mood by making jokes about the situation, but I couldn’t help but feel a bit defeated. The entire hike back to the camp, I was thinking about what I could have done differently. This made me realize that I needed to focus more on just relaxing and having fun rather than being so focused on the photos themselves. With that revelation, we decided to go to bed and wake up early to take photos on the Foothills Parkway.
Waking up in the early morning hours in the middle of the woods is always trippy, but excitement was back in the air. We hiked back to the car and headed out to the overlook. When we got there, the view in front of us was amazing.
We walked along the roadside for about a mile until we got to the most famous part of the parkway. There was plenty of room for us to take photos, and the best part was we probably only saw 5-6 cars pass us. The views were incredible and the lighting was perfect.
After these incredible views, we decided to go back to Cades Cove and see if we might be able to get any more shots. The light was pretty harsh so we had to try and stay around the shaded areas, but in doing this we were able to get a few more photos from this trip.
After this fortunate turn of events, we packed up our camp and headed home. With this crazy story wrapping up, it’s important to remember to just roll with what’s in front of you, and try to make the best of it. To truly become a great photographer, it is essential not to rely solely on favorable conditions; instead, you must take the time to learn how to work effectively with what you observe through the lens of your camera.
