Over the twenty years that Purchase Knob has been part of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, its Beauty has given Bonnie and me countless hours of pleasure and creative opportunity. Often we have navigated to the Jonathan Creek Valley thinking that our drive was in vain, if not entirely wasted, only to arrive at the knob to a vindication of our efforts, as fog and cloud rose up and drifted away revealing the awesome light and color of a new day.
A focal length of 27mm, in the upper middle of wide-angleland, gave me the angle-of-view I wanted. It allowed me to be more inclusive as I held only a vague idea of where the sun would appear as the fog lifted. My adjustment time would be very brief. The aftermath of a recent controlled burn would compel me to not be overly inclusive of the foreground real estate. An aperture of f/18 allowed for sufficient depth-of-field, and an ISO of 800 allowed for a shutter speed of 1/80 second in order to freeze the rapidly lifting cloud.
The gift to all of us of the 532+ acres of Purchase Knob, the generosity of Voit Gilmore and Kathy McNeil, is an example of how public lands can come from private holdings and can become jewels of our collective heritage to be used and appreciated across the passage of time. The idea of privatizing this heritage for the benefit of the few makes no sense to me at all.
Lovely
Hi Lynne. Thank you so very much for this thoughtful comment. I am deeply and doubly grateful to receive your note that John is back home and recovering from what must have been a very frightful moment.We are all just so relieved to know that he is home safe and heading toward recovery. You are both so very dear to us.
Be safe and Walk in Beauty.
So peaceful. Nice photography Don.
Hi Joni. It’s always a pleasure to have you join us. I am very interested in your choice of the term “peaceful.” I recall my experience of the moment as being very energized as the mists were swirling around me. Only in retrospect did it seem that calmness and pacificity might be in order as descriptors. I’m certainly glad that the image spoke to you in that way. It’s certainly a wonderful feeling when our art offers our viewers the opportunity for active calmness; a chance to view and participate in the calmness engendered by the work. Thanks for sharing that with us.
I needed some peace in my life today. You gave it to me Don!
Hey Joani; it always good to hear from you and to receive your thoughts and observations. I am delighted that my work has been able to provide you with the peace you have sought on any day and especially on this day. I hope you and Mark have been safe and well and that your opportunities for creativity come often. If this Image provided any of those outcomes, its creation will have been time very well sent. Walk in Beauty.
It looks like a welcome to a new day after a hard day’s night. Well done! Time for coffee! Coffee and camera on Purchase Knob would be a real treat.
Hey Nancy T. Coffee and cameras at the Purchase are more than just a treat; they are a delight to be savored. We have enjoyed them there on more than one occasion; and I can think of no one better to share them with than you Looking forward to our lunch. Be well, stay safe, and Walk in Beauty.
Thank you, Everyone for such delightful thoughts and observations. It is a delightful treat to know that my work can provide anyone with the feelings you have shared with me.
Have a great week and Walk in Beauty wherever you go.