Middle Prong of Little Pigeon River, that child of the convergence of Ramsay Prong and Buck Prong, as it flows through the valleys of Greenbrier Cove, becomes one of the iconic bodies of water of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a boulder-strewn course of laughing whiteness and forested banks lined with sycamore and hemlock, spicebush and rosebay rhododendron. It was through the depression of Dry Sluice Gap on the Smokies Crest ridge in the early years of the nineteenth century that a Whaley family found their way from North Carolina into the uplands of Greenbrier to become the first European settlers in this part of Tennessee. By century’s end there were 25 families living up and down this stretch of river and its tributaries.
From a hillside above the confluence of Rhododendron Creek with the main stream, a focal length of 58mm, just barely out of normal range, gave me the angle-of-view I wanted, as an intriguing reverse-C curve carried the river upstream and around a bend beyond view. An aperture of f/22 provided depth-of-field; and a shutter speed of 1.3 seconds at ISO 100 gave me the whitewater texture I wanted and a somewhat-lighter-than-medium exposure to account for the frost- and snow-covered branches.
Greenbrier and Middle Prong are quintessential Smokies in microcosm: history, both natural and human, and Beauty everywhere the eyes land.
Wow….Makes me shiver with cold and response to beauty.
Hi Robin. It’s always good to have you join our conversation. I am so hopeful that you will soon find complete relief for the health issues that you have been facing. I hope the wood that the Boss delivered will give you lots of creativity encouragement. I’m looking forward to a new generation of Haints. Thanks for your kind words.
Lovely scene and image of it.
Hi John. It’s good to hear from you. Thanks for being with us. One of the tricky ideas with Smokies water/stream imagery, even with 900 miles of streams, is finding locations where there is a clean view of a watercourse leading from the base of a mountain. It’s almost an iconic Western image, but it’s not all that common in the Smokies because of all of the forests that surround the streambeds. Where I was standing for this Image is one of the few locations in the Park where the view I described can be found; but on an overcast, white sky day there is too much sky for the image to work well; so I chose to remove the sky from view here. I appreciate your thoughtful comment. Be well; walk in Beauty.
Beautiful – thanks for posting
Hey Steve. Thank you for joining us. I am very grateful for your kind words; thanks for taking a moment to express them. I hope all is well in your corner of the forest. One of the true joys of knowing this Park as well as I do, is having a very real sense of where to be, when, to achieve images that speak deeply to me and I appreciate when others have a response similar to mine. Stay safe.
Love that you left the natural tones in the rocks and branches, making it look more like a painting!
Hey Joani. It’s great to hear from you! I hope the shoulder has healed and you and Mark are back on your adventuring schedule. You are quite right to point out that snow images can sometimes seem to alter other tonalities in an image, making them appear more monochromatic that they are. I have found that working in Highlights/Shadows can help one to avoid this result, especially when it is not desired. Take good care and be safe.
My favorite so far this year! Rarely comment but so look forward to your post.
Les and I have moved to Sonoita in SE AZ. My email has changed for your records…theasue45@gmail.com (the old one was suemilli@frontiernet.net)
Hey Sue. Thank you very much for joining us and for the update. The new info has been entered into the database. Hope you and Les are enjoying everything that Arizona has to offer. I have a first cousin in Phoenix. It’s a beautiful area. I appreciate your thoughtful comment about this particular Image. Be safe and Walk in Beauty.
Very well done. A great winter photo!
Howdy Michael. It’s great to hear from you! I hope you are finding much to satisfy your creative pursuits in Clay County. I appreciate and enjoy your Facebook posts. Thanks for your very kind words. There are so many wonderful areas for winter imagery in your corner of the mountains. May you find ways to take full advantage of them. I received my first vaccination shot on Friday and thought of all the wonderful information you have posted over the past year. Thanks! Take good care and remain safe.
One of my favorite places!!!!!!!!!!
Hi Beth. Thanks for joining us and for your thoughtful comment. Greenbrier Cove is one of those truly special Smokies locations that offers a multitude of Beauty and infinite opportunities to be creative with a camera, whether you remain close to the road or hike in. I’ll be very glad when roadwork to Porters Creek Trailhead is complete, but ’til then there is much to be found along the river and up in the Ramsay Prong area. Walk in Beauty.
Hi Don, Another great winter image. Upon opening the image and spending some time with it a number of things stood out. The use of the branches bending over from both sides of Middle Prong to frame it and the angle shows how to use what some would see as a problem to your advantage. The flow of the river tumbling over hidden rocks creates a stairway for the eye to walk up to the reverse C curve, to see what is around the corner. To me the image is an example of simplicity. Simplicity that resulted from a combining of relationship, motion, and cohesiveness. What better way to say goodbye to winter.
Thanks, again, Everyone, for joining me and for all of your kind and thoughtful words. Greenbrier Cove is sometimes accessible for snow imagery even when other areas of GSMNP are closed to vehicular traffic. It’s nearly always worth the ride east from Gatlinburg to the Greenbrier entrance to check access. And given the plethora of wonderful opportunities that await, the trip to Greenbrier is like creativity waiting to happen. Walk in Beauty.
Thanks, Everyone, for taking the time to join me for this conversation. We know that winter must eventually make way for the coming of spring, but while it remains with us we know that it offers us many, many great opportunities to engage in the creativity that the cold season has to offer. I hope you will enjoy each and every such opportunity. Walk in Beauty.