As I have been trying to think through visual storytelling in the Smokies at night, I’ve been hoping to reimagine some of the more popular scenes that the park is known for. I’ve also been trying to reimagine scenes that I’m personally drawn to, which are not quite as popular, like today’s image. If you’ve been around Picture of the Week for some time, you’ll know of my love for the old chimneys in the Elkmont area of the park. The last remnants of residences and summer homes that used to be there, they’re a silent reminder of years gone by. After setting up the scene from last week of the Old Lufty Church and seeing how it played out, I stopped worrying what portion of the sky would line up with my scene, and just shoot it as I want to, and the sky is the sky. That is especially handy with scenes like today’s, because the sky plays such a minor role in the overall scene.
Featured in this image is the Young house chimney, just past the “troll bridge”, in the Millionaire’s Row section of Elkmont. For the sky, you can clearly make out the California nebula and Pleiades. You can also see the flaming star and tadpole nebulae, though they’re admittedly so small they’re a bit hard to make out. I really enjoyed playing around with lighting up the chimney in various ways with a small light panel that I have. It’s always a bit of a mystery what the final product will look like as I am just trying different things when I’m out in the woods, and you don’t “see” it until it is finished on the computer afterwards.
Speaking of that – more next week!
–Dan Thompson