Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Featured Maple Leaf on the Trail

Photo Gallery: The Smoky Mountains in October

/ Lon Hetrick

This photo gallery post is long overdue. If this year end finds you freezing and snowbound, it’s my hope that this taste of October will warm you up a bit—maybe 30° or so. :)

Happy new year!

Maple Leaf on the Trail
Maple Leaf on the Trail
Happy Camper
Happy Camper
Photographing Stars at the Newfound Gap Parking
My first try at photographing stars. Newfound Gap parking lot
Mingo Falls near Cherokee, NC
Mingo Falls near Cherokee, NC
The View from Clingman's Dome
The View from Clingman’s Dome
Heidi takes a selfie
Now that’s a selfie!
Leaves fading to yellow
Leaves fading to yellow
Along the path of Chimney Tops Trail
Along the path of Chimney Tops Trail
Dawn and me at Chimney Tops Overlook
Dawn and me at Chimney Tops Overlook
Dawn, Heidi, and Haley at Chimney Tops Overlook
Dawn, Heidi, and Haley at Chimney Tops Overlook
Roadside Overlook
Roadside Overlook
Haley and Heidi
Haley and Heidi
The easy part of Chimney Tops Trail
The easy part of Chimney Tops Trail
Just me
Just me

 

Photo Friday: Is It Real or PhotoShop?

/ Lon Hetrick / 2 Comments

Have you ever seen the Pink Swallowtail butterfly?—No?

Well, I suppose that’s because there is no such thing.

Swallow Tail in Sunlight, Pink photoshop

[Pink Swallowtail. Photoshop.] 

This photo of a yellow Appalachian Tiger Swallowtail is my one and only experiment with Photoshop ever. You’ll notice by comparing it with the original below that I also de-colorized the ground and sharpened the image a bit. I like how this emphasized the natural circle of light around the butterfly which was filtering down through the leaves above me.

You never know what your creative side will think of next. I wonder what creative possibilities went through the infinite mind of God when He said,

Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.—Genesis 1:24, ESV

Swallow Tail in Sunlight

[Appalachian Tiger Swallowtail. Nikon D40. Smoky Mountains, NC. June, 2009.] 

Photo Friday: Welcome Back September

/ Lon Hetrick

It’s Friday! 

It’s the first Friday in September. In the north autumn is underway. Here in Atlanta, I can feel it on the horizon. Now our thoughts turn to football, sweaters, and hot chocolate, and my personal favorites: camping, colors, and mountain air.

Here’s a few reasons I’ve enjoyed autumns past, and why I look forward to September-November every year.

Enjoy!

Click any photo to view a full-size slide show

 

Graveyard Fields
Graveyard Fields on the Blue Ridge Parkway
Grandkids at Burt's Pumpkin Farm, Dawsonville, GA
Grandkids at Burt’s Pumpkin Farm, Dawsonville, GA
The View from our house
The View from our house
photo of wooden fence with black-eyed susans
Grey Fence and Black Eyed Susan
Autumn Hickory Leaf
Hickory (I think) on Clingman’s Dome in the Smoky Mountains
Japanese Maple Leaves
Japanese maple leaves in my front yard
Sunrise at the Len Foote Hike Inn, September 11, 2011
Sunrising Over the Len Foote Hike Inn, GA
A View From Clingman's Dome, Smoky Mountains
A View From Clingman’s Dome
The view along the Linn Cove Viaduct, Blue Ridge Parkway
The view along the Linn Cove Viaduct, Blue Ridge Parkway
Hiking Tallulah Gorge (one of my favorite photos of Dawn)
Hiking Tallulah Gorge (one of my favorite photos of Dawn)
Waterfall in Smoky Mountain National Park
Waterfall in Smoky Mountain National Park
Solitude for Heidi, Round Bald, Roan Mountain State Park, TN
Solitude for Heidi, Round Bald, Roan Mountain State Park, TN